Villanova coach Jay Wright worried Delaware's Dylan Painter may know too much

Other than five Big East rivals, there may be no team in the NCAA Tournament field of 68 that Jay Wright knows better than Delaware.

Yet, the Villanova coach isn’t ashamed to tell you about the “fear” he has felt preparing his Wildcats (26-7) to meet the Blue Hens (22-12) on Friday in the tournament’s first round at PPG Paints Arena.

Why? Simply speaking, Dylan Painter knows too much.

Painter is Delaware’s leading rebounder (6.6 per game) and second-leading scorer (11.9), but his worth to the Blue Hens will go beyond the numbers.

Painter started his career at Villanova before transferring to Delaware in 2018, seeking more opportunities.

“It was mostly playing time,” he said, “but that also affected happiness, mental health, all that stuff. And then just coming to Delaware, being able to start playing … it just made it all worth it. I immediately felt better just being out there with my brothers.”

Villanova All-American guard Collin Gillespie said it will be “weird” playing against Painter.

“We have a lot of respect for him,” he said. “We put in a lot of time and work with him.”

Wright said he didn’t want to lose Painter.

“He was the ultimate teammate, the ultimate Villanova basketball player,” Wright said before practice Thursday. “One of the things I fear about playing Delaware is that if you could take any player and have him explain to you what is Villanova basketball, he could do it as well as anybody. He could do it as well as Jalen Brunson, Ryan Arcidiacono, Collin Gillespie (Villanova stars past and present).”

Painter has been a collegian since 2016-17 when he appeared in 23 games for Villanova, including a 10-point effort in a Big East Tournament victory against St. John’s.

He redshirted during the 2017-18 season while Villanova won the national championship before transferring after the 2018 fall semester.

“We loved him,” Wright said. “We didn’t want him to leave, but we loved him so much we understood his position.”

No hard feelings. Wright, Painter — and the player’s parents — have stayed in touch, the coach said.

“That’s why I know so much about Delaware,” Wright said. “If they’re on TV, I’m going to watch Dylan. And I got to watch them a lot, and I saw their team grow.

“Terrific kid. He’s a winner. You can see what he’s done to their program, the leadership he’s brought.”

Painter went to two NCAA Tournaments with Villanova, but the feeling this year is different, with Villanova seeded No. 2 and Delaware No. 15.

“We were always one of the top seeds in the tournament,” he said. “We were always expected to get out of this first weekend, but here I think everybody is expecting us to lose (Friday).

“So, we don’t really have anything to lose.”

Painter is a threat with 16 double-doubles in 66 games at Delaware, and his 55.6% field-goal percentage is fourth in school history. But he isn’t the only reason Wright pays attention to his neighbor only 41 miles to the south across the Pennsylvania state line.

Delaware coach Martin Ingelsby is the son of former Villanova star Tom Ingelsby, who played for the Wildcats team that lost to UCLA in the 1971 national championship game. A banner with his name on it hangs in Finneran Pavilion, home of the Wildcats.

“Tom was one of my idols growing up,” said Wright, who insists on keeping strong ties to all former Villanova players. “Chris Ford (another former Villanova star) and Tom, I thought I could be like them.”

When his players look at Ingelsby’s banner, he tells them, “That’s him. You’re going to be that guy one day.”

Ingelsby, who was the all-time leading scorer (1,425 points) when he left Archbishop Carroll High School, grew up a Villanova fan.

“Since I can remember, I was always around the game of basketball. And as I got older, you started to get a sense of, ‘Hey, my dad was a pretty darned good player.’ ”

Ingelsby remembers where he was in 1985 when Villanova upset Georgetown for the national championship (in front of the TV as a 6-year-old).

He said his two young sons (Ben, 5, and Jack, 7) received replicas of their grandfather’s No. 24 jersey for Christmas, but the gift comes conditionally.

“They’d better not be Villanova basketball fans (Friday).”

Villanova didn’t recruit Ingelsby, but he went to Notre Dame and was a three-year starter at point guard. He led the Irish into the tournament in 2001 while averaging 6.4 assists per game, but he doesn’t talk about his career with his players.

When Painter was asked about his coach’s prowess with a basketball in his hands, he said, “I don’t know if there are many highlights out there, just because I feel like it was a long time ago. I don’t know if they even had cameras.”

Told of the remark, Ingelsby proudly mentioned that he is 14th among 68 tournament coaches in terms of playing ability, according to a ranking compiled by ESPN.

“I’m going to make sure I send him that link,” he said. “If Dylan Painter was on my team, he’d get a lot of shots, I’ll tell you that.”