UC Irvine guard Max Hazzard gestures during the first half of a first-round game against Kansas State in the NCAA Tournament, when his Anteaters upset the fourth-seeded Wildcats in San Jose, California.
When he first started rooting for the Arizona Wildcats as a high school basketball player six years ago, Max Hazzard had an agenda.
“I would watch the games with my parents pretty closely, rooting for blowouts so I could watch my brother play,” said Hazzard, referring to former UA walk-on Jacob Hazzard.
Jacob Hazzard appeared in 43 games over four seasons with the Wildcats. He played in 30 games during the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons, a perk of coming off the bench for a pair of powerhouse teams.
Max Hazzard is now a UC Irvine senior considering a graduate transfer. If he chooses the Wildcats over returning to Irvine or transferring to Gonzaga, Cal, Minnesota, Pitt or TCU, he’ll likely be on the court regularly. Even with Arizona returning Brandon Williams and possibly Dylan Smith, while bringing in five-star high school guards Nico Mannion and Josh Green, Hazzard could bring shooting and a veteran touch to Arizona’s backcourt.
Listed at 6 feet, 170 pounds, Hazzard was a second-team All-Big West Conference pick last season. He was named MVP of the Big West Tournament, where he had 23 points to lead the Anteaters to a 92-74 win over Cal State Fullerton in the final.
Hazzard then led UCI to its first-ever NCAA Tournament win, scoring 19 points in a win over Kansas State in the first round.
For the season, Hazzard led the Anteaters in scoring with an average of 12.5 points per game. He was also a prolific 3-point shooter, hitting 38.8 percent of the 6.5 3-pointers he fired up per game.
“I know I have the opportunity to play somewhere and bring experience to a team no matter where I go,” Max Hazzard said. “I’m confident I can go on the court and help a team get to the NCAA Tournament, help change the culture.”
Arizona “is a high-major program, a high-major basketball team and a high-major coach,” Hazzard added. “That’s always been something I’ve wanted.”
The UA didn’t seriously pursue Max Hazzard out of high school, even though he had a brother who played for the Wildcats and a high school backcourt-mate, Parker Jackson-Cartwright, who did the same.
“I thought I was relatively unrecruited out of high school,” Max Hazzard said. “I had a good amount of schools recruit me, but it was hard to tell who was serious.”
UC Irvine coach Russell Turner was, and Hazzard said Turner has proven to be an “amazing coach.” Hazzard redshirted partly due to injury as a freshman in 2015-16, then played three seasons for the Anteaters and, with a degree in sociology coming this spring, has the option to play right away elsewhere next season.
“I knew when I redshirted as a freshman I would have the opportunity to be a grad transfer, and now I find myself here,” Hazzard said. “It’s been a blessing.”
