By: by Scott Lipsky
KENNESAW, Ga. – Kennesaw State Owls head men’s basketball coach Lewis Preston announced the first signee of his coaching tenure on Monday, adding Delbert Love of St. Edward High School in Lakewood, Ohio. Love will join the Owls this fall.
A 5-foot-11 guard, Love, who comes from Cleveland, showed his versatility during his senior season at St. Edward, averaging 17 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest on the way to leading his squad to a district championship and an appearance in the Ohio Division I state tournament. Along the way, he was named to the All-Northeast Ohio Conference First Team and was an All-State honorable mention.
“We are excited to have Delbert and the Love family become a part of our family here at Kennesaw State,” Preston said of Love, who lettered in basketball for four years at St. Edward. “Delbert brings with him a lot of great qualities, both on and off the court. Most importantly, he approaches both academics and athletics with a passion, work ethic and winning attitude that has been embraced at St. Edward. We are confident that he will continue to blossom here at Kennesaw State.”
Love, who was a captain for St. Edward this past season, made four consecutive trips to the Ohio state tournament during his high school, going with his team to the state championship game during his freshman season. His coach at St. Edward for all four years, Eric Flannery, is excited to see him take his game to the collegiate level.
"Delbert is a great kid, he has a great work ethic and has shown a lot of leadership during his time here at St. Edward," Flannery said. "He has a great personality, he's very easy to like when you talk to him and get to know him. I think everyone is going to really enjoy watching Delbert play at Kennesaw State."
Happy Dobbs, an assistant coach with St. Edward throughout Love's career there, is confident that the Owls are getting a player who can compete with the best talent in the country.
“The best thing about Delbert is that he has a lot of experience playing against a lot of very good players. We’ve played a national schedule and play a lot of top teams around the country at St. Edward, and he’s played against a lot of players that are playing Division I basketball, and he has done very well against them and helped us win,” said Dobbs. “He’s going to supply some great shooting for the Owls and has also become very good at scoring off the dribble and going to the basket. Delbert is very unselfish, as he has matured and developed his game and is willing to find the player on the court who has the best scoring opportunity.”
Love, who has signed a National Letter of Intent with Kennesaw State, is the first signee for the Owls Class of 2011.
