Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1235613
44 MAY 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED WHERE HAVE YOU GONE? The former Fighting Irish captain is growing in the head coaching ranks BY TODD D. BURLAGE A fter spending all but 10 months of his adult life either compet- ing, studying or working at Notre Dame, former basketball cap- tain turned assistant coach Martin Ingelsby was comfortable at home but knew it was time to leave. Ingelsby's 17-year run at Notre Dame as a point guard, a basketball op- erations director and an assistant coach — 14 of those years served under Irish head coach Mike Brey — ended in May 2016 when he accepted the head coach- ing position at Delaware. "It was the right time. I was ready to be a head coach and lead a program," Ingelsby said. "I was so excited to be a head coach, but you had such strong relationships and friendships at Notre Dame, it wasn't easy to leave." Ingelsby's relocation decision was clouded further because during his final two seasons coaching at Notre Dame, the Irish twice played for a Final Four berth ('15 and '16) and won the 2015 ACC Tournament championship. "Those last couple of years were so fun," Ingelsby, 41, recalled. "In part, because we were having success, but also through the relationships you de- velop with our student-athletes." INGELSBY THE PLAYER Ingelsby arrived at Notre Dame in 1997 as a self-assured 18-year-old point guard from Archbishop Car- roll High School out of the powerful Philadelphia Catholic League. Growing up a Catholic kid and an Irish football fan in Philly, Ingelsby accepting his full-ride scholarship to Notre Dame seemed like a storybook moment. The ensuing chapters didn't always follow script. Considering that only four men have coached Notre Dame men's basketball in the last 49 years, it's a novelty to think that Ingelsby played for three of the four during his Irish career. A freshman starter under head coach John MacLeod in 1997-98, Ingelsby earned Big East All-Rookie Team hon- ors. Playing alongside Troy Murphy, David Graves, Harold Swanagan and other notable alumni, Ingelsby aver- aged 8.2 points, 4.2 assists and 1.9 re- bounds per game as a sophomore in 1998-99, MacLeod's last season. Matt Doherty made a one-year fly- by as Irish head coach when Ingelsby was a junior in 1999-2000 before Brey took the job in 2000. "There was some uncertainty, who knows?" Ingelsby said in anticipa- tion of meeting Brey for the first time. "This is going to be your third coach in three years." As two talented high school point guards from the basketball-crazed I-95 corridor in and around Washington, D.C., Brey and Ingelsby hit it off face- to-face in Philly over common experi- ences, future plans and Uno Pizza. "[Brey] really invested in me be- fore my senior season as a leader, a captain and a point guard," Ingelsby said. "That meant so much at the time. Mike is a guy who just has our stu- dent-athletes' best interests at heart. "I am not where I am without Mike and the relationship we developed." Playing only one year under Brey as a senior in 2000-01, Ingelsby logged 193 assists which still ties for seventh all time in a single season. Ingelsby's 13 assists against Rutgers that year ties for third most in a single game. INGELSBY THE COACH Notre Dame playing career over and degree in hand, Ingelsby briefly considered playing professionally but instead moved into coaching. Coached in high school by his father, Tom — a second-round NBA pick in 1973 out of Villanova — the younger Ingelsby became the quintessential coach's son, blending a combination of skill, smarts, savvy and leadership. "Martin Ingelsby has that 'it' fac- tor that can't be taught," said Brey, who named Ingelsby and Murphy co-captains of his first Irish team in 2000. "Martin is a true educator young people believe in." Among those believers is former two-time Irish captain Pat Connaugh- ton (2011-15), who parlayed his time at Notre Dame working under In- gelsby into a solid backup role with the Milwaukee Bucks of the NBA. "Coach Ingelsby knew how to con- nect with players while also under- standing how to implement game plans at a high level," Connaugh- ton said. "It's important to have both abilities to be a successful head coach, and he's shown that." Ingelsby's only time away from Notre Dame between 1997 and 2016 came during a 10-month stint in 2002 when he worked as an assistant coach at Wagner College. Accepting a job offer from Brey, Ingelsby returned to his roots after one season at Wagner and ended up staying at Notre Dame the next 13 years — the first six working in bas- ketball operations, the last seven as an assistant coach. Ingelsby met his wife, Colleen, at Notre Dame. They were married on Ingelsby has served as the head coach at Delaware since 2016. The Blue Hens have improved their victory total each year since his arrival, including a 22-win season in 2019-20. PHOTO COURTESY INGELSBY Ingelsby and his wife, Colleen, with their 10-year- old twins Kate and Will, 5-year-old son Jack and 3-year-old son Ben. PHOTO COURTESY INGELSBY Martin Ingelsby, Point Guard 1997-2001