More turmoil at Troy High

 It has been 9 days since Troy High closed the regular season with a narrow win over Guilderland, 47-46.

Now, we're learning that the Flying Horses' two best players have left the program.

We assumed that Legend & Stetson Merritt were brothers. We were wrong. They're actually cousins, and ended up in Josh Pelletier's doghouse during the game vs. Guilderland on February 12, and that was the last straw. Kyle Adams of the Daily Gazette, posting on X, reported that the Merritts have left the team, and will not play tonight vs. Bethlehem in the Class AA 1st round.

For Troy (4-16), the timing couldn't be worse. The Horses had been competitive in almost every game this season, the lone exception being a December loss to CBA. Stetson, a freshman, was arguably the team's leading scorer, a phenom who Troy hoped would bring them another sectional title, coming off one last season under John Killian, who was shown the door in April due to a dispute with an unnamed faculty member.

Since the end of the 2022-3 season, and including this latest issue, Troy has now lost 7 players total. You know, of course, that Daniel Covington, who was one of Troy's best players before he fell into disfavor with either Killian or someone else last season, transferred to Albany, and burned his former club for 30 points in a loss to Troy earlier this season. Terrance Clark left for Mekeel Christian.

And, as Adams reports, there's more:

Jasai Eason is now at Green Tech.

Stephen Mulinio went across town to LaSalle.

Da'Marion Tucker is at Lansingburgh.

Troy was competitive in losing to Bethlehem during the regular season. With the Merritts gone (Legend, a senior, was to graduate in June), Pelletier has to scramble to find some offense tonight, or any chance of an upset is gone, too. According to Adams, per his sources, the Merritts made the decision to quit the team after the Guilderland game.

So, then, the question now is, who is to blame for the exodus of players over the course of 10 months? And if Pelletier is asked to depart after 1 season, it's an even worse look for Troy, which would have to find another coach for their maiden voyage in the Colonial Council next season.

To say the mighty have fallen wouldn't be fair to Troy. To say the program has been sabotaged in some form, though, potentially could be an accurate statement.

Stay tuned.