University of Delaware Athletics
Photo by: Mark Campbell
Men’s Basketball Eyes Continued Success in 2022-23
11/3/2022 1:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NEWARK, Del. – After culminating the 2021-22 season with a CAA Championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament, the Delaware men's basketball team looks to continue that success into the new season.
"Winning a championship was great for this community, and staying at that level is harder," head coach Martin Ingelsby said. "We've never won a regular-season championship, and that's one of our goals this year. I love the group we have; we got some good transfers and some good incoming freshmen who have been practicing with us all summer. It's a fun group to coach and I think they can continue to grow and be a championship-caliber team."
Delaware will return its leading scorer in 2021 All-CAA Second Team member Jameer Nelson Jr., who averaged 13.6 points and 4.9 rebounds last. Also returning for Delaware is CAA Rookie of the Year Jyáre Davis, who averaged 9.7 points coming off the bench last season en route to winning the CAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player award. ADD CAA PRESEASON and ALMANAC
The team also returns eight other Blue Hens from last year's roster.
"My teammates and the coaching staff have been supporting me," Nelson Jr. said. "I'm taking more of a leadership role this season and trying to be a true point guard – it's all about taking another step."
Delaware welcomes three transfers to the program – LJ Owens (UMBC), Christian Ray (La Salle) and Nigel Shadd (Pacific). Owens was a member of the America East All-Conference Third Team last season after averaging 11.3 points per game and shooting at a 43-percent clip from the floor for the Retrievers. Ray averaged 5.0 points and a team-high 6.9 rebounds for the Explorers, returning to play with his high school teammate, Nelson Jr. Shadd has not appeared in a game since the 2020-21 season at the University of the Pacific and will look to make his 6'9, 260-pound presence felt on the court. Delaware also adds three incoming freshmen to the roster – Cavan Reilly, Houston Emory, and Gabe Moss.
"LJ Owens is a guy that can complement [Jameer and Jyáre] out there," Ingelsby said. "Christian Ray is a heck of a college basketball player. He's a guy that impacts winning and impacts the game in so many ways. Nigel Shadd is a big physical presence for us and we're really excited about his development, and we have three incoming freshmen who will be big pieces for us."
The Blue Hens' non-conference road schedule opens with Air Force and Duke. This will be the first time the Blue Hens take on Air Force in program history, traveling to Colorado Springs for a Veterans Day battle on Nov. 11. The Blue Devils made the Final Four in the 2022 NCAA Tournament and open the season and the Jon Scheyer era ranked seventh in the AP Poll. This will be the first time Delaware travels to Cameron Indoor Stadium since December 1, 2012, where it fell 88-50. This is also the first time Delaware features a ranked opponent on its regular season schedule since they faced No. 20 Villanova on Dec. 14, 2019. They played No. 6 Villanova in the NCAA Tournament last season.
The Blue Hens will take part in a multi-team event at The Palestra during Thanksgiving weekend, taking on Hartford, Colgate, and Penn in Philadelphia from Nov. 25-27.
The CAA will feature new opponents Stony Brook, Hampton, and North Carolina A&T, all of whom joined the conference this past offseason. The trio joins an already tough CAA field. Delaware will take on preseason favorite, Towson, second-place Hofstra, and fourth-placed Charleston twice this season. The Blue Hens were picked third in the preseason poll.
"Winning a championship was great for this community, and staying at that level is harder," head coach Martin Ingelsby said. "We've never won a regular-season championship, and that's one of our goals this year. I love the group we have; we got some good transfers and some good incoming freshmen who have been practicing with us all summer. It's a fun group to coach and I think they can continue to grow and be a championship-caliber team."
Delaware will return its leading scorer in 2021 All-CAA Second Team member Jameer Nelson Jr., who averaged 13.6 points and 4.9 rebounds last. Also returning for Delaware is CAA Rookie of the Year Jyáre Davis, who averaged 9.7 points coming off the bench last season en route to winning the CAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player award. ADD CAA PRESEASON and ALMANAC
The team also returns eight other Blue Hens from last year's roster.
"My teammates and the coaching staff have been supporting me," Nelson Jr. said. "I'm taking more of a leadership role this season and trying to be a true point guard – it's all about taking another step."
Delaware welcomes three transfers to the program – LJ Owens (UMBC), Christian Ray (La Salle) and Nigel Shadd (Pacific). Owens was a member of the America East All-Conference Third Team last season after averaging 11.3 points per game and shooting at a 43-percent clip from the floor for the Retrievers. Ray averaged 5.0 points and a team-high 6.9 rebounds for the Explorers, returning to play with his high school teammate, Nelson Jr. Shadd has not appeared in a game since the 2020-21 season at the University of the Pacific and will look to make his 6'9, 260-pound presence felt on the court. Delaware also adds three incoming freshmen to the roster – Cavan Reilly, Houston Emory, and Gabe Moss.
"LJ Owens is a guy that can complement [Jameer and Jyáre] out there," Ingelsby said. "Christian Ray is a heck of a college basketball player. He's a guy that impacts winning and impacts the game in so many ways. Nigel Shadd is a big physical presence for us and we're really excited about his development, and we have three incoming freshmen who will be big pieces for us."
The Blue Hens' non-conference road schedule opens with Air Force and Duke. This will be the first time the Blue Hens take on Air Force in program history, traveling to Colorado Springs for a Veterans Day battle on Nov. 11. The Blue Devils made the Final Four in the 2022 NCAA Tournament and open the season and the Jon Scheyer era ranked seventh in the AP Poll. This will be the first time Delaware travels to Cameron Indoor Stadium since December 1, 2012, where it fell 88-50. This is also the first time Delaware features a ranked opponent on its regular season schedule since they faced No. 20 Villanova on Dec. 14, 2019. They played No. 6 Villanova in the NCAA Tournament last season.
The Blue Hens will take part in a multi-team event at The Palestra during Thanksgiving weekend, taking on Hartford, Colgate, and Penn in Philadelphia from Nov. 25-27.
The CAA will feature new opponents Stony Brook, Hampton, and North Carolina A&T, all of whom joined the conference this past offseason. The trio joins an already tough CAA field. Delaware will take on preseason favorite, Towson, second-place Hofstra, and fourth-placed Charleston twice this season. The Blue Hens were picked third in the preseason poll.
Thursday, April 04
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