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LOCATION: Dover, DE
CONFERENCE: Mid-Eastern Athletic (MEAC)
LAST SEASON: 8-19 (.296)
CONFERENCE RECORD: 5-13 (8th)
STARTERS LOST/RETURNING: 2/3
NICKNAME: Hornets
COLORS: Columbia Blue & Red
HOMECOURT: Memorial Hall (3,000)
COACH: Tony Sheals (Bethune-Cookman '80)
record at school First year
career record First year
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ASSISTANTS: Randy Lee (South Carolina '95)
TEAM WINS: (last 5 years) 7-11-7-9-8
RPI (last 5 years) 298-280-293-281-302
1998-99 FINISH: Lost in conference quarterfinals.
ESPN.com Clubhouse
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Believe it or not, there's a new coach at Delaware State. Yes, for the fourth time in the last five years, the Hornets are starting a new era. Jimmy DuBose, the head coach for two seasons, was fired after last year's 8-19 record. The new man is Tony Sheals, who knows a little bit about the MEAC. He was the head coach at Bethune-Cookman for four seasons before leaving just two years ago to take an assistant's job at Towson University in Baltimore. Sheals did a decent job when he was at Bethune-Cookman, and the Wildcats were among the upper half of the MEAC when he was there. They didn't win a championship, but they were competitive. Sheals will have his hands full at Delaware State for a number of reasons: ú He's the fourth head coach in five years. ú Delaware State is haunted by instate neighbor Delaware, which has won the America East chamionship the last two years and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
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Blue Ribbon Analysis |
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BACKCOURT C- BENCH/DEPTH C
FRONTCOURT C+ INTANGIBLES C
Deleware State hopes Tony Sheals can bring some continuity to this program. Having four coaches in five years is no way to run a college basketball program, and Sheals has got a pretty tough task in front of him. But he knows what he's getting in to. He rebuilt Bethune-Cookman's program and knows the MEAC and knows what it will take to win in the league. His recruiting year was very impressive, considering how late he got started. Sheals has a lot of connections in his home state of Florida, evident because four of his five signees are from there. Recruiting a player the caliber of Andre Matthews was a real coup. The Hornets look like they're in for another rebuilding year. There are some good frontcourt players back and coming in, but the guard play looks a little shaky. It looks like another eight- or nine-victory season, but better days are ahead if Sheals will stay a few years. |
ú The program has been a revolving door of players the last two years under DuBose. Obviously, there were problems with chemistry. ú Delaware State doesn't have a lot of tradition, and hasn't had a winning season since 1990-91. Other than all that, Sheals is walking into a great situation. But all of the above didn't discourage Sheals from walking into another rebuilding MEAC situation. And to his credit, he's hit the ground running. Despite not being hired until early April, Sheals and his staff managed to have a good recruiting year, including the signing of local product Andre Matthews. The 6-5 forward was an all-state player from Seaford High School in Seaford, Del. Four other players signed with the Hornets as Sheals and his staff worked the junior colleges hard. It appears they brought in some pretty good players. Delaware State returns eight players from last year, including its leading scorer, 6-1 senior guard Stefan Malliet (16.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 97 assists, 61 three-pointers). Sheals said one of the first things he and his staff did was recruit the returning players. "We met with every returning player to reassure them," Sheals said. "It hasn't been easy for them. For one player I'm the fourth coach in five years, and I'm sure he's heard it all before. The thing I wanted to emphasize to them was that we know there's some talent here and the new players we're bringing in aren't here to replace them. They're here to enhance the program." Sheals believes a better commitment from the Delaware State administration will help the program. "We're getting a new wooden floor this year, and that's a big help," he said. "They're working on the lights in the gym to make it brighter. They're updating our locker room to make it look first class. There's a real commitment to make this program first class, and that's one of the reasons I decided to come here and coach." With neighbor Delaware doing so well, does that put extra pressure on Delaware State? Sheals believes that Delaware's success will actually help DSU over time. Sheals was on Towson's coaching staff for two years and got a chance to see the Blue Hens up close as both schools are members of America East. "What Mike Brey has done at Delaware is very impressive and trust me, it helps us," Sheals said "We're a small state and anything that gives the state recognition is good for all of us. It also shows people that if Delaware can do it, so can we." Sheals will have his work cut out for him this year. The Hornets did not have one player earn any kind of all-conference recognition last season. But they have a good player to change that in Malliet. He was the team's second-leading scorer last year and ranked among the MEAC's top 10 in scoring, assists, three-point field goals and three-point shooting percentage. Malliet came to DSU after earning junior college All-America honors at Farmingdale (N.Y.) Community College. "Stefan will be a key player for us this year, because he's our leading returning scorer," Sheals said. "He's a senior who can do a lot of good things. He was a JUCO All-America, so that shows you he's a player." Malliet will play the point this year and should be joined in the backcourt by 6-2 sophomore guard Marty Bailey (5.9 ppg, 1.0 rpg, 27 three-pointers). Bailey was the Hornets' top freshman last year as he knocked down .460 percent of his three-pointers. Demond Wilkerson (7.2 ppg, 3.7 rpg), a 6-4 senior guard, has been limited to 25 games the last two years. A former walk-on, he