Dylan Painter left Villanova without bitterness. He was not disgruntled.

He just wanted to play more.

“We’re really proud of him here,” Villanova basketball coach Jay Wright said about the University of Delaware player.

The fact Painter now gets to play against his friends and former teammates and coaches at Villanova is an additional delight to the joy that already comes from being in the NCAA Basketball Tournament.

Nobody relished the matchup that appeared on the Carpenter Center video screen during CBS-TV’s Selection Show telecast more than Painter on Sunday night.

It divulged a Delaware-Villanova first-round game Friday at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh. Tipoff is at 2:45 p.m.

“It’s just crazy how things go full circle,” Painter said later.

“Pittsburgh, great drive, we can get a lot of family. Playing on my birthday [he turns 24 Friday]. Everything is just like, it’s weird, it’s unreal.”

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There are many Delaware-Villanova ties, including Blue Hen coach Martin Ingelsby’s extensive family bonds, and a long basketball history – dominated by the Wildcats – between schools located 45 miles apart.

Notre Dame grad Ingelsby’s dad Tom starred at Villanova, as did uncle Ed Hastings, now a professor there. His sister Chrissi and brothers Tom and Brad, who wrote and produced HBO’s recent hit, “Mare of Easttown,” are also Villanova graduates. So is Chrissi’s husband Baker Dunleavy, the Quinnipiac coach who played at Villanova, served a long stint on Wright’s staff and recruited Painter.

But the strongest current connection is Painter’s presence on and value to a Delaware team looking to make school history with its first NCAA Tournament win in six tries.

Three games into the 2018-19 season, Painter’s third at Villanova, the school announced he would seek a transfer.

A redshirt sophomore that season, Painter had actually started, though he played just six minutes, in a 100-77 season-opening win over Morgan State. He then came off the bench for five minutes in a rout of Quinnipiac but didn’t play in a lopsided loss to Michigan, which Villanova had beaten in the previous spring’s NCAA final.

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When his transfer was announced two days later, Wright called it “a very sad day for all of us in our program. There is not a player more loved or respected on our team than Dylan Painter.”

He said Painter deserved to go someplace where he could play and contribute more on the court.

Delaware turned out to be the ideal destination.

“There was no bad blood,” Painter said Sunday night about his Villanova departure. “We had a conversation about what was best for me and my future.

“Looking back now, I definitely made the right choice. I’ve had a great career here at Delaware and it’s gonna be a great way to cap it off.”

Painter became eligible in December of 2019, just after Delaware’s last game against Villanova, a 78-70 loss at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. He became a key part of the Blue Hens’ 22-11 squad that reached the 2020 CAA semifinals.

He then blossomed in 2020-21, making first-team All-CAA while finishing first in the CAA and sixth nationally with 11.5 rebounds per game.

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The Blue Hens’ season was undermined by the coronavirus pandemic, with a CAA quarterfinal loss to Hofstra being their first game in more than a month. But because the NCAA ruled the year didn’t count against players’ eligibility, Painter could return for another season.

This year was booby-trapped by an ankle sprain Jan. 27 that caused Painter to miss five games and play sparingly in others. CAA rookie of the year and conference tournament MVP Jyare Davis’ stellar play in his place has now put Painter in the unusual position of coming off the bench, where he has provided important contributions. Painter played 32 minutes and scored 12 points in Delaware’s CAA semifinal win over top-seeded Towson.

In his UD career, Painter has 16 double-doubles in 66 games and his 55.6 career field-goal percentage ranks No. 4 in school history.

“He’s gotten to be a really good player, which we knew he would,” Wright said Sunday.

“The thing about Dylan is, he was like the ultimate Villanova basketball player. He did all the dirty work. He got everything we were about. He was really intelligent about what we do. Like, if anybody could explain what we do, it’s him. And Martin told me one time in the summer recruiting that he brought a lot to their locker room. He had the greatest attitude of anybody we had.”

The Hershey, Pennsylvania, resident played in 23 games as a Villanova freshman in 2016-17, getting season highs of 10 points and six rebounds in a Big East Tournament win over St. John’s. He played for one minute and grabbed one rebound in Villanova’s 76-56 NCAA first-round win over Mount St. Mary’s, one of eight Wildcats who appeared. Villanova was then ousted by Wisconsin two days later.

He red-shirted for Villanova’s 2017-18 NCAA champs.

Several of Villanova’s present players are Painter’s friends and former teammates, including forwards Jermaine Samuels, Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree and Brandon Slater and All-American point guard Collin Gillespie. Speaking of Delaware connections, Gillespie was weighing a scholarship offer from Ingelsby before Villanova became the first major program to swoop in. His sister Victoria is a former UD swimmer married to ex-Blue Hen baseball standout Joe Giacchino.

And Delaware reserve forward Anthony Ochefu is the younger brother of former Villanova standout Daniel Ochefu.

Delaware is 0-15 all-time against Villanova, the closest game being an 84-80 loss at the Pavilion early in the 2013-14 season, the last in which Delaware reached the NCAA Tournament.

But the No. 15-seeded Blue Hens won’t limit their aspirations with the mighty Wildcats, seeded second and ranked sixth nationally, lurking.

“Our goal is to pull the upset,” Painter said. “We won CAA, we’re going to the dance. But, like, we are not ready to stop this season so, as many games as we can win, that’s the goal."

Have an idea for a compelling local sports story or is there an issue that needs public scrutiny? Contact Kevin Tresolini at ktresolini@delawareonline.com and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware forward faces friends and former Villanova teammates