The once ultra-promising Troy boys basketball season took another staggering blow this week when star sophomore swingman Maceo Baston, Jr. transferred out of the school district.

Baston, Jr, averaging 15 points and 7.5 rebounds per outing, has applied for entrance into state hoops superpower Birmingham Detroit Country Day.

Last week, all-league senior point guard Evan Mahone (10 points, 5.5 assists per night as a junior last season and a four-year varsity letter-winner), left the Colts cage crew as a result of personal issues.

Mahone and Baston, Jr., the son of former NBA player and UofM star Maceo Baston, were both integral components on Troy's league championship team last year, the first league crown for the Colts in 17 years.

Ranked in the state's Top 10 to open the current campaign, Troy experienced some struggles out of the gate, but appeared to have righted the ship, claiming victory in five of its last six contests.

Without Baston Jr. in the lineup for the first time, the Colts blew out Oak Park on the road Tuesday night 63-42. The loss of the fast-improving forward comes at the worst possible time, since Troy is just getting into the thick of the OAA White race and its quest to repeat as league champs.

Luckily for the Colts, junior James Young, one of the most heavily recruited prepsters in the nation, remains in the fold at Troy, still giving head coach Gary Fralick and his troops a chance at winning the program's first district title in three years.

Earlier in the year, Young posted on his Facebook page, that this would be his final season at Troy. Speculation surrounding Young points to possible placement at an elite prep school for the 2012-2013 season.

If Baston, Jr is admitted to DCD, he will join a sensational sophomore class which already includes the backcourt tandem of Edmond Sumner and Maury Diane, two of the top players in the Class of 2014.

Maceo Baston, Sr. played professionally for a dozen years, spending portions of times with numerous Euro league and NBA squads following an ALL-BIG 10 career at Michigan where he helped lead the Wolverines to a 1998 league tournament title.