Feature: Corey Hadnot II Makes Early Impact
Tom Davis
When asked about the biggest adjustment that a college basketball freshman has to make defensively to compete at the next level, 10th-year Purdue Fort Wayne men’s basketball coach Jon Coffman never hesitated before responding “transition defense.”
In the case of Mastodon freshman guard Corey “CJ” Hadnot II, he has “transitioned” to this level successfully this season in a myriad of ways, including defensively.
“It is the speed of the game,” Coffman continued on his defensive analysis, “how fast they are coming at you. Transition defense is the biggest difference between high school and college basketball.”
Hadnot II has made a seamless adjustment this winter and was recently recognized as the Horizon League Freshman of the Week – for the fifth time.
“Where CJ has really won out,” Coffman said, “he is very physical for a freshman.”
And with good reason.
In 8th and 9th grade in Houston, he spent that time, not traveling the country playing summer circuit basketball, but working diligently with his parents, LaQuita McLemore and Corey Hadnot Sr., both former college athletes themselves, strengthening his body for the next level and working on his skill development. His parents recognized that professionals use their off-season to get better but AAU coupled with school basketball did not allot for this time. CJ and his parents made a choice that is playing out well now.
“He spent that time doing bodyweight workouts,” Coffman explained. “He grinded. He trained and he grinded vs. spending time in hotels traveling to AAU tournaments at a young age. It turns out to be time well spent.”
That mentality has never left the 6-foot-3, 175-pound athlete.
When he arrived in Fort Wayne last summer, the Mastodon players would endure an arduous workout in the weight room, and THEN have to go through “burnout pushups.”
“We would line up our roster and have a finishing burnout contest after an already challenging weight room workout and then finish with a pushup burnout contest,” Coffman said, “and CJ dominated. He won every single time. He beat physical 4th and 5th year college players.”
For good measure, Hadnot II performs 300 pushups daily and has since he was in eight grade.
“He is very mentally and physically strong for a freshman,” Coffman said of Hadnot II.
Hadnot II has played a key role in the historic success that Purdue Fort Wayne is achieving this season.
The Mastodons (13-3, 4-1 Horizon League) recently defeated league foe Detroit Mercy 91-56 at the Gates Sports Center, which gave the program its best start at the NCAA Division I level ever, and Hadnot II had his most productive game, ever, against Detroit Mercy.
He scored 10 of his career-high 15 points during the second half, as the Mastodons stretched a five-point halftime margin into a decisive win. Hadnot II also added three steals, three assists, and three blocks.
Coffman not only attributed the young player’s success to CJ himself but also to Hadnot II’s parents.
“I talk with (his parents) regularly as we are going through this season, with a young player playing a ton of minutes,” Coffman said. “We’re trying to assist him in being successful, both on and off of the floor.
“They just pull in the same direction as the coaches. They are not only supportive, but they also echo our message. Their mindsets are very similar to our coaching staff.”
Hadnot II has come off of the bench in all 16 games this season and is averaging over 20 minutes per outing. He is averaging 8.1 points per game and impressively, has nearly twice as many assists (28) as turnovers (15).
Hadnot II certainly has been impressive offensively, but Coffman has really been pleased with his work at the defensive end of the floor.
“CJ is almost an anomaly, with his physicality as a freshman,” Coffman said, ‘and his ability to defend.”
Purdue Fort Wayne is the most productive Horizon League program this season offensively, which isn’t a surprise to anyone who has followed the ‘Dons under Coffman. However, where the program has made significant strides this year has been at the defensive end.
The Mastodons are the second-best team in the league in defensive average, first (by a wide margin) in steals (nearly 11 per game), third in opponents’ shooting (41.3 percent), and first (again, by a lot) in defending the 3-point shot (opponents are connecting at just a 26.5 percent rate), which ranks eighth out of 362 NCAA Division I teams nationally.
“We have more one-on-one defenders this year,” Coffman said, “sort of ‘go-to’ guys on the defensive end.”
Purdue Fort Wayne will aim to keep its run of success going on Wednesday when they travel to Youngstown State.