Defending CAA tourney champ Delaware still a contender, says men’s basketball poll

Blue Hens return key standouts Nelson, Davis and profit from addition of a number of transfers as 2022-23 season looms

Delaware faces a few hurdles in its bid to return to the NCAA Event as Colonial Athletic Affiliation males’s basketball champion.

That is a been-there, done-that situation for the Blue Hens.

Delaware was third within the CAA preseason coaches’ ballot behind Towson, which obtained 12 of the 13 first-place votes, and Hofstra.

Charleston earned the opposite first-place vote and was fourth with UNC-Wilmington fifth,

With the addition of Hampton, Monmouth, North Carolina A&T and Stony Brook and departure of James Madison, the CAA is a 13-team league in 2022-23. Campbell turns into the 14th CAA college subsequent yr.

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Below Seventh-year coach Martin Ingelsby, Delaware opens Nov. 7 at residence towards Division II Wilmington College. The nonconference schedule contains a recreation at Duke Nov. 18 and residential bouts with Davidson Dec. 3 and Ohio College Dec. 21. The 18-game CAA slate begins Dec. 29 with a house recreation towards Hofstra.

“Clearly successful a championship final yr has raised the bar for this basketball program,” Ingelsby mentioned Wednesday. “I feel it is easy getting there. It is more durable staying there.”

Delaware was first within the 2021-22 preseason CAA ballot however completed in a tie for fourth place and went into the CAA Event with three straight losses.

However the fifth-seeded Blue Hens received scorching when it counted, toppling No. 4 Drexel 66-56, No. 1 Towson 69-56 and No. 2 UNC-Wilmington within the title recreation 59-55 to win the varsity’s second CAA Event title and earn UD’s sixth NCAA Event berth.

“Protection and toughness was what carried us to a championship,” Ingelsby mentioned.

The Blue Hens misplaced 80-60 to Villanova in a first-round recreation in Pittsburgh.

The UD roster options guard Jameer Nelson Jr., a 2022 third-team All-CAA choose, and 2022 CAA Rookie of the Yr and convention match MVP Jyare Davis, the Sanford Faculty graduate.

Of Nelson, who would be the Blue Hens’ level guard this season, Ingelbsy mentioned: “I am unsure there’s a greater athlete in our league. I have been actually pleased with his growth as a ground common, as a man that makes his teammates higher.”

Nelson made the preseason All-CAA first workforce and Davis the second workforce. Towson had three of the 5 first-team gamers in Cam Holden, Nicolas Timberlake and Charles Thompson whereas Hofstra’s Aaron Estrada was preseason participant of the yr.

Different UD returnees embrace guards Ebby Asamoah, Marco Arletti and Johnny McCoy, a starter in 2020-21 who missed final season with a knee harm.

Delaware was boosted by the addition of transfers Christian Ray, a 6-6 swing guard whose 6.9 rebounds per recreation led La Salle final season, 6-3 guard L.J. Owens, who averaged 11.3 factors per recreation and shot 43 p.c on 3-pointers at UMBC, and 6-9 Nigel Shadd, who was at Pacific after three seasons at Kansas State.

Incoming freshmen are 6-9 Houston Emory, 6-8 Gabe Moss, who’s getting back from a senior yr knee harm, and 6-4 guard Cavan Reilly.

“We had a very, actually outdated workforce final yr,” mentioned Ingelsby of a roster together with seniors Ryan Allen, Kevin Anderson and Dylan Painter. “And when you concentrate on our group this yr, we’re kinda outdated once more. Now we have guys who’re third- or fourth- or fifth-year enjoying faculty basketball.”

CAA preseason coaches’ ballot

• 1. Towson (12 first-place votes), 144 factors
• 2. Hosftra, 122
• 3. DELAWARE, 121
• 4. Charleston (1), 119
• 5. UNC-Wilmington, 101
• 6. Northeastern, 84
• 7. Drexel, 82
• 8. William & Mary, 52
• 9. Stony Brook, 50
• 10. Monmouth, 49
• 11. North Carolina A&T, 35
• 12. Elon, 30
• 13. Hampton, 25

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