#CAAHoops Preview: Drexel Men's Basketball
Miles McQuiggan
PHILADELPHIA (Nov. 3, 2022) - As the calendar turns to November, the sports capital of the nation rests on the Schuylkill River.
At 33rd and Market, Drexel has something to its name in recent years that some Philadelphia neighbors are working at this fall: a banner.
The Dragons made a run from the 6-seed in 2021 to hoist the CAA Championship trophy and finished two spots higher in the regular season last year before eventual conference champion Delaware ended the repeat bid. Drexel's goals to win two out of three are anchored by reigning Defensive Player of the Year
Amari Williams, who returns to the DAC after averaging nine points, seven rebounds, and nearly two blocks per game for a 15-win Dragon squad a year ago.
The defensive end of the floor is key to the Dragons' success again this winter, as Drexel looks to build upon being the conference's third-best team in KenPom defensive efficiency a year ago.
"It's something we've made a priority," said head coach
Zach Spiker, who enters his seventh season in Philadelphia. "We emphasize it for our returners, but also as we add some pieces, that we add a level of toughness and nastiness that the new players bring to us so we keep that level of consistency on the defensive end."
Drexel returns other key pieces from last year's squad, including guards
Coletrane Washington,
Mate Okros, and
Lamar Oden, who will be relied on to raise their offensive ceilings in the new year.
The word "ceiling" will hopefully not be as relevant to Drexel's non-conference resume this year as it was a year ago, as the Dragons' early-season slate included an opponent's bus breakdown, having to loan uniforms to another opponent on gameday, and a rain delay in the Bahamas - indoors - due to a leaky roof. Not to be lost in the myriad collection of schedule alterations, Drexel won at Saint Joseph's and beat Charlotte by double digits hours after that delayed game went to overtime.
Drexel's non-league schedule this winter includes home games against Old Dominion, Penn, and Princeton, and visits to Temple, La Salle, and Seton Hall with the latter two contests nationally televised. The Dragons will make another MTE trip the week of Thanksgiving to face a group of teams on Florida's Gulf Coast.
As Drexel aims to get back to the top of the CAA this winter, that "nastiness" and defensive-minded basketball is something the Dragons look to embrace. It is also a mentality that fits in well in a city that prides itself in hard-working people and teams - and potentially some more champions.
Drexel
Head Coach: Zach Spiker
2021-22 Record: 15-14, 10-8 CAA (T-4th)
Postseason: CAA Quarterfinals
Returning Starters (3)
AmarI Williams, F 9.5 ppg, 7.3 rpg, .521 FG%, 57 blocks, CAA Defensive Player of the Year, CAA Third Team
Coletrane Washington, G 6.5 ppg, .356 3FG%
Mate Okros, G 5.6 ppg, .388 3FG%
Other Key Returner
Lamar Oden, G 4.6 ppg, .435 3FG%
Notable Newcomers
Justin Moore, G Archbishop Wood HS
Garfield Turner, F transfer from Odessa
Jamie Bergens, G transfer from Oral Roberts
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