Been a long time since we rapped at ya’, and we return with a heavy dose of Drexel. There is some good news, tough news, travel plans, and the kickoff of a summer feature.
The good news? Thanks to Bob Jordan, we learned that Bruiser Flint has graduated every player that’s matriculated through the Drexel program since Flint arrived in 2001. In a time when stories surround magical GPAs and “B”illions of dollars thanks to realignment, we need statistics like this repeated and acknowledged.
A quick headcount (unofficial, because I don’t have the patience nor time to pour through the Drexel media guide for every senior since 2001, and maybe an enterprising Drexel fan can help): 32 players, 32 degrees since 2001.
You should applaud this.
The tough news? CAA freshman of the year Chris Fouch underwent surgery on his knee yesterday. Too many doctors and too many opinions and too few comments, but the scare is a torn meniscus, and the gist is that it appears to be six weeks before Fouch is back on the court. This is Fouch’s second major surgery in three years.
Travelocity? Drexel will be taking one of those overseas trips this summer. Details are coming and we’ll get them, and we’ll probably log each CAA team’s trip, but the Dragons are outta’ here to a far flung location. Caribbean?
No, Drexel will be headed to Turkey.
The feature kickoff? We’re going to list one player from every CAA team who can make a huge difference this year if he does two things: listens to his coach on skill development, and works his tail off in the weight room and on the pavement to get into basketball shape.
Now, the litmus isn’t “NCAA tournament” or “20 wins.” The litmus is this: the player is the guy who if he does his work makes the difference in 11-7 and playing on Friday and a 13-5 third place finish. Oh, you bet it’s that slim, which means “Charles Jenkins working on his jumper” doesn’t count.
And I’ll take nominations for Your Team.
First up, since Bruiser returned my phone call: Drexel and their 6-6, 225-pound swingman Kevin Phillip.
Here’s the thing about Phillip. With Leon Spencer, Kenny Tribbett, and Evan Neisler graduating, the Dragons have a significant hole to fill on the baseline. We’re not saying Phillip needs to be Frank Elegar or Robert “He Walked” Battle. If Phillip can be Randy Oveneke–8 points, 6 rebounds, determined play on both ends of the floor and knowing your role–Drexel is a different team.
Jamie Harris, Chris Fouch, and Gerald Colds are going to handle the ball and hoist the majority of the shots. In Flint’s offense, they will run off approximately 4,583 screens on each possession. Somebody has to set those screens and get to the offensive glass. If a defense has no fear of the big man, they will go over top every ball screen and dare Fouch and Harris to drive.
Bruiser agrees:
“You got the right one, that’s for sure, and for him it’s about the mental part,” says Flint. “With him it’s his focus and what he needs to do. He has the ability and he’s shown what he can do, but he’s got to get into shape. He made huge steps from his freshman to his sophomore year—and that shows you how bad he was as a freshman—but the thing is, can he make the next step? Can he really help you, or only show glimpses?
“The kid is one of the worst conditioned kids I’ve ever coached, and I tell him that all the time. If he can get into shape he can make a huge difference. Physically he’s as strong a kid as we’ve ever had, athletically he’s pretty good, and he’s got some toughness and I like that, but he’s not always there, you know?”
Who’s your Kevin Phillip?
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Assistants Coming and Going
Since we last spoke, Buzz Peterson hired Kevin Norris from Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Flint added Matt Collier to his staff. Collier comes to Drexel after serving five seasons as an assistant coach at Howard University and replaces Tony Chiles, who went to St. John’s.
Rod Barnes hired Raheem Waller at Gerogia State to replace William Small (gone to UTEP).
Finally, JMU assistant Carlin Hartman left Harrisonburg to go to Columbia (the school, not the country)
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The athletics directors are finishing up their portion of the CAA Annual meetings. If anything new or interesting falls out of Hilton Head, we’ll bring it to you.
Room temperatures and lunch menus don’t count.