“The Michael Jordan of Delaware” wasn’t meant as a praise.
Coined by Jay Wright and dripping with sarcasm, the nickname was rooted in Donte DiVincenzo’s overconfidence transferring to a nasty behavior throughout a follow.
One thing to the impact of, “Who do you suppose you might be, the Michael Jordan of Delaware?” The identify caught. And after you hear about DiVincenzo’s background, it is smart.
DiVincenzo, the red-headed guard from Newark, Del., was a God of basketball in his state.
A hero in highschool.
His video games at Salesianum, a small Catholic college in Wilmington, grew to become native occasions that crossed racial obstacles.
“It was the vacation spot,” Salesianum’s coach on the time, Brendan Haley, says. “Our video games have been immediately packed. We’ve had large crowds, however largely it’s been a Caucasian inhabitants, and so forth. Out of the blue we had this very numerous crowd.
“Due to Donte.”
DiVincenzo was known as “The Worm” on the time due to his slithery fashion, however Delaware’s MJ, on reflection, was extra applicable. His senior 12 months at Salesianum, DiVincenzo single-handedly led the workforce to a state championship.
He simply flipped a change after a .500 common season and totally dominated the 2015 postseason event.
It’s documented in “Donte Destroys the DI-AA State Event” on YouTube, a 6 ¹/₂-minute clip that underscores the environment that DiVincenzo encountered — and conquered — as Delaware’s basketball star.
“It was greater crowds than the stands may maintain,” DiVincenzo mentioned. “There are individuals standing within the doorways. … The entire total metropolis embraced me. It didn’t matter, previous, younger, black, white, it didn’t matter.”
Wright summed it up.
“He was a rock star.”
And a freak athlete.
“Sooner or later in follow, he says to me, ‘Coach, take a look at this,’ ” Haley recollects. “Then he threw it off the wall that’s behind the basket, it hit the American flag that was on the wall, and it got here again out and he caught it one-handed and dunked.
“And as a coach, it’s a must to act such as you’re not impressed. And I simply mentioned, ‘No matter, you couldn’t do it once more when you tried 100 instances.’ And as he goes to dribble away, I flip to the blokes, I am going, ‘Oh My God.’ ”
Creating an enormous head is unavoidable below these circumstances, and DiVincenzo dealt with it higher than most youngsters whereas straying from the trimmings of the social media hype machine.
However issues can come up from being that significantly better than all people else. Holding a defensive stance, as an example, isn’t essential when DiVincenzo may simply bounce a passing lane for a steal. As Haley says, “I didn’t have the luxurious of placing him on the bench.”
Wright did.
Plus, the Villanova coach had the good thing about recruiting the ultra-focused Jalen Brunson to the identical class. They shortly grew to become besties.
“Donte and Jalen instantly, instantly grew to become extraordinarily tight. Even in highschool they began speaking with one another. And it was the proper combine,” Wright says. “Jalen was a straight-laced man, dedicated to teachers. And Donte was the tremendous expertise. Jalen was extremely touted. However Donte was the freak athlete, tremendous expertise that had the identical competitiveness as Jalen. However he didn’t have the work ethic but. And after they lived collectively — Donte was so good in his state, all the things sort of got here straightforward to him. As quickly as he bought with Jalen …”
DiVincenzo discovered, as an example, the significance of controlling his physique by leaping and enjoying off two toes. Brunson set a robust instance because the footwork grasp.
“I didn’t perceive basketball that a lot. I used to be athletic. I used to be higher than all people on the court docket. So I bought away with leaping off of 1 foot, playing and all that,” DiVincenzo says. “I nonetheless do this. … Taking part in off of two toes wasn’t my sturdy swimsuit. However studying — how can I combine it in? Simply because guys are so athletic within the NBA, when you go off one foot on a regular basis, they’re going to dam your shot. When you watch Jalen, he’s at all times off two toes. So I feel it was extra that … extra eye-opening.”
Villanova was shortly humbling. DiVincenzo discovered to maintain his toes on the ground for a couple of causes. He got here off the bench and fractured his foot, redshirting as a freshman whereas watching the Wildcats win the nationwide title. MJ of Delaware was immediately neglected.
In 2016, Payton Pritchard, a four-star recruit, was able to decide to Villanova regardless of enjoying an analogous place to DiVincenzo. They hit it off throughout Pritchard’s official go to and performed one-on-one-on-one with Brunson, which apparently rerouted Pritchard to the College of Oregon.
“We thought we have been getting Payton Pritchard,” Wright says. “We thought they might play collectively like [Ryan Arcidiacono] did with Jalen. They usually performed one-on-one, and I feel Payton was like, ‘Oh my God, we didn’t learn about this man [DiVincenzo]. After which after that, they have been like, ‘We’re nonetheless going to go searching.’ ”
It labored out for everyone concerned. Pritchard is with the Celtics, having just lately signed a $30 million extension. Brunson is the toast of New York and a first-time NBA All-Star.
DiVincenzo grew to become the Ultimate 4 Most Excellent Participant with Villanova in 2018, parlaying that efficiency to a first-round spot within the NBA draft. Now he’s the $50 million man of the Knicks, a robust match for the position of gunner due to that swagger that was on show in highschool.
Since Dec. 30, no Jap Convention participant has tried or made as many treys as DiVincenzo. It’s not even shut. He stepped right into a beginning spot vacated by Quentin Grimes — plus the offensive holes left by RJ Barrett and Immanuel Quickley — and has occupied it with supreme confidence.
DiVincenzo is letting it fly prefer it’s Delaware.
“I assumed he was going to play for cash, however I didn’t suppose it was going to the NBA. I assumed it was going to be Italy or one thing,” Haley says. “However he simply saved getting higher and higher. And retains betting on himself and retains profitable.”