City of Basketball Love

By Jared Leveson (@jared_leveson)
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(Ed. Note: This article is part of our 2022-23 preseason coverage, which will run for the six weeks preceding the first official games of the year on Nov. 9. To access all of our high school and college preview content for this season click here)

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Around this time last year, the University of Delaware and Drexel University men's basketball teams had high expectations. The Blue Hens and the Dragons got projected to finish in first and third place in the CAA's preseason 2021-2022 preseason rankings, respectively.

Drexel claimed the conference tournament fourth seed but got bounced by Delaware in the quarterfinals. The Blue Hens lived up to their preseason billing and won the CAA tournament as the number five seed.

Delaware (22-13, 10-8 CAA) and Drexel (15-14, 10-8) finished in the top half of the CAA last season. Delaware was tabbed for third place during the league's media day last Wednesday. Drexel placed seventh out of the now 13-team conference. 

Martin Ingelsby and Zach Spiker, Delaware and Drexel's skipper, respectively, are entering their seventh season at their programs. Both of them have led their teams to an NCAA tournament berth. Delaware made it last season, and Drexel danced during the 2020-2021 COVID season.

The former Archbishop Carroll standout, Ingelsby, guided Delaware to their first NCAA tournament appearance since 2014. Despite getting knocked out by second-seeded Villanova in the Round of 64, the Blue Hens celebrated their conference tournament run and March Madness appearance, but now they are back to work.

"Winning the championship last year has raised the bar for the whole program," Ingelsby said on a Zoom call for CAA’s Men’s Basketball Media Day. "It's easy getting there, it's harder staying there and that is something we have focused on."

The road for the Blue Hens' last season was far from easy. After getting picked to finish in first place, Delaware suffered vital injuries early on and had to reinvent itself. Departed seniors Kevin Anderson and Ryan Allen helped rally the team together and play as a cohesive, unselfish, and scrappy unit.

The task is not any easier this year with a championship-size target on their back. Redshirt-junior guard Jameer Nelson Jr. (13.6 ppg and 1.6 spg), who earned first-team all-CAA preseason honors, leads this Blue Hen squad. The 6-1 guard from the Haverford School, who started his career at George Washington, will play a prominent role this season, and Ingelsby is excited after watching Nelson's development in his program.

"I'm not sure there is a better athlete in our league," Ingelsby said about Nelson Jr. "I am really proud of his development as a floor general as a guy that makes his team better."

"He's got a heckuva work ethic, he's got a great attitude everyday, the young guys look up to him, he sets an unbelievable example of just handling your business on a daily basis."

Nelson Jr. has handled his increased responsibility well. Not only because of his skill development but also the coaching staff's confidence in him.

"The coaches have put more trust in me day by day," Nelson Jr. said.. "I felt like that's helped me a lot along the way and I've gotten more comfortable."

Nelson Jr. headlines an experienced and talented returning core of contributors. Redshirt Sophomore Jyare Davis (9.7 ppg and 4.2 rpg) earned CAA Rookie of the Year honors. He was the CAA tournament's most outstanding player. The 6-7 forward also got named to the All-CAA preseason second team. Senior Ebby Asamoah (7.0 ppg and 3.5 rpg) is a career 42% three-point shooter and will spread the floor. 

Instead of playing through their three stars, the Blue Hens know they'll need to depend on everyone and play together to defend their title and consistently contend for championships.

Other contributing returners include Gianmarco Arletti, Johnny McCoy, and Aleks Novakovich. Both Novalkovich and McCoy missed last season due to injuries.

Ingelsby also added some Philadelphia-area products. The freshman class features 6-8 Gabe Moss from the Hill School and Blue Ridge High School's 6-9 forward, Houston Emory, who is from Devon. 

In the transfer portal, Ingelsby got Nelson Jr.'s former Haverford teammate and La Salle Explorer, senior 6-6 Christian Ray.

This Delaware team returns a core that's been around the system and culture. Their fresh faces, like Ray, Moss, and Emory, will need to embrace the culture and believe in the program for Blue Hens to defend their title.

Their culture, the secret ingredient to their CAA championship run, can be put like this: play tough defense, and play together. During their run, they held each opponent under 60 points per game.

"We had to focus on toughness and defense," Ingelsby recalled. "We really battled and it was everybody. It wasn't just one or two guys in those three games, everyone who played contributed and made winning plays."

"We know we're gonna have a mark on our back for what we did last year," he continued. "It's raised the bar for how we do things, how we operate, and the student-athletes we keep in our program and attract to our program. They want to be a part of that championship culture that we've created.

One would think that Spiker would've had a diminished enthusiasm about his Drexel teams' middling position (7) on the CAA preseason rankings. But throughout the presser, Spiker dismissed the rankings and only expressed confidence in his squad for the upcoming season.

"The absolute one guarantee about a preseason poll is," he said. "That means the start of the season is a little bit closer."

The Dragons lost 70 percent of last season's points, rebounds and assist production, including star guard Camren Wynter (15.8 ppg, 4.6 apg), who transferred to Penn State. 

Drexel added eight new players — three transfers and five freshmen. Spiker and his staff combatted the significant loss of production and roster turnover by taking the Dragons on a summer trip to Italy.

