Jesus Delgado
Jesus Delgado has been a real upside for the UTPA Broncs during conference play.
He is gaining valuable experience and playing the way coach Ryan Marks predicted back in December. Delgado had been struggling mostly because he was becoming accustomed to a new system. He has really come on strong as of late.
On the season he is only averaging 4.8 points but 10.0 in Great West play. In fact since the Chicago State game on Jan. 19, he is averaging 10.5 points and is shooting 54.5 percent. On this current homestand, he might be the most consistent player behind Jared Maree.
Here is what Marks had to say about Delgado after Wednesday’s win over CSU Bakersfield:
“I certainly don’t have a crystal ball and I’m not that smart. We had a team meeting back in December when I was talking to the guys about some stuff. I said, ‘Guys, I promise you four to five weeks from now, Jesus Delgado will be playing really well. I have seen it time and again. You have a good guy who is a hard worker just coming in from junior college and he is just not comfortable in the system. All of a sudden, usually that Jan. 1-mark comes and that is when they turn the corner. That is what has happened with him.”
As is the case with the realignment of any conference, however, it is tough to figure out which direction the Southland wants to go. I found it interesting that Commissioner Tom Burnett said the priority for the Southland is still to bring in a school or schools that sponsor football.
