'There’s not a tougher kid': Aaron Deloney takes charge for Vermont men's basketball

Story by

Story by
'There’s not a tougher kid': Aaron Deloney takes charge for Vermont men's basketball

Alex Abrami, Burlington Free Press · The Burlington Free Press

Fri, Mar 15, 2024 ·

7 min read

About Our Ads

Closing out the final minute to complete a regular-season sweep of Bryant last month, Aaron Deloney dashed into the paint, cradled the ball and readied for one of his signature layup scoops.

Then, whack.

Bryant's Daniel Rivera leveled Deloney with a hard, two-handed slap-down, sending the Vermont guard to an awkward fall onto his knees. After a brief spell to reset with his back on the floor, Deloney brushed off the common foul — an officials review deemed it didn't rise to the level of a flagrant — and took his well-earned free throws.

"I've always been the smallest person and I'm going to get banged up," said the 6-foot, 170-pound Deloney. "It's more mental than anything. Your body is going to get hurt, you are going to have your bumps and bruises. At the end of the day, the mental toughness piece keeps me out there."

2024 America East tournaments: Brackets, scores, schedules

From fighting through a prolonged ankle injury earlier in his career to putting off root canal surgery for an abscessed tooth to play in last year's America East championship game , Deloney constantly shows his stubborn willpower to University of Vermont men's basketball coach John Becker.

"I say this all the time to the team, 'There's not a tougher kid who's played for me than Aaron Deloney,'" Becker said. "He's the sweetest, but he's as tough as they come.

"He won't miss a practice, he won't take reps off. It's an important example to set for the other guys in the program."

Vermont women's basketball vs. Maine: What to know for Friday's America East championship

And the fifth-year senior has taken charge in his extra winter in Burlington, leading the two-time reigning champion and top-seeded Catamounts (27-6) into Saturday's conference title game for a 2023 rematch with No. 2 UMass Lowell (22-9). Tip-off at Patrick Gym is set for 11 a.m. on ESPN2.

"He's such a big part of our success this year and what he means to our program. He's got the heart of a lion," UVM associate head coach Ryan Schneider said. "He has so much respect from the guys on the team."

Said junior transfer guard Shamir Bogues: "He's one of the best leaders I've ever played with."

Deloney returns for 2023-24 after brief dabble in transfer portal

Vermont's Aaron Deloney steps back to shoot during the Catamounts' 62-49 victory over Binghamton on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024.

Shortly after Vermont's run to the America East crown and first-round NCAA Tournament exit, Deloney, originally from Portland, Oregon, entered the transfer portal in hopes of playing closer to home due to family reasons .

"I thought I was gone," Deloney said.

But those opportunities elsewhere didn't sit right with Deloney, and he still felt connected to Vermont. After discussions with the coaching staff, Deloney recommitted to Burlington and, during the school's news conference to announce Deloney's change of heart , Becker made it clear: "This will be (Deloney's) team."

Deloney welcomed the challenge.

"I took it head on and out of the gate tried to get my voice out there and lead by example," Deloney said. "I did everything I could to get the guys' respect and then carry that throughout the whole season."

Semifinals coverage: UVM men's basketball holds off UNH, books third straight America East title-game berth

With Deloney's positivity and accountable leadership, Vermont reloaded with six newcomers and steered itself to a share of a league-record eighth straight regular-season crown, which is also the longest active streak in the nation. The Catamounts are also one win away from completing an America East tournament three-peat, a feat Vermont last accomplished during the program's golden era between 2003-05.

"He's been unbelievable this year. He's done a great job leading. Just his personality, all the new guys gravitated toward him," Becker said. "The last month or so, he's really taken control of the team. I'm big on player-led teams and he's really stepped up in that way. He's supportive with guys and hard on guys when he needs to be."

How Deloney makes Vermont's offense dangerous

Vermont's Aaron Deloney shoots a 3-pointer during the Catamounts 75-72 win over Albany in the America East quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon at Patrick Gym.

