Trojans Finalize 2020-21 Roster

TROY, Ala. -- The Troy Trojans and head coach Scott Cross have added Three Rivers College (MO) product Lydell Geffrard, Florida native Marquel Bryant and Troy product Nick O'Brien to the 2020-21 roster, Cross announced Wednesday.

"I am extremely pleased with how this recruiting class came together," Cross said. "We addressed every need on our roster and were able to bring in players that we believe are #OKG's [Our Kind of Guys]. We feel that this class will work very hard to succeed both on and off of the court. When I look at our current roster, nine of our 15 players will be underclassmen. This tells me that the future of Troy Trojan basketball is looking very bright. It will be exciting to watch this team grow over the course of the year. I have no doubt that our team will be one of the hardest playing teams in the country, and I cannot wait to get the season started!"

A 6-8 forward from New York, Geffrard spent the 2019-20 season playing for legendary head coach Gene Bess and the Raiders where he averaged 9.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

"We are extremely excited to add Lydell Geffrard to our Troy Trojans basketball family," Cross said Wednesday. "Big 'Dell brings experience, size, strength, low post scoring and passing to our basketball team. He really impressed our staff with his ability to pass the ball and score with his back to the basket. However, the thing that we like most, is that 'Dell is a very high character person that fits our culture. He's the perfect OKG."

The big man shot an impressive 52.9 percent from the field in his 25 appearances and hit over 73 percent of his free-throw attempts.

Geffrard recorded at least 10 points in 13 of his 25 games played, including a 19-point, 8 rebound performance against Southern Arkansas University Tech.

A factor on the glass as well, Geffrard recorded 12 games with at least 8 rebounds and recorded five contests with double-figure rebounds.

The Trojans second addition, Bryant, arrives at Troy after a successful career at Riverview high school in Sarasota, Fla. A 6-2 guard, Bryant averaged 10.2 points a game in 2018-19 and 4.1 points in 2019-20 for the Rams. Bryant also added 3.5 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game a season ago.

"We are also very excited to announce that Marquel Bryant will be joining our Troy Trojan basketball family," Cross said.

"Marquel is another extremely high character OKG that will help us build and maintain a championship culture here at Troy. Marquel is a guard that can do a little bit of everything. He is a good shooter, can handle the ball, pass it, and take it to the basket. In addition, Marquel has very good instincts defensively."

Troy's third and final addition to the 2020-21 roster, O'Brien, comes to Troy following a successful career at Pike Lib that included the school's first ever state championship game appearance a season ago. In addition to his accomplishments on the hardwood, O'Brien was also a wide receiver for the Patriots football program.

"Our final addition to our 2020-21 Trojan basketball team is Nick O'Brien," Cross said. "Nick played right down the street at Pike Lib here in Troy. Nick is very good 3-point shooter and is one of the best help-side defenders that I have ever seen. I think he averaged close to 3 charges drawn per game over the course of the season and was a huge reason which Pike Lib made it all the way to the championship game for the first time in school history! Nick is also an extremely high character OKG, who will add to the culture that we are building."

Bryant, Geffrard and O'Brien combine to bring the recruiting class to 10 members. The Trojans previously announced the addition of Antwan Burnett, Miles Mendes, Duke Miles, Rory Pantophlet, Kieffer Punter, Christian Turner and Kam Woods.

The newcomers join a strong returning core that includes junior forward Zay Williams, rising sophomores Jakevan Leftridge and Desmond Williams as well as seniors Nick Stampley and Khalyl Waters.

2020 Troy Newcomers (10):
Marquel Bryant (G): (6-3, 200/Sarasota, Fla./Riverview HS)
Antwan Burnett (F): (6-6, 205/Montgomery, Ala./Sidney Lanier HS)
Miles Mendes (F): (6-6, 225/Golden Valley, Minn./TaylorMade Academy/Farmington HS)
Duke Miles (G): (6-2, 180/Montgomery, Ala./Robert E. Lee HS)
Lydell Geffrard (F): (6-8, 260/New York, NY/Three Rivers College (Mo.)/St. Raymond's HS)
Nick O'Brien (G): (6-1, 175/Troy, Ala./Pike Liberal Arts School)
Rory Pantophlet (F): (6-9, 220/St. Maarten/Tyler JC/Zion Academy)
Kieffer Punter (G): (6-4, 175/Bronx, NY/Tyler JC/All Hallows HS)
Christian Turner (G): (6-7, 214/Grand Prairie, Texas/South Grand Prairie HS)
Kam Woods (G): (6-1, 165/Bessemer, Ala./Pinson Valley HS)

Alabama (4): Burnett, Miles, O'Brien, Woods
Florida (1): Bryant
Minnesota (1): Mendes
New York (2): Geffrard, Punter
St. Maarten (1): Pantophlet
Texas (1): Turner

High School (6): Bryant, Burnett, Miles, O'Brien, Turner, Woods
Junior College (3): Geffrard (R-Jr.), Punter (Jr.), Pantophlet (Jr.)
Prep School (1): Mendes (Fr.)

Troy University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Marquel Bryant

Antwan Burnett

Lydell Geffrard

Jakevan Leftridge

Miles Mendes

Duke Miles

Nick O'Brien

Rory Pantophlet

Kieffer Punter

Nick Stampley

Christian Turner

Khalyl Waters

Desmond Williams

Zay Williams

Kam Woods

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