Photo Gallery (Courtesy of Bob Burleigh)

NEWARK, DE -- UD seniors Herb Courtney and Kyle DeHaven (at right) each earned Blue Hen Basketball Club Outstanding Achievement Awards at the 23rd Annual University of Delaware Men’s and Women’s Basketball Banquet held Friday night in the Bob Carpenter Center.

Additionally Courtney earned the Team Most Valuable Player Award, freshman D.J. Boney earned the Sportsmanship Award, junior Pau Geli captured the Most Improved Award, and Brian Young earned the Loyalty Award.

Courtney, who earned MVP honors for the second consecutive season, was a third team All-Colonial Athletic Association selection this season after leading Delaware with 14.1 points per game and ranking second with 6.2 rebounds per contest. Courtney, who started all 31 games this season, also led the Blue Hens with 43 blocks and 39 steals. He led the team in scoring 12 times and in rebounding 14 times, both team-highs, posted two double-doubles on the season, and was named the CAA Player of the Week on January 14. Courtney hit a game-winning three-pointer with 1.2 seconds remaining in the Blue Hens’ 68-67 victory over UNC Wilmington on February 6.

Courtney, who finished his career ranked 10th in school history with 1,291 points and 649 rebounds, is one of eight players in Blue Hen history to record at least 1,200 career points and 600 career rebounds. He was also presented two basketballs commemorating his reaching the 1,000 points and 500 rebounds plateaus during the season.

Boney appeared in all 31 games and started the first seven during his freshman campaign, averaging 4.1 points and 1.1 rebounds per game. Boney, who added 17 steals, 14 assists and three blocks on the year, scored a season-high 12 points at Ohio University on December 8 and had 10 points at Iona on November 30. Boney scored six points in the Blue Hens’ win at Toledo on February 23, converting a tip-in and draining two free throws in the final two minutes.

Geli appeared in 16 games during his junior season, posting seven points and 11 rebounds on the year. Geli, who missed most of the 2006-07 season with a lung ailment, contributed three points and two rebounds in Delaware’s win over Albany on December 5 and added three points and three boards in the Blue Hens’ victory over Hofstra on February 27.

Young missed the entire 2007-08 season after he underwent emergency surgery for compartment syndrome in his upper left arm in the preseason. Young underwent open heart surgery prior to his freshman season at Lafayette and sat out the 2005-06 season as a medical redshirt before transferring to Delaware during the summer of 2006. Young then sat out the 2006-07 season at Delaware due to NCAA transfer regulations.

DeHaven earned the achievement award after leading the Blue Hens with 10.6 points per game, 105 assists and 133 steals. The CAA Defensive Player of the Year for the second time, she was named third team All-CAA and selected to the CAA All-Defensive Team. DeHaven, who started all but two games on the year after missing a pair of contests with a hand injury early in the season, led Division I with 4.6 steals per game and also shot a team-best 82.6 percent from the free throw line.

DeHaven holds the UD record by posting nine steals twice in her career, including once against Northeastern on January 20, 2008, while her 133 steals this season were a Delaware single season record. Additionally, her 3.8 steals per game during her two seasons in Newark are also a school record. Despite playing just two seasons at Delaware DeHaven ranks fifth in Blue Hen history with 232 steals, 18th with 211 assists, and 40th with 579 points. She also received commemorative basketballs recognizing her 1,000th point set on December 6 against Maryland Eastern Shore and her leading the nation in steals.

The Blue Hen men’s team with 14-17 this season and advanced to the CAA Tournament Quarterfinals under second-year head coach Monté Ross, while the Delaware women finished 7-24 under 12th-year head coach Tina Martin.