Blue Hen basketball is playing a role in developing the sport in such far-flung places as Senegal and Ireland.

In September, a delegation from the University that included Monté Ross, the new men’s basketball head coach, visited Dakar, Senegal, to conduct youth basketball clinics and a coaching seminar as part of a U.S. Department of State-funded International Basketball Initiative.

The UD delegation also included assistant coach Stephen Stewart and Matthew J. Robinson, associate professor of sport management. They worked in conjunction with Basketball Without Borders Africa, a community relations outreach program of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and also with the Senegalese Basketball Federation and the nonprofit organization Sports for Education and Economic Development in Senegal.

Ross and Stewart led more than 150 boys and girls through drills designed to improve basketball skills and spoke to them about the importance of education and making responsible life decisions. The coaches also teamed up with players, coaches and scouts from the NBA to hold a clinic for youngsters.

“Coaches Ross and Stewart were incredible,” Robinson says. “They gave everything they had during the trip, and the young people of Senegal benefited greatly from the experience.”

The International Basketball Initiative at UD currently is funding two graduate students, Cheikh Sarr and Papa Tine. They are matriculating in the University’s educational leadership program with an emphasis in sport management and will be assisting with the Fightin’ Blue Hens men’s and women’s basketball programs.

In another initiative, three UD sport management students and Blue Hen lacrosse team members spent the summer in Dublin to help develop youth programs for Ireland’s national basketball federation.

Seniors Megan Hager, Emmy Schaaf and Lauren Carrigan worked with Basketball Ireland and the private firm XYNX, which started “Street Ball Ireland,” to plan and carry out a basketball tournament in August to promote cross-cultural relationships.