BOSTON – The 2010-11 season has seen Delaware take some good steps forward. Despite injuries and a couple of key players not being the mainstays one thought they might be, the Blue Hens will enter the final week of CAA play with a 7-9 mark and an outside chance to finish tied for fifth in the conference.
An area that has been key for the Blue Hens has been pulling out close games. Delaware won another one on Tuesday night, a game that was tied with just over three minutes left before they went on a 10-2 run en route to a 72-66 win. They scored on every possession in the final three minutes. The Blue Hens are 7-1 in games decided by five points or less, and have been in several games like Tuesday’s that had slightly bigger margins but were close very late. As they continue to pull these games out, they get a confidence boost, and it mainly comes from treating the last few minutes like any other.
“We try to keep things simple, and we hope by doing that, we’ll put them in position where they’re making plays they’re comfortable making,” said head coach Monte Ross. “My thing with turnovers is that unless you’re throwing the ball out of bounds aimlessly, you’re trying to do something that you’re not capable of doing. So we tell the guys to just be calm, execute, and do things that you’re capable of doing. That way, we’ll be all right.”
Because the Blue Hens are limited offensively, the close games have now become part of their identity and how they can win.
“We’ve taken some close losses, but we’ve won a lot of close games,” said senior Jawan Carter, who led the Blue Hens on Tuesday with a game-high 22 points. “I’m sure a majority of our wins have been close games, and that’s the type of team we are. We’re not a team that’s going to beat maybe anybody by 20. If we play halfcourt defense and grind it out, in the last four minutes of the game we’re going to be right there.”
Delaware is last in the CAA in scoring and field goal percentage. They’ve had growing pains at the point guard spot, which wasn’t expected, and injuries and a suspension haven’t helped. In fact, they didn’t get a single point from a reserve on Tuesday night, evidence of how they are down in numbers, basically playing six and sometimes seven players. But they shot the ball well from the field and went 26-30 from the foul line, especially late to seal the game.
“I thought offensively we were pretty sharp,” Ross said. “When we shoot 45 percent, 40 percent from three, that’s monumental for us. I thought our foul shooting was good. You’ve got to be able to make foul shots on the road, and when you can do that, that bodes well for you.”
One reason to think Delaware was primed for a big leap this season was the return of Brian Johnson, although that was going to be delayed. The senior point guard had improved to the point where he was one of the top point guards in the CAA, but a torn ACL kept him out of last season. Then in preseason practice, he suffered a torn meniscus and had to miss the first three games of the regular season. When he returned, his streak of 94 consecutive starts – every game in his first three seasons – came to an end. He hasn’t started since, but is giving them the leadership they expected, including working with freshman Devon Saddler as he is a natural shooting guard playing more like a point guard now.
In addition, they are playing without Alphonso Dawson, who was suspended indefinitely in late January for a violation of team rules. It’s the second time the senior guard, who showed good potential early in his career and has not come very close to fulfilling it, has been suspended in as many seasons. One figured he would benefit greatly from the return of Johnson and the arrival of an impact player like Saddler, but that didn’t happen before the suspension. He was only shooting 33 percent from the field, including 31 percent from long range.
Despite not having the two projected stalwarts, Delaware has improved this season and isn’t far away from having a few more wins. Besides Johnson missing time early due to injury, Hakim McCullar also missed time earlier in the season, Josh Brinkley is out for the season and Malcolm Hawkins has been out since early January. They had to improve defensively, and while they aren’t shutting teams down they have improved enough to win games.
“Our defense is better than our offense,” said Saddler. “We really have adjusted to all the injuries.”
The growing pains in the backcourt are largely the result of Saddler getting a lot of minutes as a point guard. A candidate for the CAA’s Rookie of the Year, Saddler has made an instant impact with his competitiveness. He’s won the conference Rookie of the Week award three times, including the last two weeks. Although he’s not a shooter, his numbers there have improved of late as well. Most of all, he’s putting in the work.
“Devon is just a basketball player, and he wants to be out there on the court,” said Ross. “He doesn’t care where you put him. He’s a gamer. He’s the type of guy who, when you put him on the court, he’s going to make good things happen, and that’s what he’s done all year for us.”
This team isn’t far from turning a corner. While Johnson and Carter will be gone next year, as well as Dawson and role player D.J. Boney, the holdovers all figure to get better, and there is enough coming back to think this team will be on the upswing. Hagins has unmistakeably made a leap forward, and Brinkley was playing well before he suffered a season-ending stress fracture. Classmate Kelvin McNeil had 11 points and 15 rebounds against Northeastern and can be an X-factor in the frontcourt.
The Blue Hens don’t have the wins and losses to suggest to the casual fan that they’re on the upswing. Watch this team play and see how they are battling and pulling out a few wins without the team they thought they would have, and you can see it. Winning the conference tournament coming up would be a surprise, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if they win a game along the way and are a tough out if they go down. Even before then, they will have taken steps forward this season that they can build on.
