Junior Dave ‘Lean On Me’ Withers combined with an ever rotating crew of second year players  to take up most of the minutes at the center position.  Withers was the primary carryover big man (and there were many carryovers) and became the number one option.  He is not that big (6’6) but is a strong physical player who can finish. He did have a solid second year playing in Memorial Hall averaging in double figures in points and grabbed 7 boards a game in a little over 26 minutes per game.  He is nowhere near big enough or dynamic enough to guard the Mahorns or Pace’s of this league but he is by far the best the Hornets have and the Columbia Blue and Red clad fans love their big fella.   

The only Senior on the team that got any significant minutes was post player Ronald Horton.  Horton is a power forward who can score and board and was last year’s main guy on the blocks.  Horton only goes 6’2 and though he is physical and can jump to the moon, 6’2 post players do not last long even in the MEAC.  The CIAA?  Yes, but not at this level.  This year Jackson wants him to adjust to playing more on the perimeter as he has some young kids coming in who are going to get some big minutes down low.  Horton was a stud here once but will be caught in the rebuilding shuffle.  He will still get minutes but he will not be the main guy and if any of these new kids pan out, Horton might just be that old school veteran support for his teammates.  Then again he could lead the team in scoring and boarding as he has done the last two years. 

Juniors Charles Shealy and Samuel Shepherd earned the starting nods at the two guard spots rotating between roles.  Shealy is a good scorer who compliments his sidekick well in that he is cat quick and can guard point guards.  He is only five nine though so playing the wing was a challenge and he is not really a great outside shooter.  Shepherd is,,,and then some.  This 6’1 stud can flat fill it up.  Shepherd had taken an all-star trip down to Venezuela over the summer between his sophomore and junior year and came back with the right stuff.  Apparently, Shepherd had become such a legend down there during this tourney he got a nickname, El Mago, or the Magician, for his incredible long-range shooting.  Shepherd has developed a push shot that he hits with uncanny accuracy from behind the arc.  This combined with an incredible set of handles makes this kid unstoppable on the offensive end.  Shepherd has become the focal point of this team’s offense as he is the primary ballhandler and long-range shooter.  He will most definitely be starting after a terrific second season in Dover whereas Shealy might be a role player this year.  Either way the fans in Memorial love this duo especially El Mago but he is nowhere near as popular here as he was in Venezuela. 

Sophomore Bernard Campbell is a terrific athlete on the wing but as six one had some issues guarding others.  He can finish and man can he board for a guy his size but he was not the happiest camper when he found out Jackson was bringing in a new kid to challenge him for his starting role. Campbell was the biggest recruit ever for the Hornets as he was a All-American at local powerhouse Dunbar.  He was passed over from the big schools because of his ballhandling deficiencies and those teams do not think he can hang as a 6’1 forward.  He has done well doing that here but Jackson wants some size on the wings to hang with the terrific shooters starting to come to the MeAC.  This should be interesting as Campbell is mot going to just give up his minutes.  He was second in scoring and rebounding last year after all.                   

The Bench for the Hornets does not have much of a sting but it does have some size.  A quartet of Junior carryovers up front are set to rotate next to Withers as they had done for the last two years but the new kids might change some of that.  James ‘Shaft’ Roundtree, Marvin Spratley, James Rogers and Fred Simmons were a crew of big men who all brought something to the table and liked coming back for seconds.  None of these guys were offensive threats but all knew how to board and bang.  Roundtree and Rogers are almost carbon copies of each other as both go 6’9 and have been solid in their roles as physical board men.  One of them will begin the year next to Withers in the starting lineup.  Spratley goes 6’8 and Simmons 6’7 but are similar.  Good thing this group is used to rotating because that is what they will be doing once again.  Wing William Hill had a terrific 1st year in Dover but all on the JV,  Hill goes 6’5 and was brought in by Jackson in his first recruiting class and is the template of the bigger type of wing he will be bringing to town.  Hill will challenge for a starting role this year as he can play but he needs to stay healthy as he missed some game last year.  He probably would have been brought up as a freshman if not for the injuries as this team needs bigger wings.  Fellow sophomore Jeff Gumbs will challenge for time as well but has a harder battle as he is another swing guard stuck behind the starters.  He was not good last year as a point on JV but he can defend and this team needs perimeter players like a bee needs to pollinate.  There is a whole slew of post players who have been stuck on JV but their future does not look bright as they are way down the totem pole.  Juniors Wade Pittman and Martin Kemp have played on the JV for two years as combo forwards and could have some roles on the bench on the wing.  That is a long shot as neither is good enough for this level.  Fellow juniors Charles Maybin and Robert Hunter as well as sophomore John Wright are in line but that line is long.  Wright almost for sure will be on JV again but what will happen to the other two is anyone’s guess as they are no longer eligible for junior varsity.  There are 13 spots on the roster for road trips (and 15 for home) so there is some room but not if Jackson has as good of incoming players as he says. 

The Delaware State Hornets are not a great basketball program.  They never really had a chance this last season even in the MEAC.  Coach Greg Jackson does have some talented underclassmen (the whole team was almost underclassmen by the end of the year in this rebuilding year) and more are supposedly coming.  Hopes are high in Dover (at least in the student section) but expectations are low.  There is much work to be done and recruiting some big men to match up with the big boys this conference is priority number one.   Jackson did the right thing by forcing the rebuilding thing even if some feelings were hurt.  In the long run this program now has a chance of getting ‘there’ which was a long ways from where it was not too long ago.  The Hornets might have a chance of surprising the MEAC in the not too distant future if the new kids are as good as advertised.