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LOCATION: Newark, DE
CONFERENCE: America East
LAST SEASON: 25-6 (.806)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 15-3 (t-1st)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 2/3
NICKNAME: Fightin' Blue Hens
COLORS: Royal Blue & Gold
HOMECOURT: Bob Carpenter Center (5,000)
COACH: Mike Brey (George Washington '82)
record at school Sean Kearney (Scranton '81)
career record Kenny Blakeney (Duke '95)
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ASSISTANTS: G.R. Myers (Delaware '97)
RECORD AT SCHOOL 75-44 (4 years
CAREER RECORD 75-44 (4 years)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 12-15-15-20-25
RPI (last 5 years) 175-163-154-95-61
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in NCAA first round.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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It's the mid-major way of life. Lead your team to a couple of championships and maybe an NCAA Tournament appearance or two, and subsequently find your name attached to more rumors than Fleetwood Mac. After leading Delaware to consecutive America East titles, Mike Brey's name came up again and again in connection with coaching vacancies everywhere. When the dust settled, Brey was still in Newark and happy to be there. "It's flattering to hear your name thrown around like that, but I wasn't involved in a quarter of the jobs that people said I was," Brey said, laughing. "Delaware is one of those mid-major jobs where you can coach a long time. "I was on that track for eight years (as a Duke assistant) and I'm not necessarily dying to go back. This is more what college basketball should be. Here I have my guys for four years and I like that." Brey also likes that a few of those four-year guys now make up what is probably his best team. The equation begins with reigning America East Player of the Year Mike Pegues (21.8 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 85 assists, 32 steals, 16 blocked shots). Quiet and consistent, perhaps no one in the conference has gotten more from his ability over the last few years than Pegues. Just 6-5, yet a sleek 240 pounds, Pegues, a senior, has dominated offensive post play for two seasons.
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT B+ BENCH/DEPTH B+
FRONTCOURT B+ INTANGIBLES A
Now that they've won a couple of league championships, the Blue Hens are talking about bigger things. Delaware was close against Tennessee (62-52) and is eager to take that next step. "They won't just be happy to be there if they get back," coach Mike Brey said about his players. "They've seen the Valpos and the Gonzagas and want that to be them. They feel they have to win a game in the tournament to maximize their group's run at Delaware." With Mike Pegues, John Gordon, and Darryl Presley now seniors, this will be the year to do it. There also isn't much room for error. The Blue Hens have not exactly dominated the regular season in America East, needing a tiebreaker each year for the tournament's top seeding. One slip and Delaware might not get another crack at the NCAAs. "Not that I don't want our guys dreaming about one of those runs because those are magical, but we first have to take care of business in our league and that will be a dogfight again," Brey said. Having last year's starting point guard, Tyrone Perry, around as an assistant coach should help keep the Hens focused. Perry was the consummate team player, who led by an example of selflessness. It will also help that, as Brey said, "this team is older than the Sixers." Gordon and Presley are fifth-year seniors, Wells is 23 years old, and Marciulionis is 24. These players have been around long enough to realize what's at stake. Gone are the days of the America East champion finishing with just a loss or two. Win it or not, the Hens are going to lose some games. As good as Delaware is, there are a few teams in the conference that are right there with them. The Blue Hens advantage is that they've done it before. The final four of the America East Tournament could be a war. With its seasoned veterans and homecourt advantage through at least the semifinals, Delaware may just be the team who, once again, is best equipped for the fight. |
At one point Pegues was an overweight freshman. Now, he is the most efficient power forward in the conference since Drexel's Malik Rose. "Pegues is the hardest matchup for everyone because he's a post player who moves with the ball, and he knows how to play," Boston University coach Dennis Wolff said. Pegues has missed double figures in scoring just five times over the last two years and last year topped 30 points six times. To prove that he was more than just another good mid-major player, Pegues dropped 23 points and 10 rebounds on Tennessee in the Blue Hens' first round NCAA Tournament loss. Pegues does it with a game that he rarely takes outside of 15 feet. He also does it with little fanfare. "His improvement curve has just been amazing," Brey said. "And what's really helped him is that his physical conditioning has gotten better every year, so I think he can be improved this year." Brey would like to see that improvement on the glass, where Delaware has to replace John Bennett's league-best 8.4 rebounds per game. Turnovers were a problem for Pegues as well. The Hens run their offense through Pegues and he handles the ball more than most big men, but he also coughed it up 119 times. That's more than any point guard in America East. That number is also surprising because Pegues is hardly doing it himself. He has plenty of help. Yes, his points per game average went up five because of his workman-like effort, but also because he had more room. John Gordon (15.