BOSTON – Monte Ross has talked about his team battling all season long. He’s been consistent with that theme, and while not one for moral victories, effort has been something he has stressed and not had to complain about this season.
That may be the silver lining in what has been a tough season for Delaware. It didn’t look good when senior point guard Brian Johnson went down with a torn ACL in the summer, but thus far they haven’t been an easy out despite an unenviable record. The Blue Hens suffered another tough loss in CAA play on Wednesday night, losing 59-55 at Northeastern after rallying to tie the game late. They trailed for almost the entire game, but were never really out of it and still had a chance at the end.
“I thought we really battled and laid it out on the line, and that’s something that we ask our guys to do every single night,” Ross said.
With the loss, the Blue Hens are now 1-5 in CAA play, with three of those losses being by six points or less. They lost to William & Mary, the conference darling with its non-conference wins, by one in overtime and in an agonizing fashion as they blew a seven-point lead in the final 32 seconds of overtime. They could easily be 4-2 or at least 3-3 at this point.
While it’s little consolation, the Blue Hens haven’t exactly played the bottom-feeders of the CAA thus far. They have played preseason favorites Old Dominion, Northeastern and VCU on the road thus far, in addition to William & Mary. The Tribe is the only team they have played thus far that was picked anywhere near the bottom of the conference in the preseason poll, and they haven’t exactly lived up to that projection. So it’s not like we’re looking at a team that’s a long way from being a good team.
Jawan Carter has taken over the point guard spot and had to play a balancing act. The difficult part is that he’s probably their most talented scorer, but he needs to run the team and make others better. While Alphonso Dawson has the talent to be the team’s best scorer, he hasn’t been a consistent enough player and he disappeared in the second half on Wednesday after keeping them in it in the first half. Thus Carter has a lot on his plate, but has improved with it as the season has moved along.
“I think he’s doing a really nice job,” Ross said of Carter. “The key part about it is Jawan knows we need him to score in order for us to win, and he also knows that we need him to distribute the ball in order for us to win, too. It took him a little while to grow into the role, but he’s comfortable in it now and just continues to get better and better at it.”
Carter is second in the CAA in both scoring and assists, which makes him one of just five players in Division I who are in the top two in their conference in both scoring and assists. Over the last four games, he is averaging 21.5 points and 5.5 assists, both above his season averages. Wednesday night was just the fourth time this season he had more turnovers (four) than assists (two) and the first time in over three weeks.
Ross has been high on his young frontcourt all season, and they have certainly developed. Not all of them had big nights against Northeastern, but the improvement over the course of the season has been noteworthy. Redshirt freshman Kelvin McNeil had at least nine rebounds in six of 11 games prior to Wednesday night and ranks in the top ten in the CAA in rebounding. True freshmen Jamelle Hagins and Josh Brinkley have also improved noticeably.
Sophomore Adam Pegg was on a hot seat of sorts, as he needed to improve in order to continue getting minutes while the younger players came along. He has done just that after a non-descript freshman year (albeit playing behind veterans up front), with his numbers being up in CAA play. Add him in, and you can see why Ross doesn’t have to worry as much about the inside game.
“I’m very excited about our frontcourt,” Ross said. “We have some young guys who are pretty talented and have the ability to score the ball and have the ability to rebound the ball. I think the future is bright when you talk about that.”
The tough losses are always difficult, especially with a young team. The active roster has no seniors and four freshmen play significant minutes, along with a pair of sophomores. At some point, it would seem that the losses can add up, but Ross hasn’t seen that at all.
“These kids are much more resilient than people give them credit for,” Ross reflected. “All we ask for is every night, an opportunity to lay it all out on the line. One thing about these guys that we have in our locker room is that there is no quit in them. They fight every single day, and they’ll be right back in practice tomorrow ready to play.”
Thus far, the Blue Hens have done that all season. They have done what Ross has wanted from them, and there has been growth. While there isn’t much to show for it on the bottom line, there hasn’t been a drop in effort. They continue to battle, and Ross continues to talk about that as the team’s identity.
