Troy University Athletics
SBC Champs Add Three for 2010
5/6/2010 7:00:00 PM | Basketball (M)
Losing five seniors off a championship squad, Troy head coach Don Maestri knew he needed to reload. His program took a big step in that direction with the announcement of three signees on Thursday.
The Trojans will add three junior college players to a team that returns six seniors. Included in the class are two guards and one post player.
Joining Troy from Pensacola (Fla.) Junior College is guard/forward Shawntez Patterson. Patterson (6-7, 195) spent one season at PJC and led the squad in scoring (10.8 ppg) and rebounding (6.7 rpg). He played his freshman season at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Penn.
"Shawntez is a great all-around player," Maestri said. "He's a great offensive player. He has a great personality that is going to mesh well with our team. He's very versatile. He rebounds well from the perimeter and he can make plays off the dribble."
Patterson also posted five double-doubles and scored in double-figures 16 times en route to being named first team All-Panhandle Conference.
The next player joining Troy's class is point guard Nic Combs (5-10, 175). He makes the move to Troy from Jones County (Miss.) Junior College. He spent one season at Maine Central Institute following his graduation from Edmond Santa Fe (Okla.) High School.
"Combs is a true point that does a great job of controlling the game," Maestri said. "He played on a big time AAU team in high school and spent a year in prep school before going to junior college. He really has a point guard mentality and he's a guy that knows how to distribute the ball.
"He knows how to control a basketball game. The biggest thing though is that he's a really fine person."
Combs will have three seasons of eligibility remaining. He led Jones County JC in assists (180), 3-point percentage (39 percent) and free throw percentage (83 percent) and was third on the team with 41 steals and fourth in scoring (11.0 ppg).
The third addition to Troy's signing class is Tallahassee (Fla.) Community College big man Tim Owens (6-9, 220). Owens spent one season at Seminole State College in Sanford, Fla. prior to playing last season at TCC.
"Tim's stats from last season are deceiving, because his role on his team was to come off the bench," Maestri said. "He's a legit 6-foot-9 and he really runs the floor. He plays extremely hard. He will go rebound the ball with great tenacity. He really does a good job of defending in the paint and altering a lot of shots."
While at Seminole, Owens blocked 70 shots, the seventh highest total in the state. He blocked 34 shots as a sophomore. Owens recorded multiple blocks in 10 games including a season-high of four against Clinton (SC) Junior College and rival Chipola (Fla.) College.
The three signees join November signee DeAndrae Ross who comes to Troy from South Alabama following a year at Gulf Coast Community College in Panama City, Fla. The Trojans have one scholarship remaining.
