:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/63346973/usa_today_12388742.0.jpg)
As ESPN’s Jeff Borzello reported yesterday, UC-Irvine guard Max Hazzard is reportedly pursuing a graduate transfer out of the Anteaters program, after helping his squad to a surprise victory in the NCAA Tournament over Kansas State.
Today, Ellie Liberman has reported that a myriad of schools have already reached out to Hazzard to acquire his services, including Oregon State.
UC Irvine transfer Max Hazzard (@maxhazzard2) tells me he’s heard from Arizona, Utah, Oregon State, Boise State, Northwestern, St. John’s
— Ellie Lieberman (@ellieliebs) April 3, 2019
TCU, Montana, Gonzaga and Pitt. He averaged 12.5 points and 2.1 assists per game last season. Brother walked on af Arizona.
The Beavers will have some tough competition to go up against for the services of the immediately eligible guard who has one season left to play, as fellow Pac-12 teams like Arizona (where Max’s brother Jacob used to be a walk-on) and Utah have both shown interest.
It’s also important to note that TCU has also reached out to Hazzard, as the Horned Frogs’ current head coah Jamie Dixon is inching by the day towards taking the UCLA job. Max Hazzard is of course, the grandson of former Bruins stand-out Walt Hazzard, who was a consensus first-team All-American and the Final Four Most Outstanding Player in 1964, when he helped UCLA to a national championship.
Boise State, Gonzaga, Montana, Northwestern, Pittsburgh and St. John’s are among the other schools in pursuit of Hazzard, as almost all those programs will be razor thin (in terms of proven talent) at the back-court spots next season. This past year, Max Hazzard averaged 12.5 points and 2.1 assists per contest, while also connecting on 38.7% of his three-point attempts and 41.2% of his field goals overall, in helping the Anteaters to a 31-6 mark.
Oregon State’s back-court for the 2019-2020 campaign is expected to take a huge hit due to the graduation of Stephen Thompson Jr. (16.1 PPG) and in total, the Beavers will only return younger brother Ethan Thompson (13.7 PPG), Zach Reichle (3.5 PPG) and Antoine Vernon (1.8 PPG) to the mix.
This means that without a talent like Hazzard on board, Oregon State will need to rely heavily on their trio of incoming freshmen in Gianni Hunt, Jarod Lucas and Julien Franklin, who all stand in at under 6’ 4”.
At the moment, Hazzard has not scheduled any visits to any schools and currently has set no public timetable for when his decision will be made by.