BOSTON – Monte Ross has talked about his team battling all season long. He’s been consistent with that theme, and while not one for moral victories, effort has been something he has stressed and not had to complain about this season.
That may be the silver lining in what has been a tough season for Delaware. It didn’t look good when senior point guard Brian Johnson went down with a torn ACL in the summer, but thus far they haven’t been an easy out despite an unenviable record. The Blue Hens suffered another tough loss in CAA play on Wednesday night, losing 59-55 at Northeastern after rallying to tie the game late. They trailed for almost the entire game, but were never really out of it and still had a chance at the end.
“I thought we really battled and laid it out on the line, and that’s something that we ask our guys to do every single night,” Ross said.
With the loss, the Blue Hens are now 1-5 in CAA play, with three of those losses being by six points or less. They lost to William & Mary, the conference darling with its non-conference wins, by one in overtime and in an agonizing fashion as they blew a seven-point lead in the final 32 seconds of overtime. They could easily be 4-2 or at least 3-3 at this point.
While it’s little consolation, the Blue Hens haven’t exactly played the bottom-feeders of the CAA thus far. They have played preseason favorites Old Dominion, Northeastern and VCU on the road thus far, in addition to William & Mary. The Tribe is the only team they have played thus far that was picked anywhere near the bottom of the conference in the preseason poll, and they haven’t exactly lived up to that projection. So it’s not like we’re looking at a team that’s a long way from being a good team.
Jawan Carter has taken over the point guard spot and had to play a balancing act. The difficult part is that he’s probably their most talented scorer, but he needs to run the team and make others better. While Alphonso Dawson has the talent to be the team’s best scorer, he hasn’t been a consistent enough player and he disappeared in the second half on Wednesday after keeping them in it in the first half. Thus Carter has a lot on his plate, but has improved with it as the season has moved along.
“I think he’s doing a really nice job,” Ross said of Carter. “The key part about it is Jawan knows we need him to score in order for us to win, and he also knows that we need him to distribute the ball in order for us to win, too. It took him a little while to grow into the role, but he’s comfortable in it now and just continues to get better and better at it.”
Carter is second in the CAA in both scoring and assists, which makes him one of just five players in Division I who are in the top two in their conference in both scoring and assists. Over the last four games, he is averaging 21.5 points and 5.5 assists, both above his season averages. Wednesday night was just the fourth time this season he had more turnovers (four) than assists (two) and the first time in over three weeks.
Ross has been high on his young frontcourt all season, and they have certainly developed. Not all of them had big nights against Northeastern, but the improvement over the course of the season has been noteworthy. Redshirt freshman Kelvin McNeil had at least nine rebounds in six of 11 games prior to Wednesday night and ranks in the top ten in the CAA in rebounding. True freshmen Jamelle Hagins and Josh Brinkley have also improved noticeably.
Sophomore Adam Pegg was on a hot seat of sorts, as he needed to improve in order to continue getting minutes while the younger players came along. He has done just that after a non-descript freshman year (albeit playing behind veterans up front), with his numbers being up in CAA play. Add him in, and you can see why Ross doesn’t have to worry as much about the inside game.
“I’m very excited about our frontcourt,” Ross said. “We have some young guys who are pretty talented and have the ability to score the ball and have the ability to rebound the ball. I think the future is bright when you talk about that.”
The tough losses are always difficult, especially with a young team. The active roster has no seniors and four freshmen play significant minutes, along with a pair of sophomores. At some point, it would seem that the losses can add up, but Ross hasn’t seen that at all.
“These kids are much more resilient than people give them credit for,” Ross reflected. “All we ask for is every night, an opportunity to lay it all out on the line. One thing about these guys that we have in our locker room is that there is no quit in them. They fight every single day, and they’ll be right back in practice tomorrow ready to play.”
Thus far, the Blue Hens have done that all season. They have done what Ross has wanted from them, and there has been growth. While there isn’t much to show for it on the bottom line, there hasn’t been a drop in effort. They continue to battle, and Ross continues to talk about that as the team’s identity.
