Coaches High On Byrd & Hearn

CLICK ON THE VIDEO TABS ABOVE TO HEAR TOM IZZO OF MICHIGAN STATE AND BILL CARMODY OF NORTHWESTERN.

CHICAGO - Even though Fort Wayne natives Reggie Hearn and Russell Byrd weren't at Big Ten Media Day in Chicago on Thursday that didn't stop their respective coaches from signing their praises.

A Blackhawk Christian graduate, Byrd was announced as one of two captains at Michigan State for the 2012-13 basketball season.

Byrd is entering his sophomore season at Michigan State. He redshirted his first year on campus then averaged 1.5 points a game last season.

Byrd has endured multiple foot injuries since committing to Michigan State, including breaking a bone in his foot during his last month of high school during a workout in May of 2010. He has undergone three surgeries on that left foot.

Byrd will share his captain duties with forward Derrick Nix.

The captains were voted on by the MSU players.

Hearn graduated from Snider in 2009 he didn't have a Division One scholarship offer on the table. Now, Hearn enters his senior year as a returning starter for the Northwestern University basketball as a full scholarship player.

Instead of going to a D-2 school, Hearn (who graduated no. 4 in his class at Snider) decided he would walk-on at either Northwestern, Notre Dame, or Butler. The Wildcats showed the most interest and Hearn paid his way to Evanston. Hearn played sparingly as a freshman, but earned a scholarship as a sophomore.

During his junior year Hearn got a break. Because of a pair of injuries Hearn was inserted into the starting lineup early in the season. He played well enough to hold on to the spot, as Reggie started all 33 games for the Wildcats. He was fourth on the team in scoring at 7.4 points per game and fourth in rebounding at 3.7 boards a night. Hearn's emergence was a reason Northwestern won 19 games and almost earned the program's first bid to the NCAA tournament.

A psychology major, Hearn is scheduled to graduate on schedule next spring. He will explore going into the sports psychology field.