Adam Delph transferring to Asbury

I know I don’t really follow Asbury sports on here anymore, but this story was just too big to ignore. Adam should be a great NAIA player and one of those guys who contends for conference player of the year every year and sends Asbury to the national tournament. I spoke with him by phone today, and he’s pumped to get on campus. Here’s the story I wrote for the Jessamine Journal about the transfer.

By Tyler Young
tyoung@jessaminejournal.com

Asbury College Head Coach Will Shouse got the highest-profile player in his short tenure — and maybe the highest-profile in school history — in former University of Kentucky transfer Adam Delph.

Delph, who was choosing between Asbury, Northern Kentucky University, Kentucky Wesleyan and Mid-Continent University, said Wednesday that he has decided to continue his college career with the Eagles. The former Pleasure Ridge Park star will join another PRP alum, Phillip Morrison, in the backcourt.

He has not officially signed with the team yet — the school is waiting on a couple of details to be finalized — but he said by phone Wednesday afternoon that he is excited about getting to campus and getting with the team.

“I can’t wait,” he said. “I wanted to go somewhere where I could make a big impact right away, and I also am just ready to play.”

Delph visited the campus Aug. 6 with his former UK teammate Deandre Liggins, and he said he knew during the visit that Asbury would be the place for him.

“I knew just by how they treated me when I came up there on my visit,” he said. “Coach Shouse and Phil took me on the visit, and I had a great time. Their athletic director and financial aid guy were really nice and helped me figure out my decision pretty easily, actually. One of the things I like about them is they go on mission trips every summer, which I was wanting to do.”

Delph was recruited by several schools coming out of high school, but he ended his recruitment once he found out he could walk on at Kentucky. This time around, however, he let the schools come to him.

“The coaches at Kentucky helped me out, my high school coach helped me out and my mom, and I just laid back and let people call me,” he said. “I wanted to be somewhere I was wanted.”

Playing with Morrison was also a draw.

“I never actually got to play with Phil (in high school), and when I was in eighth grade, he was the guy that I wanted to be like,” he said.

The 6-foot, 3-inch shooting guard averaged 22.4 points, seven rebounds and three assists his senior year, after which he committed to be a preferred walk-on at Kentucky for the 2008-09 season under then-coach Billy Gillispie. He did not see the floor in the regular season during his one year.

Delph, along with two other walk-ons, were dismissed from the Wildcats July 31 by Head Coach John Calipari. Calipari explained on his blog that he has rarely used walk-ons in his career in order to conduct more focused practices.

Delph, who characterizes himself as a scorer, seems to be a natural fit for Asbury’s lineup, which lacked experience at the shooting guard position. The Eagles lost all-conference guard Michael Spann to graduation, and backup TJ Chinn decided to stay at Asbury but not return to the team.

Asbury had not made an official announcement as of press time.