By Andy Walter

WILMINGTON — Tyresa Smith can still remember the day her dad brought basketball into her life.

That’s when he bought a portable basketball basket for the family’s Dover home.

“I remember my mother getting on my brother for always kicking me off the basketball court because he thought I wasn’t good enough,” Smith joked.

But Smith was more than good enough, of course. And on Wednesday the former Polytech High and University of Delaware standout’s basketball legacy was honored when she was officially inducted into the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame.

The 35-year-old Smith was one of 10 inductees honored in a crowded banquet at the Chase Center on the Riverfront, including three with strong downstate basketball connections. The ceremony was postponed for a year because of the pandemic.

Also going into the Hall were former Indian River High basketball standout Charles Rayne and longtime Smyrna, Sussex Tech and Wesley College coach Jerry Kobasa.

Those three inductees were joined by former high school baseball coaches Mel Gardner (William Penn) and Tom Lemon (St. Mark’s); award-winning Sports Illustrated writer Gary Smith (Dickinson); college football coach and administrator Jack Gregory; ex-high school football coach George Kosanovich (Wilmington, McKean, Concord); Wilmington Track Club founder Art Madric and multi-sport athlete Lou Romanoli.

Smith was named the state Player of the Year in 2003 when she led Polytech High to the state title. That’s still one of only two girls’ basketball state crowns won by Henlopen teams.

In a Hall of Fame career at Delaware, Smith was twice named the CAA Defensive Player of the Year, and twice was named first-team All-CAA. As a senior, she helped pace the Blue Hens to a 26-5 record and the NCAA tournament, with a league-leading 19.8 points, and university record 632 points.

She was the first Blue Hen named All-Region 2.

Later named to the CAA silver anniversary team, Smith was drafted by the Phoenix Mercury in the second round of the 2007 WNBA draft, the 18th player taken that year and the first ever from Delaware. She played for the Detroit Shock, then in Germany, Russia and Greece.

During her induction speech, Smith thanked the people who helped her become the basketball player she was.

“I remember my middle-school PE teacher showing me how to make a perfect layup,” said Smith, who is now a middle-school teacher in Washington, D.C. “The countless friends and family members who made sure I made practices when my parents were at work, the coaches who came to the gym with me and the teammates who made me work harder. ... it all mattered.”

Smith also recalled the Polytech algebra teacher who took her and her teammates to her first UD women’s basketball game.

“He told (former Hens’ coach) Tina Martin she should take a look at me and handed her film,” said Smith. “Two days later they offered me a full scholarship. Without that teacher, I might not be on this journey that I’m on now.”

Rayne, who now lives in Atlanta, led IR to back-to-back state championships (1980, ‘81) before starring at Temple and playing in the NBA. He was named first-team All-Atlantic 10 and was a sixth-round draft pick of the Phoenix Suns.

At IR, Rayne was the first Delaware player to be named a top-10 player three times, earning first-team All-State twice.
“It’s a long journey from when I first started out but things worked out for me fine,” Rayne said on Wednesday night.

Along with his family, Rayne said former Temple coach John Chaney had a particularly big impact on him.

“He was a father figure,” said Rayne. “He taught me everything I needed to know about growing up.”

Kobasa was a football and baseball standout at both Wesley and Delaware State, before successful basketball coaching tenures at Smyrna and Sussex Tech. He then coached Wesley to its first four appearances in the NCAA Division III tournament in men’s basketball.

In 16 seasons as a high school basketball coach, Kobasa was named the state Coach of the Year twice (1979, 2004), led four teams to Henlopen Conference championships, and twice took Sussex Tech to the Final Four.

In 10 years at Wesley, Kobasa’s teams went 163-109. He was named the Mid-Atlantic Coach of the Year once.

Kobasa also served 15 years on the board of directors of the Delaware Interscholastic Athletic Association, including eight years as chairman. He became Seaford High’s athletic director in 2015.

A native of Pennsylvania, Kobasa has now lived in Delaware for 54 years.

“I feel like a true Delawarean being amongst you people,” he said during his speech. “I fell in love with Delaware and never left.”