City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Delaware got by Fairleigh Dickinson on Tuesday night by the slimmest of margins, a win that won’t make for much celebrating in Newark but one that still moves the Blue Hens’ record above the .500 mark.

Here are some leftover notes and quotes from the game:

Jeffers indicative of Blue Hens’ progress
Redshirt junior forward Maurice ‘Mo’ Jeffers is in his second year as a full-time starter for Delaware, and while he was a serviceable big man a year ago, head coach Monté Ross expects him to be a force down low sooner rather than later for the Blue Hens.

After averaging 6.8 ppg and 4.8 rpg a year ago, Jeffers was averaging 6.0 ppg and 4.0 rpg through Delaware’s first two games before going for 11 points and nine rebounds of in the FDU win.

Just like the rest of his team, his effort was good--but his coach wasn’t jumping for joy afterwards at the result. While Jeffers went 4-for-6 from the floor, he was just 3-of-8 from the foul stripe, after making his first four free throws this season.

“This is the coach in me, he should have had 16,” Ross said. “I have such high expectations for Mo...Mo can be tremendous. You see 4-for-6, that’s what he can do. He has to understand that those eight free throws are really four additional shots at the basket. But he has to convert at the free-throw line.”

Paired up front with 6-foot-7, 230-pound power forward Marvin King-Davis, the 6-9, 245-pound Jeffers could help form one of the more imposing frontcourts in the Colonial Athletic Association if he keeps improving.

“He can be a monster, and he will be,” Ross said. “I’m probably a little oversensitive right now because what I just saw out there, and it scared the bejeebers out of me. He’s going to be fine, he’s going to be a really good player for us.”

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Another Blue Hen goes down
On a night where Delaware welcomed Cazmon Hayes and Maurice Jeffers back to the starting lineup after both missed the Iona loss due to minor injuries, the Blue Hens watched another teammate go off with an injury.

Just three minutes after he entered the game early in the first half, junior wing Devonne Pinkard limped off the court, and would not return. Pinkard’s right foot was in a boot after the game, and he’ll stay in that for the time being while the doctors figure out exactly what is wrong.

“He’s going to get an x-ray tomorrow; they said they think it’s a fracture or a sprain, they’re leaning towards a sprain but they won’t know until the x-ray,” Ross said, adding the injury was “right near” Pinkard’s toes. “Hopefully it’s not an extended injury, hopefully the x-ray comes back negative, which is a positive...he said he came down on somebody’s foot, that’s how it happened. Hopefully he’s okay.”

Pinkard, a 6-6 Lancaster native, averaged 12.5 ppg and 5.0 rpg as the team’s sixth man through its first two games of the season. With him out, sophomore point guard Anthony Mosley will be relied upon heavily for reserve minutes, while both Hayes and Kory Holden will need to play as close to 40 minutes as possible every game.

Where Pinkard's absence could really hurt is on the defensive end, with his length and versatility enabling him to guard all three perimeter spots and some forwards as well.

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Holden shines in win
Speaking of Holden, the sophomore point guard had by far his best game of the young season, dropping 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting against FDU. The CAA All-Rookie selection a year ago averaged 9.5 ppg in the first two games of the year, making just 33.3 percent (7-fo-21) from the floor as he faced numerous double-teams at both Delaware State and Iona.

If the Blue Hens are going to make a serious run at the CAA title at any point over the next three years, they'll need strong play from the 6-2, 180-pound guard, who averaged 12.4 ppg and 5.0 apg in his first season of collegiate basketball. Though he's certainly a point guard, averaging more than six assists per game this year, Holden can be an assertive scorer who's an above-average 3-point shooter and can get to the hoop as well.

"I think he was feeling a little sorry for himself, which I didn’t appreciate," Ross said. "He bounced back in a strong way tonight. The way he played tonight was the way that he’s been practicing. His performances in the two prior games were not indicative to the way he’s practiced. I was happy to see him bounce back tonight.”