10:24 a.m., Nov. 13, 2008----The University of Delaware will open the 2008-09 basketball season with a pair of games Sunday, Nov. 16, at the Bob Carpenter Center.

THIS STORY

E-mail

Print

Twitter

The UD women's team will face Columbia University of the Ivy League at noon and the men's team will take on Rutgers University of the Big East Conference at 4 p.m.

Columbia is led by second team All-Ivy guard Danielle Browne and forwards Chelsea Frazier and Lauren Dwyer.

Rutgers is led by senior guard Anthony Farmer and junior center Hamady Ndiaye, and had one of the highest-rated recruiting classes in the nation.

The Delaware men's team, led by Head Coach Monté Ross, took a step forward last year, going 14-17 overall and 9-9 in the highly competitive Colonial Athletic Association. The Hens, who had won just five games the year before, also scored a first round conference tournament victory over Drexel. They were picked to finish fifth this year in a CAA preseason poll.

Although the Blue Hens lose a key player in the graduation of forward Herb Courtney, they return senior guard Marc Egerson, who was named third team All-CAA as a junior. Egerson scored 13.4 points and had a team leading 6.9 rebounds per game.

UD is rich at the guard position this season. Also back are sophomore Alphonso Dawson, a CAA All-Rookie Team selection who scored 11 points per game, and junior point guard Brian Johnson, who averaged 9.5 points and 5.19 assists per game, the latter second in the CAA. This will be Johnson's third consecutive season running the point.

Joining them in the backcourt will be Jawan Carter, a sophomore transfer from St. Joseph's University. Carter sat out last season following his transfer but in 2006-07 was named to the Atlantic 10 Conference All-Rookie team after hitting 38 three-point shots.

Sophomore guards D.J. Boney and Edwin Santiago also return. Both averaged more than 4 points per game last season.

Senior Jim Ledsome returns at forward, and senior Pau Geli will add depth to the frontcourt. They will be joined by 6-foot, 7-inch freshman Kelvin McNeil of Newport News, Va., and the Massanutten Military Academy and 6-4 freshman Brian Kelly of Clark, N.J., and Lawrenceville Prep. Ledsome averaged 5.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.

Playing center will be 6-9 freshman Adam Pegg of Clearwater, Fla.

UD Head Coach Tina Martin will seek improvement over last year's Blue Hens women's team, which finished just 7-24 and was knocked out of the CAA championship tournament in the first round.

The Blue Hens lose energetic guard Kyle DeHaven, who was the team's leading scorer and the CAA defensive player of the year.

Sophomore Vanessa Kabongo is expected to start in the UD backcourt after averaging 6.6 points per game during her freshman season. She will be joined by junior Corinthia Benison, who also averaged 6.6 points.

Also back is sophomore guard Tesia Harris, who averaged 5.4 points. Harris, who steadily improved through her freshman season, sank a game-winning three-point shot in the Hens' 54-53 victory over Hofstra.

Sophomore Ariene Jenkins will lead the UD frontcourt after staring 20 games last season. She averaged 5.3 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Junior Farrah Ferguson and sophomore Eva Riddick also are expected to see increased roles in the frontcourt.

New to the team are freshmen guards Jocelyn Bailey of Kensington, Md., and The Bullis School, and Meghan McLean of Pittsburgh and Upper St. Clair High School, 6-2 forward Danielle Parker of Phoenix, Md., and Dulaney High School, and 6-3 center Jasmine Gibson of New Castle and the Sanford School.

For information on the basketball teams, or for tickets, go to the athletics Web site [www.bluehens.com].