Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens
2020-2021 Overall Rank: #94
Conference Rank: #1 CAA
During Coach Martin Ingelsby’s four years leading the program, Delaware has continually improved. Last season it culminated in a 22-win season and an 11-7 record in Colonial Athletic Association play. At one point it looked like everything was building to this season. However, Nate Darling has opted to stay in the NBA Draft after averaging 21.0 points per game last season. His departure leaves some serious questions of depth, but this is still a quality Blue Hens team that has the talent to compete for a conference title.
2019-20 Record: 22-11, 11-7
Coach: Martin Ingelsby
Coach Record: 66-66 at Delaware, 66-66 overall
Key Departed Players:
Nate Darling, Guard, 21.0 ppg
Justyn Mutts, Forward, 12.2 ppg
Collin Goss, Forward, 6.1 ppg
Jacob Cushing, Forward, 2.7 ppg
Key Returning Players:
Ryan Allen, Senior, Guard, 12.2 ppg
Kevin Anderson, Senior, Guard, 11.5 ppg
Dylan Painter, Senior, Forward, 9.3 ppg
Johnny McCoy, Sophomore, Guard, 2.1 ppg
Aleks Novakovich, Sophomore, Forward, 1.9 ppg
Ebby Asamoah, Sophomore, Guard, 1.3 ppg
Key New Players:
Reggie Gardner, Junior, Guard, Transfer from North Carolina Central
Gianmarco Arletti, Freshman, Guard
Andrew Carr, Freshman, Forward
Logan Curtis, Sophomore, Guard, Transfer from East Carolina, not eligible
Anthony Ochefu, Junior, Forward, Transfer from Stony Brook, not eligible
Projection:
The backcourt duo of Ryan Allen and Kevin Anderson will look to take over the scoring load lost with Darling’s departure. Allen is a prolific outside shooter, but is not always the most consistent three-point shooter. Anderson can knock down some outside shots also, but the point guard can do a lot of other things too. He led the Blue Hens last season with 3.7 assists and 1.4 steals. The backcourt will need to get some more production out of sophomores Johnny McCoy and Ebby Asamoah and North Carolina Central transfer Reggie Gardner than expected. Gardner had a great freshman campaign with the Eagles, averaging 10.8 points per game and connecting on 76 three-pointers. His sophomore season saw a regression, but Gardner will hope to reignite his career in Newark. The frontcourt will revolve around senior Dylan Painter. Last season he tallied 9.3 points and 5.7 rebounds. There is not much experience behind Painter though and sophomore Aleks Novakovich and freshman Andrew Carr will have to play some meaningful minutes. If Delaware can find some depth and avoid injuries, they will be a good team. If not, the big step forward they were hoping for will be difficult to come by.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 74.3 (94th in nation, 2nd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 70.7 (210, 7)
Field-Goal Percentage: 48.0 (11, 1)
Field-Goal Defense: 42.8 (170, 4)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.6 (141, 6)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.6 (61, 4)
Free-Throw Percentage: 75.8 (32, 5)
Rebound Margin: 0.5 (169, 6)
Assists Per Game: 13.1 (181, 5)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.9 (158, 8)
