Jensen: Ryan Daly makes immediate impact at Delaware

NEWARK, Del. -  The shot probably didn't have to go in for Delaware coach Martin Ingelsby to say what he did later on. The night obviously could have gone the other way - Ingelsby's opinion would have been the same.

"You build programs around guys like that," Ingelsby said, still standing on the court at the Carpenter Center.

That's what the first-year coach is doing, building around a freshman whose three-pointer Thursday night went in, 12 seconds left, giving the Blue Hens a memorable one, 68-67, over Drexel.

Last May, the former Notre Dame assistant took the Blue Hens job one day, got a commitment from Ryan Daly the next. It's not often you can fall into getting an MVP of the Philadelphia Catholic League after his senior season, so Ingelsby knows there's some luck involved here beyond both of them being different generations of Archbishop Carroll graduates.

Let's just say it's working out.

Was the last play designed to go to him? Daly was honest, he doesn't remember what the call even was. He just ended up with the ball and that was the idea - "We got the switch we wanted. Risky shot by me . . . 12 seconds left on the clock."

Maybe, but did he see other options?

"Nah, I didn't really see any other options," Daly said on the court. "Maybe I could have gotten into the lane. I was kind of feeling it so I decided to take it."

Did he look for other options?

"Not really, no," Daly said. "I was going to miss it or make it."

He'd earned the right, finishing with 24 points but also 12 rebounds. Loose balls have an interesting tendency to end up in his hands.

Maybe on some other team or in some other season Daly would set a foul-line screen and that's all he'd be asked to do on the play. Not here this season. He sets the screen and then flares out for the pass. Daly has been the Colonial Athletic Association rookie of the week five times, and his pregame 14.9 scoring and 6.9 rebounding averages go up to 17.4 and 7.2 in CAA play.

If he doesn't pass every eye test coming out of the locker room, a 6-foot-4 wing player, that test always has swung in his favor right after the tip. He takes the most Blue Hens shots, but they do not seem forced, just necessary. Delaware is starting over but now has won three straight, up to 12-16.

"Once I saw I had a bigger guy on me, I took a step back and I was there," Daly said of the game-winner. "That was a hard shot, I'm not going to lie. One of the hardest shots I've taken since I've been here."

As the league season started, Daly said, Ingelsby had told him that he had the green light. Being in the right place, "it's important," he said. "This was always my dream place. . . . I'm his first recruit. He's always had a lot of faith in me. Whether I've deserved it or not in some spots, he's always had a lot of faith in me."

His previous scoring play, Daly had been outside and maybe his defender thought he was sticking out there, but a late cut earned him a pass and a closer jumper. His coach is always harping on him to move without the ball, telling him to look at another former Catholic League star, St. Joseph's Prep graduate Steve Vasturia at Notre Dame. This time, Daly knew he'd been stationary for a couple of previous plays. His cut had the element of surprise.

"He competes every single possession - he values that skill," Daly's high school coach, Paul Romanczuk, had been saying on the phone the day before. "That's something that I don't know that young guys always get, the level of competition that needs to go on, not only on a daily basis, but on a play-by-play basis."

His genetics might have helped. His dad Brian was a star at St. Joseph's, and his mom Tracie is the daughter of the late Jim Boyle.

The last call wasn't for a three-pointer, Ingelsby said, just to "get into some good movement." He half-joked that if they didn't know exactly how it would play out, neither did the defense.

Ingelsby had seen tape on Daly at Carroll, but had texted Romanczuk asking if Daly could work as a primary ball handler. The answer came back yes.

"I didn't know he could rebound as well as he has for us," Ingelsby added.

The day before, Romanczuk had used similar words to what Ingelsby said: "Ryan is what Martin wants that program to be. . . . It's kind of a perfect marriage."

mjensen@phillynews.com

@jensenoffcampus