| Richard Delk joins Court Side
Long, athletic combo guard Richard Delk, who..
.. averaged 11.9 points per game this season, helping lead Troy University to their first regular season Sun Belt Conference championship, has signed with the Court Side. “Richard was a solid all-around player for us,” said Troy Head Coach Don Maestri, who just finished his 28th season for the Trojans. “He does a lot of things well, starting off with a great attitude. Richard handles the ball well, he’s long, very athletic, sees the court well, makes passes, can create his own shot and he can make a shot from 3-point range and in. He’s a winner. “He’s got two obvious strengths, one is that he’s an excellent finisher,” said Maestri. “With his handle and athleticism, he can drive on most anyone. He’s very, very good at finishing the play. He’s very good at kissing the shot off the glass and scoring off the drive. “His other obvious strength is that Richard is a great defensive player,” continued Maestri. “We play a lot of zone, but sometimes when we needed to shut someone down, I’d just put Richard on him. He was like the guy’s shadow. Even with teams trying to set screens and picks to free his man up, they couldn’t shake Richard. He’s so long and athletic, he can guard anyone from a point to both wings.” Troy, which compiled a 39 win-26 loss record in Delk’s two seasons, was senior-heavy this season, with a shared, balanced scoring attack. Delk was Troy’s 3rd leading scorer this season, with all five starters averaging between 9 and 17 points per game. “I think Richard’s best basketball is ahead of him,” said Maestri. The Sun Belt regular season championship capped off a unique, but productive collegiate career. A career which saw Richard regularly start at two schools and have the unique experience of playing with his twin brother.
Highly touted as a high school player (North Side High School/Jackson, Tennessee), Richard teammed with his twin brother Reginald, to form a potent backcourt, earning both siblings national top 100 honors. They were widely recruited by some of the nation’s top colleges, with the twins going as a package to Mississippi State of the Southeastern Conference. Richard started 40 of 56 games during his freshman and sophomore season at Mississippi State. He played the point, shooting guard and small forward positions during his tenure at State. Though Richard started 33 of 35 games during his sophomore campaign at Mississippi State (Reginald started all 35 contests, averaging 9.5 ppg), both Delk brothers, despite being starters, seemingly destined for greater production, decided a change of scenery would be in their best interests. Shooting guard Reginald decided to transfer to Louisville, while Rich settled on Coach Maestri and Troy.
Richard started all 65 of the games in his two-year career at Troy. In his initial season after tranferring from Mississippi State, Delk was named Sun Belt Conference Newcomer of the Year and second team All-Sun Belt Conference after he averaged 13.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game (32.2 minutes per contest). Had a career high scoring game of 28 points as a junior against UNC-Wilmington, when he shot 10-13 for 2-point field goals and 2 of 2 from 3-point range. With his length, athleticism and reactions, Delk is an excellent rebounder for a guard, with 10 games of 8 rebounds or more in his 65 games in a Troy uniform (his career high was 12 rebounds in a game).
Basketball, undoubtedly, is in the Delk DNA. Richard is the nephew of former Kentucky and NBA star Tony Delk (currently on staff at the University of Kentucky). Richard’s father (and Tony’s brother) Rickie Delk was a 4-time all-conference selection and 3-time league scoring champion at Lambuth University in Richard’s hometown of Jackson, Tennessee. Richard’s dad Rickie left Lambuth as the school’s all-time scoring leader with over 2300 points. In addition to his twin Reginald, who just completed his senior season at Louisville, Richard’s sisters (Genevieve and Gwen) have also played collegiate basketball.
Despite transferring schools, Richard had a very accomplished career. He compiled over 1,100 points, over 400 rebounds, over 225 assists, 140 made 3-pointers and over 100 steals in four years of college, which included over 100 starts at two different schools. Delk will showcase his talent to overseas professional teams at the upcoming Court Side Pro Camp (Student Rec. Center/UNLV campus, adjacent to the Thomas & Mack Arena), July 12-13.
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