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Seton Hall head coach Kevin Willard made a very telling statement about sophomore power forward Angel Delgado following his team’s victory over Georgetown late Saturday night.
“If he starts making that 15-footer he’s going to be a dangerous, dangerous guy,” Willard said after Delgado went for 19 points and 13 rebounds in a 69-61 victory.
Willard’s comment sums up what several NBA scouts and college coaches say about the 6-foot-9 power forward from the Dominican Republic.
He has always been known as an otherworldly force on the boards — Delgado is averaging 10.5 points and a Big East-best 10.1 rebounds — but if he can master the mid-range jumper he will almost certainly be an NBA prospect in a year or two.
Delgado is currently ranked the No. 42 best sophomore nationally by DraftExpress.com.
“Angel is big and strong and improving,” one NBA scout told SNY.tv. “He’s a good rebounder, he needs to to learn how to shoot a free throw, a lefty jump hook and a medium jumper. The kid has a chance.”
Added one NBA executive: “We talked about him. He’s an undersized 4 who can rebound. He definitely needs a face-up game. He’s not an NBA player right now, he needs to stay in school.”
Of course it would be good news for Willard and the Pirates (17-6, 7-4 Big East) — who have won four straight entering Wednesday’s tilt with Butler — if Delgado sticks around as long as possible.
The same could be said of fellow sophomores Isaiah Whitehead, Khadeen Carrington, Desi Rodriguez and Ismael Sanogo.
Heading into Wednesday’s game, Butler coach Chris Holtmann knew he had to game-plan for Delgado, who ranks 19th in Division 1 in rebounding.
“To begin with, he’s an unbelievable competitor, he’s got great hands, he’s really talented and obviously he’s an elite, elite rebounder,” Holtmann said by phone. “I think he’s one of the best rebounders in the country. He does a lot for their team. They’ve got a really talented group, but he does a lot for their group.”
Asked if he believed Delgado could be a pro down the road, Holtmann said: “Yeah, I do, I do. I definitely think he’s got that in him because rebounding translates and a nose for the ball translates and he’s got the size to do it. At some point I certainly wouldn’t be surprised to see him in the NBA.”
For the time being, though, Delgado and his teammates are focused on trying to get Seton Hall into the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi currently has the Pirates as an 11 seed meeting Syracuse in a play-in game. But if the Pirates keep winning they should move off the bubble. Their schedule seems forgiving, too. Three of their next five games are at home, and two of their remaining road games are against DePaul and St. John’s, the leagues two worst teams.
“That’s what we want, we want to play in the NCAA Tournament,” Delgado said Saturday. “We’ve been wanting this for a long time and I’m telling you, we going to be there.”
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