Jerry Carino

@njhoopshaven

All winter, Angel Delgado owned the paint for Seton Hall basketball. Now he owns the Haggerty Award as a result.

The 81-year-old honor, which recognizes the metropolitan area’s top player, was announced Wednesday by Met Basketball Writers Association.

“He had one of the best seasons of any player in college basketball,” Hall coach Kevin Willard said of Delgado, who averaged 15.2 points and a nation-leading 13.1 rebounds per game. “The scary thing is, he can take a big step forward.”

The junior center has declared for the NBA Draft without an agent, but he’s not in mock draft projections. Any decision is on hold pending an invite to the NBA Draft Combine May 9-14.

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“We’re going to see what the feedback is and go from there,” Willard said.

Delgado was named first-team All-Big East and honorable mention All-America after leading the Hall to 21 wins and a second straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.

“If he returns I expect him to take another big leap in terms of being an efficient scorer,” Willard said. “I expect his shooting percentage to rise (from .543) and his range to expand. I expect him to have a monster year.”

Delgado is the Pirates’ second straight Haggerty winner; former classmate Isaiah Whitehead garnered the honor in 2016.

“It really shows how hard that class has worked,” Willard said.

Seton Hall’s other Haggerty winners form an impressive lot: Andre Barrett in 2004, Adrian Griffin in 1996, Arturas Karnishovas in 1994, Terry Dehere in 1993, John Morton in 1989, Mark Bryant in 1988, Dan Callandrillo in 1982, Nick Galis in 1979, Nick Werkman in 1964 and Walter Dukes in 1953.

Jerry Carino: jcarino@gannettnj.com.