missed 12 games because of a hip injury in '97-98, and the final 17 games in '98-99 because of a fractured wrist. Wilkerson had started the first 10 games of the season and was off to a good start before getting hurt. Also back is 5-10 junior guard Jared Rice (1.1 ppg, 0.9 rpg). Rice started in three games last season, but for the most part was a backup player for the Hornets. Sheals believes his first recruiting effort was a good one. The backcourt could benefit with the signing of 6-2 freshman guard Christopher Collier of Northwest Christian High School in Miami, Fla. Sheals believes the sharp-shooting Collier will be a big asset, as early as this season. "Christopher is a shooter who has a very nice touch from the outside," Sheals said. "He was the 1-A Player of the Year in Dade County and that tells you something about the kind of player he is. You know he sees some good competition in Miami. He's a pure shooter and with the way the game is played today, you have to have a pure shooter. We think we have a good one in Christopher Collier." Redshirt freshman Aaron Chambliss is a 5-8 point guard who was awarded an academic scholarship to attend DSU. He enjoyed a pretty good career at Hampton (Va.) High School, and was a teammate of two-sport North Carolina standout Ronald Curry. Chambliss will add depth in the backcourt and back up Malliet. Sheals believes the frontcourt will be the team's strength this year. "I like our frontcourt," said Sheals. "We have returning guys who can play inside and we believe we've brought some guys into the program who will be able to help us in the paint this year." Sheals thinks that in his two-year absence from the MEAC, frontcourt play improved. "Having a good frontcourt separates teams in the MEAC," said Sheals. "Most teams have good guards, but what really impresses me is the way the frontcourts have gotten better in the league now. In the past, you could win with just good guards. You can't do that now in the MEAC, you have to have players who can compete in the paint." Heading the list of returnees in the frontcourt is 6-7 senior forward Barrington Clarke (4.7 ppg, 2.8 rpg), who will have a lot of memories when he graduates from DSU. Clarke is a fifth-year senior and Sheals will be the fourth coach he's played for in those five years. "I really wanted to meet with Barrington last summer and I'm glad I did," said Sheals. "I'm the fourth coach for him, and I'm sure he's heard it all during his time here." Also back is 6-6 junior small forward Leon Piper (7.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg), but he didn't get a chance to play for the Hornets until the second semester. He definitely made an impact and was a bright spot in the final game of the season, when he scored 17 points in DSU's first-round MEAC Tournament loss to Maryland-Eastern Shore. Piper transferred to Delaware State last year from College of the Desert (Calif.). Piper will compete with two newcomers for playing time at the small-forward slot. There should be some real competition here with 6-5 freshman Andre Matthews and 6-4 junior-college sophomore Carrington Hightower. Matthews (22 ppg, 12.0 rpg) played at nearby Seaford High School, which he led to a state championship as a sophomore. He was a first-team all-state player. "When there's good players in the state, it's important to get them and we think we got a good one in Andre," said Sheals. "He's a versatile player who has a heart as big as his chest. Andre's a player who will compete every night and play as hard as he can. We're really pleased to have him and think he'll be a player who will make an impact for us this year." Hightower comes to Delaware State from Pasco-Hernando Community College in New Port Richey, Fla., where he averaged 12.9 points and 5.2 rebounds for a team that finished 25-6 last year. He played for Sheals' former high school coach at Pasco, which should come in handy. "He played for my high school coach, so I know he's well-coached and he understands how to play defense," Sheals said. "Carrington is a tough kid from Miami who will give us some toughness this year." The strong-forward and center spots should be in good hands with four players two newcomers and two returning players. The two returnees are 6-9 junior center Brandon Calvert (2.6 ppg, 2.9 rpg) and 6-9 junior center Donnell Cromer (1.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg). Calvert became the Hornets' starting center at the end of the season and will battle to stay there this year. He has impressed Sheals. "Brandon Calvert comes from the Memphis (West Memphis, Ark.) area, and they play very good basketball there," said Sheals. "He's as good an athlete as there will be in the MEAC this year, and we look for him to have a good year." Cromer was limited because of injuries last year and also missed the first part of the season because he transferred to DSU, along with Piper, from College of the Desert. If healthy, he and Calvert would give the Hornets a good combination at center. Two foreign newcomers should give Delaware State some help in the paint. They are 6-7 junior forward Ireneusz Chromicz, who played at Daytona Beach (Fla.) Community College, and 6-8 freshman Marko Kandic from Washington Academy (Fla.). Both are highly touted by Sheals and both could be impact players. Chromicz, a native of Poland, averaged 10 points for Daytona and helped the team to a state junior-college championship. Kandic, a native of Yugoslavia, played for a postgraduate school that went 27-2, with losses only to Oak Hill Academy, USA Today's No. 1-ranked team in the country last season. He averaged 16.6 points and connected on 80 three-pointers on a club that had four other players sign Division I scholarships. "Ireneusz was the sixth man on a very good junior college team," said Sheals. "He's 22 years old and knows how to play the game. He shoots the ball well and will be a factor for us. "Marko is a player who will create mismatches for us. He's a great shooter who can also create his own shot. Marko can hit that 15- to 18-footer very consistently. We're excited about what he can bring to us this year."
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