coaching staff

Bill Phillips | Associate Head Coach

Bill Phillips enters his ninth year on the University of Delaware men’s basketball staff in 2024-25 and his fourth as associate head coach. Phillips served as an assistant coach during his first five years before his promotion in July 2021.

Phillips played a key role in returning Delaware basketball to a place it has only been six times in program history with the CAA Championship title and NCAA Tournament First Round appearance in 2022. It marked the Blue Hens’ first conference crown since the 2014 season.

In its time in Newark, the staff has recruited and coached six Blue Hens to the pros, including Delaware’s first-ever NBA player, Nate Darling.

The Blue Hens have also garnered three CAA Rookie of the Year awards, 21 All-CAA honors, and six All-District nods, under the current staff.

Prior to arriving in Newark, Phillips spent the previous five years at CAA rival James Madison, including one as the staff’s director of operations and the next four as assistant coach. During his tenure at JMU Phillips assisted with off-campus recruiting, player development and the overall advancement of the program.

In his first year as an assistant, Phillips helped the Dukes win the CAA Tournament title, advance to their first NCAA Tournament since 1994, and post their first NCAA win in 30 years with a victory over LIU Brooklyn in the First Four.

Prior to arriving in Harrisonburg, Phillips spent the 2010-11 season as an assistant coach with Division II Philadelphia University, where he helped the Rams to a 15-12 record while working primarily with post player development.

Phillips began his collegiate playing career at William & Mary during the 1997-98 season, earning CAA All-Rookie honors after averaging 8.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. He then transferred to Saint Joseph’s, where he enjoyed a stellar three years that included earning second team All-Atlantic 10 and All-Big 5 honors during his junior and senior campaigns.

Phillips helped the Hawks reach the second round of the 2001 NCAA Tournament, before serving as captain of the 2001-02 squad that reached the second round of the Postseason NIT. He led SJU with 7.6 rebounds per game as a senior, while establishing a school record by hitting 49.5 percent of his three-point attempts. Phillips, who scored 1,007 points during his Hawks career and is currently fifth in school history with a 52.7 career field goal percentage, was inducted into the Saint Joseph’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.

A two-time Academic All-American, Phillips was named the Atlantic 10 Student-Athlete of the Year in both 2000-01 and 2001-02. He graduated Cum Laude from Saint Joseph’s with a finance degree in 2001 and earned his master’s degree in financial services from the school in 2002.

Phillips then went on to play eight seasons of professional basketball at the international level, including stops with 10 different teams in France, Greece, Spain, Italy, and Germany.

Phillips and his wife, Ann, reside in Wilmington.

JJ Butler | Assistant Coach

JJ Butler enters his second season as an assistant coach with Delaware men's basketball in 2024-35 after his hire in July 2023.

"We are very excited to have JJ joining our staff here at Delaware," Ingelsby said. "He is a passionate leader who cares greatly about his student-athletes and their success on and off the basketball court. JJ is a tireless worker who has built strong relationships wherever he has been and his experience as a head coach will make him a great asset to our program."

Butler, who was hired as the head coach at Chestnut Hill during the summer of 2020, led the Griffins to a CACC Quarterfinals victory this past season, reaching the semifinals for the first time since 2011. In his two years at the helm of the program, he posted a 30-27 record and the first back-to-back double digit win season since 2013-14. In his first season, he improved the squad's record from 6-22 to 14-13. Those 14 wins were the most by a Griffins team since the 2011-12 season.

"The opportunity to join Coach Ingelsby's staff here at Delaware is a special one," Butler said. "I'm humbled by the opportunity and excited to learn and grow in the role. What I'm most excited about is the chance to get on campus and get to know this years group, over the summer.

I would love to thank Jesse Balcer, the Athletic Director at Chestnut Hill, for providing me an opportunity to be a head coach at the age of 25. Our staff and teams there over the last 3 years taught me a lot. The Chestnut Hill family enabled me to grow tremendously as a coach. Everyone's belief and buy-in to our vision allowed me to earn this opportunity to join Coach Ingelsby's staff. For that I am forever grateful.

As my wife and I make the move to the first state, we're excited to see what it means to be Blue Hen Built."

Prior to being named head coach at Chestnut Hill, Butler spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Division III Susquehana University. He played a significant role in the River Hawks' first-ever Landmark Conference Championship and their third NCAA DIII Championship Tournament appearance. The 2019-2020 River Hawks ranked 32nd nationally in scoring defense en route to a 21-8 overall record and 11-3 Landmark Conference regular-season finish.

As an assistant coach, Butler focused on recruiting, scouting reports, individual and group skill development, leading practice drills, as well as, identifying sponsorship opportunities, organizing travel, team meals, and social media campaigns for the program.

