Stan Waterman (red tie) consults with his coaching staff during Saturday’s exhibition game between Delaware State and Virginia University of Lynchburg. Photo by Chris Stevens
By Chris Stevens, Editor
College basketball is a challenging game, as Delaware State’s men’s and women’s basketball teams discovered Saturday in a pair of exhibitions. The Hornet men were able to solve their first half shooting woes en route to an 83-56 win over Virginia University of Lynchburg, while inexperience haunted the DSU women in a 70-68 loss to Georgian Court University.
Both coaches were making their home debuts – for the men, Stan Waterman, previously of Sanford School and eight DIAA state championships in boys’ basketball. E.C. Hill, former Northern Illinois standout, professional women’s basketball player and NCAA D-1 assistant coach takes over the women’s program.
E.C. Hill draws up a play during a timeout in the DSU women’s exhibition game against Georgian Court University. Photo By Chris Stevens
Hill’s Lady Hornets are already set back by a couple of injuries to an already young roster and the inexperience was prevalent as GCU led by as many as 10 points before DSU rallied late to make a game of it.
“Game experience is what we’re missing right now,” Hill said of a team that featured six first-year players and just two seniors, guard Shannon Dozier and forward Zoe Holmes. “Once we get more experience, we’ll be a better team.”
Forward Zoe Holmes is one of two seniors who will see significant time for the DSU women’s team this season. Photo by Chris Stevens
For the men, Waterman was starting a new chapter after 30 seasons at Sanford School, where he led the Warriors to mountains of success. The Hornet men are also dealing with injury problems and after a rough first half, Waterman was pleased with the effort.
“The best thing I can take away from today was how well we played in spite of having four guys who played last year not playing today,” he explains. “The guys who did play were on the bench last season, so it was good to see improvement from them. Once we get healthy, we’ll have some depth.”
Senior guard Myles Carter is a MEAC first-team pre-season pick for Delaware State. Photo by Chris Stevens
The Hornet men were picked to finish sixth in the MEAC and while Waterman doesn’t put much stock in pre-season predictions, he is hopeful it will light a fire under the returning players.
“We have thought about it as motivation,” he says. “I’ve always said it’s not where you start, but where you finish. I have told the guys ‘we’re returning our whole team, and this is what they think of you. So let’s use that as motivation.'”
For Hill, whose Hornets were picked to finish seventh in the conference, she was pleased with a crowd that cheered loudly until the final buzzer.
“It was a great atmosphere and that’s what we want,” she says. “We want the community to come out and support and they did today.”