"A lot of new pieces got to mix in with some older vets," Spiker said. "I thought that those four games in that trip in Italy were great from a basketball stand point, but even better from a team building and family cohesion stand point."

Under Spiker, defense and shooting have been the focal points of Drexel's program. This year is no different, and he expects fifth-year senior Coltrane Washington (6.5 PPG) will spearhead Drexel's team chemistry and defensive play style. 

The 6-4 guard missed Drexel's 2020-2021 NCAA tournament appearance because of injury and did not start until midway through last season. Spiker believes he is one of the best three-point shooters in the league, despite a down season last year where he hit 36% of his shots from behind the arc. 

However, Washington found his way into the starting lineup because he changed his mindset and embraced Spiker's defense-first philosophy. Washington became the Dragon's go-to defender and matched up with each opponent's best offensive player.

"I think that gritty, hard nosed, defensive mindset could really push us up the ranks in this league," Washington said. "If we make that a focal point, I think we could be really really good." 

"[He] has used his body to become an impactful defender on the wing last year and it gives him confidence," when asked about Washington's improvements on the defensive end. "[It] gives us the confidence to be a better defensive team, whether we have a shot blocker on the floor or not."

That imposing shot blocker is 6-10 forward Amari Williams. Questions swirled around the All-CAA preseason second-team honoree because he is Drexel's most productive returning player. 

During his freshman season, Williams sat behind Tim Perry and James Butler. That time on the bench helped Williams have a breakout 2021-2022 campaign. 

The Nottingham, England product averaged 9.5 points, 7.3 rebounds, and two blocks per game last season.

"I thought he came back with more energy to understand things and how we did things at Drexel," Spiker said. "Then this year I think he understands how we want to play and what we're trying to do." 

Spiker quickly dismissed any notion that Drexel's success was solely on Williams' shoulders. 

"We want Amari Williams to be the best version of Amari Willaims for this season," Spiker said. "So we're not gonna lean on any one player to shoulder that burden to make things up." 

The Dragons are focused on playing team basketball this season, emphasizing defense and three-point shooting. 

Mate Okros, who attended Myerscough College (ENG) with Williams, is fifth-all-time in three-point shooting percentage at Drexel. The 6-6 forward will cause opposing defenses headaches on the perimeter. 

Junior forward Lamar Oden Jr. saw an increase in minutes last season and is another lethal shooter in Spiker's offensive arsenal. Last season, Oden Jr. led the Dragons in three-point shooting at 44 percent. 

It's the returning players' responsibility to help the Dragons become a cohesive group, and their head coach is proud of the work they have put in thus far. 

"So that's a group that's set the tone and the example of what we need to be like everyday in practice right now," Spiker said. "And that's not an Amari Williams thing, it's a Drexel returning player thing. I'm very proud of how our guys have handled themselves in our early practices." 

Drexel's new additions came via the transfer portal and recruiting. Yame Butler transferred from State Fair Community College in Missouri, averaging 10.4 ppg and 4.1 rpg. The 6-5 sophomore shot 35 percent from behind the arc last year. 

Three out of the five incoming freshmen are locally grown. Kobe Magee is a 6-6 guard from Executive Education Academy. Archbishop Wood and Methacton High School sent 6-3 guard Justin Moore and 6-8 forward Cole Hargrove, respectively. Moore should be on the floor a lot this season.

Spiker and the team have relied on their offseason preparation to mold this group of returners and rookies into a cohesive squad. They will continue to rally around the progress made this offseason when the CAA schedules begin.  

"Having the chance to prepare and travel to Italy," Spiker said. "Our goal was to be conditioned and connected. We took that in a lot of different ways, physically conditioned, but also as a group connected to handle and deal with different scenarios and adversity."

2022-23 CAA Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll

1. Towson (12 first-place votes, 144)
2. Hofstra (122)
3. Delaware (121)
4. College of Charleston (1, 119)
5. UNC-Wilmington (101)
6. Northeastern (84)
7. Drexel (82)
8. William & Mary (52)
9. Stony Brook (50)
10. Monmouth (49)
11. North Carolina A&T (35)
12. Elon (30)
13. Hampton (25) 

2022-23 All-CAA Preseason Player of the Year
Aaron Estrada, R-Sr., G, Hofstra

 2022-23 All-CAA Preseason First Team
Aaron Estrada, R-Sr., G, Hofstra
Cam Holden, R-Sr., G, Towson
Jameer Nelson Jr., G, R-Jr., Delaware
Charles Thompson, Sr., F, Towson
Nicolas Timberlake, Gr., G, Towson

2022-23 All-CAA Preseason Second Team
Jyáre Davis, R-So., F, Delaware
Shykeim Phillips, Sr., G, UNC-Wilmington
Reyne Smith, So., G, College of Charleston
Jahmyl Telfort, Jr., G, Northeastern
Amari Williams, Jr., F, Drexel

2022-23 All-CAA Preseason Honorable Mention
Ben Burnham, So., F, Charleston
Aaron Clarke, Gr., G, Stony Brook
Deuce Dean, Sr., G, Hampton
Chris Doherty, R-Sr., F, Northeastern
Darlinstone Dubar, So., G, Hofstra
Marcus Watson, R-Jr., F, North Carolina A&T
Ben Wight, Jr., F, William & Mary