Seton Hall’s Delgado is best big man
Angel Delgado capped a memorable career with one of the best individual performances by a big man in NCAA Tournament history, a 24-point, careerhigh 23-rebound, five-assist masterpiece in a season-ending loss to Kansas. A few weeks later, that career was recognized in a way few Seton Hall players have enjoyed.
The Pirates’ affable star from the Dominican Republic won the Kareem AbdulJabbar Award, given to the nation’s best center, Friday night in Los Angeles at ESPN’s College Basketball Awards show.
The 6-foot-10 Delgado, the Big East’s all-time leading rebounder who led the Pirates to three straight NCAA Tournament bids and their first victory in the Big Dance in 14 years this March, beat out fellow finalists Isaac Haas of Purdue, Jock Landale of St. Mary’s, Thomas Welsh of UCLA, and Brandon McCoy of UNLV. Delgado was chosen by a combination of fan votes and input from the Basketball Hall of Fame’s selection committee.
“I did want it last year. I got it this year,” he said on a conference call. “I’m really happy and proud. My family’s proud. Everybody’s proud. My coaches, my teammates. It’s something I never expected to win. I work hard for it. I’m really happy.”
“This wasn’t a one-year award,” Seton Hall coach Kevin Willard said in a phone interview. “He’s getting recognized because he’s been as good a big man the last four years as anyone in college basketball.”
The next step for Delgado is a professional career. Along with fellow graduating Seton Hall seniors Desi Rodriguez and Khadeen Carrington, he will take part in the Portsmouth Invitational in Virginia, a showcase in front of NBA scouts and executives for the top seniors in the country. The top five performers from the event get an automatic invite to the NBA Draft Combine, held in Chicago from May 16-20.
“I’m going to go there, do my job, what I always do,” said Delgado, who averaged 13.6 points and 11.8 rebounds this past season and finished his career with 72 doubledoubles. “I’m not going to try to do too much.”
Delgado said he had no regrets about returning to school for his senior year after testing the NBA draft waters a year ago. While he would have preferred it if his Pirates had gone further in the tournament, it was a season he will cherish, a fitting cap to a brilliant fouryear career.