By Andy Walter

PITTSBURGH, Pa. — Andrew Carr may have been a tall, skinny kid.

But, until midway through his high school career, he never really pictured

himself being a college basketball player.
Delaware assistant coach Billy Phillips, when he started recruiting Carr, helped steer the youngster in that direction.

“I was always into other sports and didn’t really know what I was going to do,” Carr explained. “Delaware was actually one of the first schools that called me.

It was just a really cool moment, being one of the first people to recruit me.”

Once he picked basketball as his sport, Delaware was his obvious destination. Both his dad, Phil, and uncle, Tim, played for the Blue Hens in the mid-1980s.

The fact that he’s been a big part of Delaware’s run to the NCAA Tournament makes the 6-foot-9, 220-pound’s Carr’s story even more of a dream come true.

The Blue Hens face Villanova on Friday at 2:45 p.m. in Pittsburgh in the program’s first NCAA tourney appearance since 2014.

Carr remembers coming to UD games when he was a little to see his dad honored with other basketball alumni.

“I was surrounded by Delaware my whole life,” Carr said after leaving the PPG Arena court on Thursday afternoon. “It was awesome as a kid to see your dad go out there. I was always a Blue Hen at heart. I loved it from when I was little.”

In his second season playing for the Hens, Carr has come into his own in the last month or so.

With Dylan Painter sidelined by a sprained ankle, Carr has become much more of an inside presence. In the CAA finals, he collected 17 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks in Delaware’s 59-55 win over UNCW.

Carr has scored in double figures 15 times this season.

“I can’t say enough about his progression really over the last six to eight weeks,” said Delaware coach Martin Ingelsby. “He’s been fabulous. I mean, the toughness that he showed on the defensive end down in the CAA tournament ... his ability to impact the game in so many ways. He’s really, really confident offensively now.

“I think the sky’s the limit for how good he can be as a basketball player in our program. Most importantly he’s a great teammate. Guys love playing with him. He’s one of those guys that can fill up the stat sheet and impact the game in so many ways without even scoring.”

Making the NCAA tourney wasn’t something Carr’s dad and uncle could have dreamed of when they were playing. The tournament only expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

The younger Carr knows how special this opportunity is.

“I’m sure they didn’t imagine what it could be today,” he said. “It’s a completely different game. This is why — March Madness is why. I’ve been dreaming about it since I was a little kid.”

More family ties

Martin Ingelsby grew up a Villanova basketball fan.

And why not? His dad, Tom, starred for the Wildcats in the early 1970s, helping Villanova reach the ‘71 national title game.

Tom Ingelsby’s No. 24 jersey hangs from the rafters at Villanova.

“As a young, aspiring basketball player, (I remember) just trying to live up to my dad’s success and the expectations and just trying to be like my dad because he was such a great basketball player,” said the younger Ingelsby.

And not only did his dad play for Villanova, but his three siblings graduated from the school, too.

All of which makes the fact that Martin’s Delaware team is playing the Wildcats in the NCAA Tournament on Friday rather interesting.

But Martin is pretty sure that the Ingelsbys will be Blue Hen fans on Friday — even his two young sons, who got Villanova No. 24 jerseys for Christmas.

“I might have to put that out on Twitter tomorrow,” Ingelsby admitted. “They’d better not be Villanova basketball fans tomorrow.”

From enemies to friends

Delaware’s Ryan Allen and Jameer Nelson, Jr. are teammates and friends now.
They even room together.

But Nelson admits that, when he faced Allen as a player at George Washington, he didn’t care for him.

“First off, I used to hate Ryan when we played because ... he was talking smack to me,” Nelson said during a press conference on Thursday. “I just hated him.

“But I love him now, and I feel like nobody has been around him like me. I’m his roommate, so for him to go through all the stuff he’s going through that people don’t even know, it shows how much of a competitor he is and what a hard worker he is and how he’s dedicated to the game.”

Free throws

Villanova coach Jay Wright had nothing but good things to say about Dylan Painter, who started his career with the Wildcats. “We loved him,” said Wright. “We didn’t want him to leave. But we loved him so much, we understood his position, and we’ve stayed in touch. That’s why I know so much about Delaware because if they’re on TV, I want to watch Dylan.” ... Delaware is 0-34 all-time against Top-25 teams. That includes six losses to Villanova. ... Delaware reserve forward Anthony Ochefu is the brother of former Villanova player Daniel Ochefu (2012-16).

Follow Andy Walter on Twitter at @DSNSports.