Delaney right on target for the Blue Jays
Former lacrosse standout go-to player on 19-2 team
Conner Delaney’s emergence as the go-to player for the Johns Hopkins men’s basketball team involves a variety of factors. But the genesis might be traced to a bus ride after a loss more than two years ago.
Following a 79-70 setback at Swarthmore on Jan. 11, 2018, in which he scored nine of his 13 points in the final 2:38, Delaney was approached by coach Josh Loeffler, who implored the then-freshman point guard to be more assertive offensively.
“I think his freshman year, he probably deferred to a fault early because we had good players and as a point guard and distributor, I think he was really trying to put everybody else in great positions to score,” Loeffler said. “And I think about halfway through that year, we had to sit down and talk a little bit about him just being more aggressive and looking to score more.”
Delaney, who had been a second-team All-Pennsylvania and first-team AllDelaware County selection as a high school senior, said he needed that meeting.
“I felt like that conversation gave me a new boost of confidence in the fact that Coach Loeffler trusted me to make great decisions on the floor,” the junior said. “The point guard’s job is to obviously get everyone the ball, and I knew that I still had to do that. That conversation just helped me gain a new level of confidence in myself and in my ability to play to the level that I was capable of.”
The 6-foot, 190-pound Delaney has been a catalyst for the Blue Jays, who are 19-2 overall and 13-1 in the Centennial Conference and ranked No. 7 by D3hoops.com. They will face top-ranked Swarthmore (21-0,14-0) in a pivotal league tilt at Goldfarb Gym in Baltimore on Wednesday at 8 p.m.
If Johns Hopkins hopes to upset the Garnet, the team will likely need a sterling performance from Delaney. Not only does he lead the team in scoring (16.7 points per game), assists (4.7) and steals (1.8), but he also ranks third, second and third in the Centennial Conference, respectively, in those categories.
According to the school’s sports information office, Delaney is believed to be the first true point guard in program history to lead the Blue Jays in points and assists and the first player to lead in those categories since Luke Busby in 1993-94. Delaney’s career average of 4.2 assists is tops in school history, and he ranks seventh in all-time assists with 250.
But Delaney dismissed any notion that the Blue Jays will go as far as he leads them, pointing out that there are options in sophomore forward Tom Quarry (13.9 points and 4.8 rebounds), junior guard Joey Kern (9.7, 3.5) and sophomore guard Braeden Johnson (9.1, 3.2).
“It’s not one guy that determines how successful we are,” he said. “We have so many guys that Coach Loeffler and I have the utmost confidence in to make great plays and make winning plays. Our entire team is so well set-up that anyone on our team can lead us in scoring that day or make the big shot at the end of the game.”
Delaney seemed poised for similar stardom last winter, averaging 14.2 points, 4.0 assists, 2.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 10 starts. But in the second half of a 65-58 win against Dickinson on Dec. 8, 2018, he ran a back-cut and felt a pop in his right foot. A few days later, he was diagnosed with a
Jones fracture, which is a described as a break between the base of the foot and the long bone of the foot that connects to the smallest toe.
Delaney called himself “thankful” for returning from his first major injury.
“It was tough sitting out for the last 17 games, but once our season ended, I knew that if I just took my time and really focused on getting 100% better before I tried to play again, I’d be back to normal,” he said.
Delaney’s prowess on the court had once translated to the lacrosse field, where he was a sought-after long-stick midfielder whoverbally committed to Villanova before returning to basketball.
Hopkins lacrosse coach Dave Pietramala said he tried to persuade Delaney to play in the spring, but relented after recognizing
Delaney’s passion for basketball.
“It wasn’t hard to see that basketball was going to be his thing here, and he’s done a great job,” Pietramala said. “I know the coaches speak glowingly of him.’’
Delaney scored a game-high 22 points against Swarthmore on Dec. 10, but took 20 shots, and Johns Hopkins fell, 67-62. So his anticipation for Wednesday’s game is running high.
“I’ve been waiting for that game ever since we lost back in December,” he said. “Obviously, we’ve played 12 games since then, and we’ve been focused on winning the next game. Now that we’re here, I’m extremely excited. But it’s just another game. I’m happy that it’s at home. I think we as a team are extremely prepared for the test on Wednesday.”