Butler held similar responsibilities at Chestnut Hill College, where he was an assistant coach under Jesse Balcer. He aided Balcer in a large scope of activities including, but not limited to, recruiting, individual and group skill development, scouting reports, and practice.

Butler attended Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee, before completing his eligibility at Chestnut Hill College. He totaled 128 points, 70 rebounds, 109 assists, four blocks, and 38 steals in 85 games with the Bisons. Meanwhile, during the 2016-2017 season, provided 116 points, 62 rebounds, 52 assists, two blocks, and 38 steals over 21 games for the Griffins.

He graduated with a bachelor's degrees in corporate management finance from Lipscomb in 2016 and with a master's degree in administration of human services from Chestnut Hill in 2018.

Danny O'Connor | Assistant Coach

Danny O'Connor enters his ninth season on the University of Delaware men's basketball coaching staff and first as an assistant coach in 2024-25 after spending three years as the director of men's basketball operations, and five seasons as coordinator of player development/videography.

O'Connor was promoted to an assistant coach in July 2024, his second promotion during his tenure in Newark. After serving five years as coordinator of player development/videography, he was promoted to director of men's basketball operations in October 2021.

O'Connor played a key role in returning Delaware basketball to a place it has only been six times in program history with the CAA Championship title and NCAA Tournament First Round appearance in 2022. It marked the Blue Hens’ first conference crown since the 2014 season.

In its time in Newark, the staff has recruited and coached six Blue Hens to the pros, including Delaware’s first-ever NBA player, Nate Darling.

The Blue Hens have also garnered three CAA Rookie of the Year awards, 21 All-CAA honors, and six All-District nods, under the current staff.

In his previous role, he was responsible for all basketball-related film and video editing and aided the assistant coaches in creating scouting reports. O'Connor oversaw the team's manager program and assisted with running camps and clinics throughout the year.

O’Connor played a key role in returning Delaware basketball to a place it has only been six times in program history with the CAA Championship title and NCAA Tournament First Round appearance in 2022. It marked the Blue Hens’ first conference crown since the 2014 season.

O'Connor, who graduated from Indiana University in 2016, resides in Wilmington.

Christian Nunez | Assistant Coach/Director of Player Development

Christian Nunez begins his first season at Delaware in 2024-25 as an assistant coach/director of player development for men's basketball.

Nunez joins the Blue Hens after spending the previous three and a half years at Saint Louis University as an assistant coach/director of player development. During his tenure with the Billikens, the team made a pair of NIT appearances after falling in the Atlantic 10 Championship semifinals.

“We are very excited to announce the addition of Christian Nunez to our coaching staff,” Ingelsby said. “He comes highly recommended as an elite player development coach and his years of experience on the staff at Saint Louis have prepared him for this opportunity. He worked closely with Coach Travis Ford on all aspect of their offense, and I look forward to him bringing new ideas and concepts to our offensive system here. He will also greatly assist us with his recruiting connections and relationships throughout the country.”

A native of White Plains, New York, Nunez has had extensive coaching experience in his hometown. Most recently, he was assistant varsity basketball coach at Iona Preparatory High School while also serving as a coaching/teaching assistant at White Plains High School. In his first season at Iona Prep, the team won the New York City Catholic High School Athletic Association with a 10-2 league record and an overall record of 21-7.

“I am extremely grateful to join Coach Ingelsby’s staff here at the University of Delaware,” Nunez said. “Martin, the staff, student-athletes, and administration have done a tremendous job in leading this program in the right direction and I couldn’t be more excited to be here. I can’t wait to hit the ground running and help continue the success.”

As a student-athlete at Farmingdale State College in New York, Nunez led the Rams to a conference title and an appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament.

In 2013, Nunez was honored as Farmingdale State College’s Athlete of the Year, which is awarded to the student-athlete who best exemplifies the mission of Farmingdale State Athletics’ commitment to sportsmanship, leadership, athletic performance, and academic success.

Following his graduation from Farmingdale State, he served as an assistant coach with the Rams for the 2013-14 season.

Stephen Galgano | Director of Men's Basketball Operations

Former four-year manager and University of Delaware graduate, Stephen Galgano '20, serves as the director of men's basketball operations after being promoted to that role in July 2024. He returned to Delaware as the assistant director of men's basketball operations in June 2023.

Galgano spent the previous two seasons at Marshall University as a graduate assistant within the men's basketball program. In that role, he aided the staff in scouting operations and player development. His tenure was highlighted by a 24-8 record in 2022-23.

After graduating from UD, he landed at Bryant University where he served as the special assistant to the head coach for men's basketball. Galgano spent one year in that capacity from August 2020 to August 2021. With the Bulldogs, he aided the program in multiple facets, including operations and video.

Galgano graduated from Marshall with his Master of Business Administration in April 2023.