Houston Emory played on four state championship basketball teams at Blue Ridge, an all-boys boarding school in Saint George, Virginia.
The opportunity to help the University of Delaware defend its Colonial Athletic Association title played a role in him deciding early this week to become a Blue Hen.
The 6-foot-9, 195-pounder, from nearby Devon, Pennsylvania, verbally committed to Delaware on Monday.
It was a timely addition for the Blue Hens coming on the same day sophomore Andrew Carr, who entered the transfer portal last month, announced he was going to Wake Forest. His departure opens up opportunities for Emory.
“Throughout my high school career I’ve been part of a winning team,” Emory said Tuesday, “and Delaware being able to win the championship of the conference this past year shows the work they’ve been putting in and what they’re trying to accomplish as a program. That definitely drew me in.”
Wake Forest was one of the schools that offered Emory a scholarship early in his high school career before injuries and illness intervened. Penn State and Rhode Island had been other suitors.
Delaware won out over fellow mid-majors Siena and Vermont.
“I loved every bit of it,” Emory said of his recent visit to Newark, “and thought it was the place I could see myself for the next four years.”
Emory attended Conestoga High as a ninth-grader before transferring to Blue Ridge and later re-classifying from the Class of 2021 to the Class of 2022. He is 19.
He is the third incoming freshman slated join the Blue Hens in 2022-23. Gabe Moss, a 6-8, 210-pound forward at the Hill School in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, and Cavan Reilly, a 6-4, 175-pound guard from Bishop O’Connell High in Arlington, Virginia, committed and signed last fall. Moss will likely be sidelined after a late-season knee injury.
Delaware also recently added 6-6 La Salle transfer Christian Ray, whose 6.9 rebounds per game led the Explorers last season. The Hens could bring in more transfers.
They join a unit featuring guard Jameer Nelson Jr., a 2022 third-team All-Colonial Athletic Association choice, and 2022 CAA Rookie of the Year and conference tournament MVP Jyare Davis, the Sanford School graduate.
Delaware also returns starting guard Ebby Asamoah, Johnny McCoy, a starter in 2020-21 who missed this past season with a knee injury, and several others.
“He’s someone who can run and jump with that size, which is a gift and strength in and of itself,” Cade Lemcke, the Blue Ridge coach, said of Emory.
“Over the last two or three years he’s really developed his shot, has become confident shooting it out to the 3-point line. He’s really developed as a passer and a decision-maker. … He has a world of potential.”
In highlight videos, Emory can be seen dunking, draining 3-point shots, dishing the ball to teammates and blocking shots. His 89 blocks last season were a school record.
“I take a lot of pride in dominating that stat line,” Emory said Tuesday before going off to high jump for the Blue Ridge track and field team in a meet. “I think defense wins games to be honest … That’s how we won games the last four years at Blue Ridge.”
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