VALDOSTA, Ga. (WTXL) — Valdosta State senior men's basketball standout Clay Guillozet wins the Gulf South Conference's highest honor, receiving the Commissioner's Trophy.
"It's a great honor to win this prestigious award and it's very surreal," Guillozet said. "Being able to win this means so much, not only for myself, but my family and the VSU community as well. This award stands for much more than athletics, and I'm glad that I can bring much more to the table than that. I know the award goes along with athletics, academics, and community involvement. Knowing I've been able to connect with all three gives me great satisfaction and motivation to become better and better each day, in every aspect of my life. I'm thankful for all my support from family, friends and Valdosta State. All of these people have helped me grow into much more than an athlete. Lastly, I'm thankful for the GSC and the core values this conference has embodied that I will continue to live by. Strong yet simple. Compete. Graduate. Impact."
The Commissioner's Trophy is the highest honor bestowed by the Conference and one of the most prestigious individual honors in Division II.
Guillozet, a native of Greenville, Ohio, became the ninth Blazer to earn the Commissioner's Trophy and thirteenth overall in school history, with VSU now tied with Delta State and North Alabama for the most selections in GSC history.
"I am proud to have had the opportunity to coach someone like Clay," VSU head men's basketball coach Mike Helfer said. "He represents all that is good in basketball and in sports overall. He plays the game the right way and puts winning over individual success or stats. His success in the classroom shows he is the complete student-athlete. Finally, he has impacted others, especially young kids, through his work in camps and in local schools. He is just a great representative of Valdosta State and he has certainly left his mark on our program, our University, and our community".
Guillozet capped an outstanding three-year career for VSU. He as he was named Gulf South Conference Player of the Year, becoming the third Blazer in the last four years to be named GSC Player of the Year and the fifth overall in the history of the program.
He also has been named to the Bevo Francis Top 50 Watch List. To his credit, he earned D2CCA First Team All-Region honors and was a National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) First Team All-Region selection.
Guillozet helped lead VSU to its fourth-straight Gulf South Conference regular season title and a school-record 19-game winning streak during the season as the Blazers finished 26-4 on the year. He was also was named to the GSC All-Tournament Team as he helped lead the Blazers to the championship game. The season was suspended just one day before VSU was supposed to play in the NCAA South Region Tournament in Lakeland, Fla., due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He became the 27th player in school history to score 1,000 career points and accomplished it in under three years. He also tallied 500 career rebounds as he achieved both in a game on Jan. 4 at West Alabama. Guillozet finished leading the team in scoring at 16.0 points per game this season. He was 181 of 343 from the field (.528), while he drained 41 triples in 103 attempts (.398) and went 77 of 119 from the line (.647). He averaged a team-high 8.2 rebounds per game, while he recorded 114 assists to lead the team with 43 steals and ten blocks. Guillozet had seven double-doubles on the year, starting all 30 games and recording 24 games in double figures. He was named GSC Player of the Week three times this season.
For his VSU career, Guillozet, who transferred to VSU from West Liberty in 2017, helped lead the Blazers to three Gulf South Conference regular season titles, a 76-16 record overall and a 52-8 mark in the GSC. He earned academic all-conference honors last season and is a two-time Google Cloud Academic All-District as selected by CoSIDA honoree.
Guillozet finished his Blazer career playing in 92 games at VSU with 84 starts. His 1,276 points is good for 15th all-time in program history. Guillozet knocked down 483 field goals in 925 attempts for a 52.2 average, while he had 99 treys and went 211 of 327 from the line. He averaged 7.0 rebounds per game with 288 assists, 34 blocks and 110 steals.
