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During the Sun Belt Conference's basketball media days in early October, long-time Troy coach Don Maestri spoke highly of newcomer Richard Delk.
The junior guard, whose uncle Tony Delk played at the University of Kentucky and in the NBA, spent two seasons at Mississippi State with twin brother Reginald before transferring after the 2006-07 season. While Reginald left for Louisville, Richard jumped at the chance to play in Troy's run-and-gun offense.
"He's a good basketball player who understands how to play the game," Maestri said of Delk, who started 40 of 56 games at Mississippi State. "I think he's got a chance to be one of the top players in the league."
<center><p><a href="http://www.theadvertiser.com/article/20090110/SPORTS/901100326/1006" target="_blank">The rest of the story</a>
Joshua Parrott •
jparrott@theadvertiser.com • January 10, 2009
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So far, the 6-foot-4 guard has played like a blue-chipper for Troy, which plays host to UL (5-9 overall, 2-2 Sun Belt) at 7:30 tonight.
Delk, who averaged 5.7 points in 33 starts as a sophomore at Mississippi State, has emerged as an all-around threat for the Trojans (6-9, 2-2). He is seventh in the Sun Belt in points per game (13.7) and second on the team in rebounds per game (4.6), assists (36) and steals (16).
The Tennessee native is one of five first-year starters for a Troy program that upset UL 70-60 in the opening round of last season's Sun Belt Conference Tournament at the Cajundome. The 12th-seeded Trojans, long known for their 3-point shooting and zone defense, shocked everyone by spreading the floor with five guards against the fifth-seeded Cajuns.
UL led by nine at halftime, but Troy opened the second half with a 21-8 run to take control. The co-West Division champion Cajuns never recovered.
According to UL coach Robert Lee, tonight's game means nothing out of the ordinary. The Cajuns fell out of a three-way tie for first in the division with a 61-58 loss Thursday at New Orleans. They lost despite holding an eight-point lead with six minutes to go.
Now UL, which plays seven of its next 10 on the road, is fourth in the division standings behind co-leaders Arkansas State (11-4, 3-1) and Arkansas-Little Rock (10-5, 3-1) and third-place UNO (7-8, 3-2). The Cajuns have lost five of their past six games.
"That game has nothing to do with the game that will be played on Saturday," Lee said of last season's tourney loss to Troy. "The only motivation for us is that we have to have success on the road, and Troy is just one of those games on the road."
Troy, which leads the league in scoring and 3-pointers made, enters the weekend fourth in the Sun Belt's East Division, but the Trojans have played a strong schedule. Six of their nine losses have come to quality teams like UAB (twice), LSU, Dayton, Western Kentucky and Middle Tennessee.
With an 80-68 win Monday over William Carey, Troy has now won two in a row. That includes a 69-62 win on Jan. 3 over Florida International, which upset reigning Sun Belt Tournament champion Western Kentucky 81-79 on Thursday.
Delk scored a career-high 28 points in a 101-92 win over UNC-Wilmington on Dec. 22, but Troy has plenty of other scoring options. Junior guard Brandon Hazzard averages 12.4 points and tied a career high with 27 points in a 73-68 loss at UAB on Dec. 20. Point guard Michael Vogler averages 9.2 points and leads the league in assists per game (5.9) and is third in steals per game (1.79).
UL is led by guard Travis Bureau, who averages a team-high 15.4 points per game. Guards Randell Daigle and Chris Gradnigo also score in double figures, averaging 15 and 11.3 points, respectively. But Lee plans to use the inside game against Troy.
The last time these teams played each other in Troy, the Cajuns pulled away in the second half for an 87-66 win on Jan. 27, 2008.
"Troy still plays up-tempo basketball like they have in the past, and they really try to get up a lot of 3s," Lee said. "I know defensively we're going to have to do a really good job of contesting the 3s and not allowing transition baskets.
"We're going to have to do a good job of attacking Troy on the inside."
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