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Delaware forward Justyn Mutts provided the offensive gem of the night when he finished off a rebound with a thunderous slam.

Delaware News Journal

On the brink of a potential championship run in 2020-21, the University of Delaware basketball team has perhaps lost one of its most important players.

Justyn Mutts put his name in the NCAA transfer portal Friday, he said, feeling he has an opportunity to succeed at a level above where the mid-major Colonial Athletic Association Blue Hens play.

“We have an amazing situation at Delaware,” Mutts said Saturday. “But with the work that I’ve done, I’ve put myself in a position where I can look at all my options and what’s best for me and my family moving forward.’’

Mutts was second in scoring (12.2 points per game) and first in rebounding (8.4) for the 22-11 Blue Hens last season, his first after transferring from High Point (N.C.). He had sophomore eligibility and Delaware was slated to return its entire starting lineup.

His season featured a 30-point/13-rebound effort in a rare UD win at eventual CAA champ Hofstra. Mutts’ 11 double-doubles ranked third in the CAA. Early in the season, Mutts became the first Blue Hen since Greg Smith in 1996 with back-to-back 20-point/15-rebound games.

But the 6-foot-7, 220-pound Mutts, 21, graduated from Delaware this spring with a degree in psychology, completing his course work in three years, the last two at UD.

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“I just took summer classes,” Mutts said. “And when I transferred from High Point to Delaware I had 40 credits that transferred. I had a clear focus on what I wanted to get my degree in and I like school, I like learning, so I don’t mind doing what I have to do.’’

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Because he has graduated, Mutts would be eligible immediately at another school.

“I feel like the position I put myself in by graduating early, I have a crazy opportunity to go to a school and be there for two years,” Mutts said. “If I was to go to, say, the ACC or the SEC – I’m not saying I’ll be at one of those places – I’d have the opportunity to end up at a big level.”

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The Millville, New Jersey, resident has already been accepted in Delaware’s graduate program for psychology and has not ruled out returning to the Blue Hens.

“Believe me, I’m not disrespecting or overlooking the opportunity that I have at Delaware,” he said, “because I understand I have an amazing situation there. But I just feel I’m in a position now to look at all my opportunities.”