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 113 assists, 57 steals), a homegrown 5-10 senior sharpshooter who set a school record with 86 three-pointers, created that extra space. If Pegues wasn't getting shots from spin moves and drop steps, then Gordon was firing away with seemingly unlimited range. Only three times did someone other than Pegues or Gordon lead Delaware in scoring. Gordon didn't miss a beat after sitting out a year after his transfer from Maine. He was a first-team all-conference choice as a Black Bear sophomore and earned the same honor last season as a Blue Hen. What set Gordon apart and ultimately separated Delaware from a tight conference race was an unbelievable February for both. The Blue Hens went 8-0 for the month where nobody even came within 12 points of them, while Gordon played the best basketball of his life. Gordon was 35 of 54 (.648) from three-point range during that stretch and averaged 22.9 points. "I think he might be the best shooter in college basketball, but in America East the profile just isn't as high," Brey said "As far as clutch shots, big shots, game-breaking shots, I don't know of a guy who does it better." As he did at Maine, Gordon also played the point, giving the now-departed Tyrone Perry (8.6 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.0 apg) a breather and getting another shooter on the floor. That shooter is Kestutis Marciulionis, a 6-2 senior who was arguably the best sixth-man in the league. He made 11 starts and finished the season taking over for Greg Miller, but Marciulionis remains a great out pitch for Brey on the rare occasion when Gordon's shot isn't dropping. In fact, Delaware probably would have beaten Tennessee had Gordon (seven points, one of five from three-point range) and Marciulionis (six points, two of eight from the field) not picked that afternoon to be the only one all year when both struggled. Marciulionis (12.0 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 58 assists, 36 steals, .394 three-point percentage) can score, but can also be streaky. He is a legitimate fourth weapon with collegiate and international experience, something that is rare in America East. It's the third weapon that could make this edition of the Blue Hens the best in Brey's five years. Darryl Presley is an old new player. By the end of the 1997-98 season, the 6-6 senior had emerged as Delaware's best player after winning MVP honors in the conference tournament. Expectations were high for the Virginia transfer, but he was felled by academic problems and subsequently tossed out of school just before the 1998-99 season began. Presley spent the spring working on the Delaware toll bridge and he took three classes at a local community college to regain his eligibility. "Darryl needed to have his life flash before his eyes before he really got the message," Brey said. "He could have easily bagged it, but he did everything he had to do. He's probably a little more mature and now understands the big picture a little bit better. I feel good about Darryl." If Presley, who also had off-the-court problems while at Virginia, is beyond his inconsistent past, Delaware may have the most explosive player in America East. He averaged 12.9 points and a team-high 7.7 rebounds as a sophomore. If Presley can reinvent his sometimes dominating presence on the boards, then Brey needn't worry as much about the loss of Bennett. The final piece to the puzzle is yet another transfer. Billy Wells comes to Delaware after two undistinguished years at Tulane. Wells, a 6-2 junior, takes over at the point for Perry with the expectation that he only give the same hard-nosed effort at both ends of the floor. He is very quick and strong with the ball (just 22 turnovers in 396 minutes as a freshman), but Wells' scoring (3.2 ppg) and assist (1.6 apg) numbers over his two years with the Green Wave were far from overwhelming. The scoring was there when Wells averaged 33 points playing for the Marine Military Academy in the year between his career as a high school All-American at Dunbar HS in Baltimore and his stint with Tulane. However, his job with the Blue Hens will be to mesh with Gordon and run the offense so Pegues gets his opportunities. "Wells has proven himself to the group that he can do it and that's what's really important here," Brey said. Miller (6.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 43 assists, 27 three-pointers), a 6-4 junior, lost his starting job to Marciulionis in February and will probably be coming off the bench this season. Three-point shooting (.321 percent) is also the strength of the 6-4 Miller, who only reached double figures four times after the first two games of the season. The Senegal connection of 6-5 junior Madou Diouf and 7-1 senior Ndongo Ndiaye are Brey's other options off the bench. Neither is asked to score much, but both can be factors on defense and on the boards. Most of Diouf's 4.5 points per game come as a direct result of his 4.9 rebounds. He is rangy and athletic and his game remains just raw enough to make him tough to play against. Ndiaye (2.6 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 11 blocked shots) played in 20 games after sitting out the first semester after his transfer from Providence. Still a question mark, Ndiaye has been slow to learn the system and made very little impact, even defensively. Delaware needs his size, especially in March. Brey has just two freshmen on the roster and both will probably spend the year watching and learning. Austen Rowland (St. Vincent Palloti HS/Laurel, Md.), 5-11, is a point guard with a reputation as a good shooter, hitting 46 percent of his three-point shots during his senior year. Six-foot-six forward Dave Hindenlang (Westmont Hilltop HS/Johnstown, Pa.) averaged 17 points and 14 rebounds and also posted 41 career shutouts as a goalie on the Westmont soccer team. Brey may redshirt one or both, but Rowland impressed Gordon and Pegues in summer workouts and may convince Brey to keep him active. Six-foot-11 junior Dave Arnold (seven points, 13 games) will continue to sit.
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