Haywood’s Boyd commits to E. Kentucky

Many factors are taken into account by high school athletes when they are trying to figure out where to play in college. There can be playing time, quality of the facilities, coaching staff and relationship with other players.

For Haywood senior Dedric Boyd, all of those seemed to play a role in his decision when he committed to play college basketball at Eastern Kentucky on Monday.

“I loved the coaching staff,” Boyd said. “They showed me a lot of love, and I know that I can play for them. Eastern Kentucky is losing their top three wing players to graduation, so I think I have a chance to come in and play, if I keep working.”

Boyd took his official visit to the campus three weeks ago, and he like what he saw.

“The campus is nice,” Boyd said. “They are building new dorms, a new study hall and some new classrooms. The town is a nice size because it is similar to Brownsville.”

Boyd recently narrowed his list of college choices to his top six – Murray State, UAB, Louisiana Tech, Florida Golf Coast, South Alabama and Eastern Kentucky.

“A big part of my decision was on depth and who needed players,” Boyd said.

With that decision out of the way, Boyd can now focus on his senior season at Haywood and trying to help the Tomcats win a second state title in three years.

“Getting this over was really important because it gets the pressure off of my back,” Boyd said. “I can play this season with no pressure about recruiting or where I am going to play next year.”

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As a junior, Boyd averaged 14 points, five rebounds and four assists to be named to the All-West Tennessee Boys Basketball Third Team in helping the Tomcats reach the Region 8-AA semifinals. He also saw quality minutes as a sophomore when Haywood won the Class AA state championship.

Michael Odom, 425-9754