Oh Captains, My Captains!

Saddler, McNeil, and Hagins will captain the Hens in '11-'12

Coach Monte Ross has named his captains for the 2011-2012 season.  Sophomore Devon Saddler, and juniors Kelvin McNeil & Jamelle Hagins have been chosen to lead the team into the upcoming season of Delaware basketball.


Saddler is the reigning CAA Rookie of the Year and is looking to build on what was a spectacular freshman season, setting UD freshman records across the board and earning co-team MVP honors with the departed Jawan Carter.

Kelvin McNeil (one of followers and supporters) averaged 5 points and 5 rebounds last season and will either be starting on the wing or the first one off the bench.  After seeing his personality shine in his "Blue Hens Beat" segment, it was an easy choice for Coach Ross to name the junior one of the captains.

The last of the tripod is Jamelle Hagins.  B-E-A-S-T on the boards! The big man earned spots on the CAA and on the Mid-Major All-Defensive Teams by posting an average of 3.0 blocks per game (good enough for 12th in all of D-I).  He also averaged 8.4 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game.

“These three young men exemplify what we want in our basketball program, on and off the court,” Ross said. “They will be very good for our freshmen because they lead by example and are vocal leaders, and that’s what you need when you have such a young team.” (this quote from BlueHens.com)

I love the choices by Coach Ross.  Saddler is clearly the quarterback on the court for the Hens and is already in a leadership role, McNeil is the ultimate role player for this squad, and Hagins already demands respect in the middle so he might as well have that "C" on his chest (metaphorically speaking).  The other bonus here is that none of these players are seniors, so the leadership will be consistent through next season for Delaware.

Blue Hen Ballz and myself are looking forward to an exciting year out of these guys! Countdown is on for November 11th.