Seven passes, 22 seconds, one Aaron Deloney 3-ball.

From a defensive rebound on one end to methodically efficient offense on the other, Deloney and Vermont pushed to their biggest lead during a game-changing spurt in this past week's conference semifinals vs. New Hampshire.

Bogues drove and kicked to Nick Fiorillo, who handed off to TJ Long. The lefty guard skipped a pass into the corner for Deloney, who wiggled baseline and curled a wrap-around pass back to Long on the wing. Long put the ball on the floor but stopped short and flipped back to a fleet-footed Deloney, who rose for a 3-point splash in front of the Catamount bench.

"That's what Vermont basketball is: Multiple paint touches, multiple drives, multiple kicks — to get open looks," said Deloney. "That's the offense we want to play."

Schneider, the team's offensive coordinator, said those are Vermont's "best type of possessions" partly because of Deloney's IQ, movement and shot-making.

"There's been such growth with (Deloney) over his career. He really understands where and how he can get his offense. And that's helped us a lot this year with having so many new guys," Schneider said. "His poise and his ability to understand where and how to function has been so good. He's always moving."

Vermont's Aaron Deloney races up court after a steal in the Catamounts 75-72 win over Albany in the America East quarterfinals on Saturday afternoon at Patrick Gym.

While they will play in its 10th title game in Becker's 13 seasons, the Catamounts are here because of a defense that's ranked 10th in the country (63.0 points a game). On offense, they were sixth out of the nine America East teams this winter in scoring (72.5 ppg).

Deloney shared in those shooting struggles until early in league play. On Feb. 15, Deloney dropped 28 points vs. UNH on the night he reached 1,000 career points . And on March 2, he exploded for career highs in 3-pointers (8) and points (33) to shoot the Catamounts past Lowell and seal the outright regular-season crown on a memorable senior day .

"Staying consistent with everything. Some shots are going to fall, some shots aren't — that's how basketball works sometimes," Deloney said. "I always tell myself that it's better to miss at the beginning of the year then the end when it really matters."

For the season, Deloney is averaging 10.9 ppg and a career-best 3.1 apg while knocking down 34.2% of his 3-pointers. His 12.2 points-per-game average in league games led the Catamounts, and his assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.7 topped all players in America East.

And after back-to-back sixth-man awards, Deloney was named to the league's second team.

"He just needed to have a game where he saw a couple tough ones go down," Schneider said. "And once he's sees that, it opens up for him because he's always been a confident kid."

Deloney's legacy as a Vermont men's basketball player

Saturday, Deloney will tie Cam Ward (2014-2018) for second in program history in games played (141), six behind leader Robin Duncan (2018-2023).

Over those 140-plus games, Deloney saw minimal court time in his first two seasons, became the conference's best sixth man in the next two years and now serves as captain without an ego. Deloney has started 16 of 33 games this winter, going in and out of the starting lineup for what best serves the team.

Deloney has started Vermont's last four games since sophomore TJ Hurley injured his foot.

"He's been able to adapt to whatever it is we need. It's such a testament to a guy who's in his fifth year, been a part of multiple championships, that's had so much individual success and it's always team first with him," Schneider said.

Deloney wants to be remembered as an unselfish and tough player who made an undeniable impact despite his size.

"I want to be somebody that (Becker) can reflect on, saying, 'AD was this type of guy,'" Deloney said. "Any other small guard who comes through here and might not think they have a chance to play and Becker can say, 'This guy was in your shoes and this was what he was able to accomplish at the end of his career.'"

Contact Alex Abrami at aabrami@freepressmedia.com . Follow him on Twitter: @aabrami5 .

TV, radio info for Vermont-Lowell America East championship

Date: Saturday, March 16
Time: 11 a.m.
Site: Patrick Gym
TV: ESPN2
Radio: 97.1 FM/960 AM (with play-by-play announcer Brian McLaughlin)

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont men's basketball: Aaron Deloney leads Catamounts into AE final

Mobilize your Website

View Site in Mobile | Classic

Share by: