By Ryan Honey
There’s a slight difference that separates this offseason from past offseasons for the UD Men’s Basketball program. It has to do with the scouting of new players through high school talent.
Beginning this offseason, the NCAA has changed around the recruiting calendar for college basketball. This will be the first recruiting period in which coaches will have to adjust their schedules a little differently than they’ve had in recent years.
Going into his fourth year as head coach for the Blue Hens, Martin Ingelsby is currently still adjusting to this new recruiting schedule. This, of course, is because he’s had to follow a different one for years.
“I think we’re still trying to figure [the recruiting calendar] out,” Ingelsby said. “They usually give us two weekends in April and three weekends in July to go out.”
Ingelsby hasn’t been able to grasp if the change has been a disadvantage or beneficial to him and his staff. At this point, it’s too early to really tell if this calendar works out better.
“Now they’ve added a recruiting period in June and scaled back July so I think I’ll have a better answer for you at the end of July,” Ingelsby stated. “For us, at our level, we really need to cast a wide net and try to see as many kids as we can.”
At this moment, the team knows they’re receiving three new players through the transfer market. Center Dylan Painter from Villanova University, forward Justyn Mutts from High Point University and guard Nate Darling from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Each player will have a unique role when they eventually join the Blue Hen squad.
“I think all three of those guys will be impact guys for us,” Ingelsby said. “They play different positions; Nate’s really a tall guard, Justyn can play on the wing and inside, and Dylan Painter’s a center. They’re great kids, they believe in what they’re trying to do.”
The coaching staff doesn’t seem like they’re going to waste any time either with getting their transfer players involved.
“I think you’ll see from the get-go that they’re going to have an immediate impact and be great leaders for us,” Ingelsby stated.
With the regular season not starting until around November of this year, the Blue Hens still have work to do before they’ll get the chance to prove themselves. However, Ingelsby is very confident about the group of guys he has moving forward.
When asked if he believes if their potential starters are ready to lead this team deeper into the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament and potentially into the NCAA Tournament, Ingelsby wasted no time in stating that that’s their main objective.
“That’s our goal, that’s what we talked about with our guys,” Ingelsby said. “We have great expectations heading into next year. We have good momentum with how we finished.”
The Blue Hens did finish last season strong. They won the opening round game of the CAA Tournament, defeating the William & Mary Tribe 85-79. Delaware eventually lost in the semifinals to the top-seeded Hofstra Pride 78-74 in overtime.
One of the more important things with this team, however, is to keep the chemistry and to stay off the injury cart. That’ll help the program make big strides in this upcoming 2019-2020 season.
“It’s a long season,” Ingelsby mentioned. “We gotta stay healthy, we gotta learn and continue to play together and create the chemistry. We’re really excited to get to work and be ready to go with this group.”
The Blue Hens are currently lifting as a team a few times each week, along with getting in the gym for workouts. They have a long way to go, but everything seems to be going in the right direction for this program.