It didn't take long for Troy to make the jump from newcomer to champion in the Atlantic Sun Conference. The jump from A-Sun to Sun Belt is proving to be much tougher.
Troy joined the A-Sun in 1997-98 and won the regular-season championship two years later. By the time the Trojans left after the 2004-05 season, they had won four conference championships and earned one trip each to the NCAA Tournament and the NIT.
In three seasons in the Sun Belt, the Trojans have actually slipped backward, going from 14-15 in 2005-06 to 13-17 in 2006-07 and 12-19 in 2007-08.
While 12th-seeded Troy did pull off a 70-60 upset at fifth-seeded Louisiana-Lafayette in the first round of the Sun Belt tournament, it wasn't enough to overshadow a 4-14 Sun Belt record or a last-place finish in the East Division.
Despite the three-year slide and the loss of the team's three top scorers and a fourth starter, Troy coach Don Maestri remains hopeful about the future. That's one reason why he's survived 25 seasons at Troy. Maestri just keeps finding ways to survive and keep the Trojans competitive. Now he plans to do it with a revamped squad led by Mississippi State transfer Richard Delk, a 6-4 guard who sat out this past season.
"We've been recruiting hard from the get-go, and if we can get the guys that we've been in on, we'll be highly competitive next year," Maestri told the Dothan Eagle. "We need some rebounding help, but we need kids that can come in and play the game of basketball. It will help to have some shooters, too."
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The basketball season was disappointing and the story is beginning to repeat itself all too often. Troy has to do something to get back on track. I am sure that the new arena being proposed will do alot to help with recruiting and I was very happy to see Maestri and Felix show they are willing to change their style of play to get a "W". The addition of the transfer from
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Troy is suffering from the close loss bug again in 2007-08 just like in 2006-07. With close conference losses against WKU (4 point loss), FAU (5 point loss), and most recently MTSU (1 point loss), this season looks identicle to last season. Troy sits at 9-9 (2-5) but just as easily could be 12-6 (5-2) with a little (OK a lot) better defensive play and a few breaks. With
