Delaware

College scholarship offers pour in for 2 Delaware freshmen teammates

Published

2 years ago

February 23, 2024

College scholarship offers pour in for 2 Delaware freshmen teammates

The ninth graders ‘make plays that other kids don’t make’

Banks lives in Delaware and Brown lives in suburban Philadelphia, but the two have been playing together for several years on AAU travel teams that compete on the regional and national level.

So it’s natural that despite their geographic differences, they wanted to play together in high school.

Even after a double-overtime defeat to defending state champ Sanford, Ursuline’s two freshman phenoms exuded effervescence. (Cris Barrish/WHYY)

GG’s dad Freddie Banks says it’s no accident that the duo chose Ursuline, an all-girls Catholic school in Wilmington that’s a perennial Delaware basketball powerhouse. The Raiders have won 17 state titles, far more than any other school, but none since 2017.

Ursuline also was the proving ground for two of the best female players to ever come out of Delaware — Val Whiting, who played in the WNBA a quarter-century ago, and current pro superstar Elena Delle Donne.

“It’s a dream come true. It was calculated,’’ Freddie Banks said. “They’ve been playing together like the last five, six years. So we thought it’d be a great idea for them to play in Delaware, build a legacy” and prepare for college and perhaps even the Olympics and the WNBA.

Freddie Banks sitting in the stands — Freddie Banks (blue sweatshirt) says having the girls play together in high school is a “dream come true.” (Cris Barrish/WHYY)

Kelli Brown, who drives her daughter to Wilmington every morning and works remotely while she’s in school and then practices or plays, said her family is grateful for the opportunity.

“It’s an honor and a blessing for her to be in the situation she’s in,’’ Brown said at the Sanford game’s halftime. “And to play with one of her closest friends, that’s another blessing. They already had chemistry growing up.”

Kelli Brown sitting in the stands — Kelli Brown drives her daughter from their suburban Philadelphia home to Wilmington, where she works remotely until her daughter’s day is done. (Cris Barrish/WHYY)

While the girls have big basketball aspirations, they are also eyeing the future once they hang up their colorful sneakers — currently neon green for Banks and pink/orange for Brown.

Banks hopes to be a coach, Brown a pediatrician.

But for now, they’ll grace the courts and push each other while shooting for state titles and weighing their college offers.

Scoresheet at the end of the game — Banks and Brown dominated the scoresheet, scoring 55 of Ursuline’s 76 points against defending state champion Sanford. (Cris Barrish/WHYY)

No matter what the future brings, Noonan says it’s a joy coaching such talented players.

“It’s enjoyable to watch kids playing sports that they love and have passion for,’’ Noonan said. “They make plays that a lot of kids don’t make and that’s why they’re drawing so much attention.”

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Delaware

Thomas Jefferson University to run Delaware’s first medical school

Published

3 hours ago

June 3, 2026

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Thomas Jefferson University to run Delaware’s first medical school

Thomas Jefferson University is opening a regional campus of its Sidney Kimmel Medical College in Delaware, an effort that will result in the state’s first medical school.

Jefferson beat out three other bidders to establish the four-year program in partnership with the state. The other bidders were the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, the consulting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Ponce Health Sciences University in Puerto Rico, Spotlight Delaware reported.

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The inaugural class of 40 medical students will begin instruction in July 2028. Initially, the campus will be based at the University of Delaware in Newark, with Jefferson faculty providing instruction. A permanent home for the campus is still being finalized, the Inquirer reported.

The medical students will receive 18 months of preclinical training on campus before receiving clinical training from healthcare providers in Delaware’s southern counties, where the state’s physician shortage is most deeply felt. That shortage is compounded by an aging population, Delaware officials said.

“Jefferson is committed to being part of the solution to Delaware’s physician shortage,” Jefferson CEO Dr. Joseph Cacchione said in a statement. “We are proud to help build a future where every Delawarean has access to the care they deserve. Jefferson is all in.”

The school’s creation is being supported by $157.4 million from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Delaware is one of three states without a Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine program. Since the late 1960s, Jefferson and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine have reserved seats for Delaware students.

“Sidney Kimmel Medical College has trained generations of physicians for more than 200 years, more than any other medical college in the country,” Said Ibrahim, dean of Sidney Kimmel Medical College, said in a statement. “It is a privilege to bring our mission to Delaware’s patients and communities.”

Jefferson has announced several expansions recently. The university is establishing a full-time doctor of nursing practice-nurse anesthesia program and several online graduate programs at the Lehigh Valley Health Network Center for Healthcare Education in Lehigh County. It also is opening a satellite respiratory therapy lab at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Allentown.

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Delaware

Delaware is getting its first medical school, with classes set to start in 2028

Published

13 hours ago

June 2, 2026

Press Room

Delaware is getting its first medical school, with classes set to start in 2028

Delaware officials said medical students will start their classroom instruction at UD and then do their clinical training at offices and health care systems in Kent and Sussex counties, where the shortage of doctors is most acute.

However, ChristianaCare, which has its own partnership with Jefferson, is not participating. The state’s largest health care system was part of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine’s unsuccessful bid to operate the school. In a joint statement from ChristianaCare and PCOM, the two organizations expressed disappointment with not being part of the consortium of higher education institutions and healthcare organizations.

“The path forward raises genuine questions about whether the school’s goals can be fully realized without ChristianaCare’s meaningful participation in its clinical training mission,” it said. “The success of any four-year medical program depends not just on an academic institution, but on a true and committed partnership with its clinical partners — one built on shared mission, mutual investment and trust developed over time.”

Students in the first class can get their tuition subsidized, covering all of their education costs, in exchange for an agreement to work in rural Delaware for five years.

Running the medical school is expected to cost Jefferson $78 million over the next five years. The money is from a federal rural health grant through the Rural Health Transformation Program, which congressional Republicans created in the so-called “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act.”

The program will give $50 billion to every state over five years, though exactly the total each will eventually receive is unclear. Half of the money is to be distributed equally to states and the other half is awarded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services based on a variety of factors.

The state applied for $1 billion late last year to improve health care in Kent and Sussex counties. The Trump administration has so far allocated Delaware $157 million. Delaware is expected to receive at least $500 million over the life of the fund.

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