Delaware will have a revamped men’s basketball roster next season.
But it’ll be a reunion for some of its newcomers.
Incoming transfers Zion Bethea and Niels Lane, who committed to Delaware in the past week, are New Jersey residents who first played together in middle school on the King Street Kings AAU squad.
And they’re coming to Delaware to join the Blue Hens’ best returning player, Jyare Davis, with whom Bethea played on Tim Thomas’ Playaz Basketball Club in high school AAU competition.
“The reason I chose Delaware was because I already have chemistry with the guys on the team,” Bethea said.
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“In order to win championships, you have to have team chemistry, and I’ve got that with Niels and J’yare. I’ve been playing with those guys since middle school and high school, and we know each other’s game.”
Delaware, the 2022 Colonial Athletic Association Tournament champ and NCAA Tournament qualifier, is attempting to replenish its roster after being undermanned during a 17-16 finish in 2022-23. The two join previous transfers Tyler Houser from VMI and Gerald Drumgoole from Albany.
First-team All-CAA point guard Jameer Nelson plans to move to TCU as a grad transfer should he finish the required classwork this summer. But Davis, the 2022 CAA Rookie of the Year and a 2023 third-team All-CAA pick, returns as the Blue Hens’ centerpiece. He hosted Bethea and Lane on their visit.
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Bethea is a 6-foot-4. 205-pound guard who comes to Delaware from Saint Francis in Brooklyn, which announced in March it was dropping its entire NCAA Division I athletic program.
“I was in a state of shock when I heard the news at Saint Francis because I felt like I had really found a home,” Bethea said. “Saint Francis was a great program with a great staff that believed in me when few others did.”
Bethea was third on the team with 10.7 points per game though he started just once for the 14-16 Terriers. He shot 42.2-percent on 3-pointers and 43.5 percent overall and also tied for the team lead with 35 steals.
A South Orange, New Jersey, resident and Immaculate Conception grad, Bethea spent his first two college seasons at CAA rival Hofstra in 2020-21 and 2021-22 but played in just three games.
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The 6-foot-5, 215-pound Lane was heavily recruited out of Roselle Catholic. He chose Florida over a final seven that also included Connecticut, Georgia, Miami, Providence, Texas and Xavier.
Lane played in 49 games with three starts for the Gators over the past three years. He averaged 2.3 points and 1.4 rebounds per game.
More of a finisher around the basket, he made just one of 14 3-point shots but did shoot 44.8 percent overall. Lane had career bests of 16 points and nine rebounds in a 2022 SEC Tournament overtime loss to Texas A&M.
Delaware coach Martin Ingelsby referred to Lane as “a big-time addition to our roster” and said his athletic ability and defensive skills make him a valuable asset for the Blue Hens.
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