By Chris Stevens, Editor
An air of excitement and hopes for turning corners highlighted Monday afternoon’s press conference at Delaware State University, introducing the new men’s and women’s basketball coaches tasked with taking those two dormant programs from the basement to the cellar.
Veteran college assistant coach and former WNBA player E.C. Hill spoke of opportunity and service in her first remarks as Hornets women’s coach while Stan Waterman announced a plan to bring the feeling of family and success from his historic run as Sanford School boys’ basketball coach to the DSU men’s team.
“When I looked at this program, especially as the first person in my family to earn a college degree, I saw an opportunity here,” said Hill, a Chicago native who led Northern Illinois to the NCAA tournament three times as a player and spent time in both the American Basketball League and the WNBA with various teams before beginning her coaching career. “I see kids from similar backgrounds here and that was a plus.”
Hill replaces David Caputo, who along men’s basketball coach Eric Skeeters did not have their contracts renewed April 1st. Hill, an integral part of staffs at the University of Arizona and Towson University, says that while she would like to be an up-tempo coach on the floor, she’s not afraid to tailor her style to the strengths of the players she’ll be coaching this season and beyond.
“It’s my job to identify players that are not just the best fit for my system, but for Delaware State University,” she explains.
Hill’s last stop was Towson University, where she mentored senior guard Kiona Jeter to a team-leading 23 points per game last season and hearing her name called in the 2021 WNBA draft by the Las Vegas Aces. She hopes to replicate her success with Jeter on and off the floor with her future players at DSU.
“I want them to enjoy being a student-athlete first,” she says. “Sometimes players can look too far ahead and not enjoy being in the moment. I’m looking forward to bonding with our players virtually, then seeing them on campus in August. I’m ready to get to work.”
Stan Waterman meanwhile stood in a room full of supporters on one of the greatest days of his professional life, beaming at the opportunity that was the right fit for him at the right time.
“I’ve had chances come up before to be a college coach, but it wasn’t the right time for my family or where I was professionally,” he said. “Everything just fell into place. My family is stable, Dr. Allen’s leadership and goals for the university…this is a great opportunity.”
Waterman’s resume needs no further introduction, but just as a reminder, he guided the boys’ hoops team at Sanford School in Hockessin to 571 wins over 30 seasons, including an individual record eight state championships as head coach. Many of his players have gone on to play college basketball at all levels, several at the NCAA Division 1 level. His hometown background is something he hopes to bring to Dover to turn the program around.
“We want to get at least one or two kids to take a chance to be the first ones from Delaware to come here, have success academically and on the court,” he explains. “That will go a long way into building the kind of program we want at DSU.”
He is hopeful his Sanford family will follow him to Del State, admitting that the last week or so has been a trip down memory lane.
“It’s really been ‘Stan Waterman, this is your life’ recently,” he says. “It’s just been one big review of my life. I’ll never forget the great staff, administrators, kids and parents that helped me raise my family at Sanford.”
