The Triangle

Issue date: 11/14/08 Section: Sports

Media Credit: Triangle File photo

Media Credit: Triangle File photo

Drexel men's basketball coach Bruiser Flint is not used to losing.

In his first six seasons, the Dragons had a 106-74 record.

However, after losing three starters from his 23-9 team in 2006-07, Flint's mostly young and inexperienced roster went a disappointing 12-20 overall last season, losing 19 of its last 26 games and finishing tied for last in the Colonial Athletic Association after compiling a 5-13 mark in the conference.

The Dragons, always known for their defensive prowess under Flint, struggled on the offensive end as turnovers and poor shot selection and free throw shooting plagued the team all year.

This season Drexel was chosen to finish 12th in the 12-team CAA, in large part due to the fact that the Dragons will be without its leading scorer and rebounder from a year ago, center Frank Elegar. He averaged 14 points and eight rebounds per game in 2007-08, but graduated and is now playing basketball professionally in Germany.

But despite losing Elegar and forward Randy Oveneke, a consummate role player who started in every game last season, Drexel does return seven players who saw significant playing time, including a pair of senior guards - Tramayne Hawthorne and Scott Rodgers - who must not only provide scoring, but also leadership if the team wishes to have any chance of proving its preseason critics wrong.

Hawthorne, second on the team in scoring (11.2 ppg) and first in both three-point accuracy (35.2 percent) and assists (97) in 2007-08, is a terrific spot-up shooter and slasher, but at times has difficulty finding his own shot, something he will have to get more comfortable doing with defenses focused on him every possession.

Rodgers, who was third on the team in scoring (9.2 ppg) and second in assists (87), is known for his ability to breakdown defenses with dribble-drive penetration. However, he can also be careless with the ball. Rodgers turned the ball over a team-high 127 times, a number that must be lowered. He must also work on his shot selection as Rodgers made just 33.2 percent of his attempts from the field.

Both Hawthorne and Rodgers are tenacious defenders who will each be given the assignment of guarding the other team's most prolific scorers in Flint's man-to-man scheme.

Rounding out the backcourt will be two sophomores, Jamie Harris and Gerald Colds, who were thrust into action as freshmen and appeared in all 32 games a year ago.

Harris, expected to start at the point guard position, averaged just 2.5 points and had 32 assists in 17.2 minutes. He showed flashes of being able to run Flint's offense efficiently and must take the next step in order to earn more playing time.

Colds, who got fans excited with an 18-point debut in the Dragons' overtime thrilling win over Penn at the Palestra, tired down the stretch after a fast start and finished fifth on the team in scoring (6.5 ppg). He needs to develop more consistency on his 3-pointers (31.4 percent) if he wishes to revert back to his early season form and become a vital player for Drexel.

In the frontcourt, replacing Elegar's ability to score with his back to the basket in the paint will be near impossible, but Flint must hope three bigmen - juniors Evan Neisler and Kenny Tribbett, and sophomore Yannick Formbor - can combine to help fill that void.

Neisler, a transfer from Boston College, had a solid year coming off the bench for the Dragons. He averaged 3.3 points and three rebounds per game in 12.6 minutes. However, given that Neisler's minutes per game are going to increase, his numbers will as well. Neisler is not exactly the most proficient scorer around the rim, but is known for ability to crash the boards and get put-backs and the occasional dunk on the inside.

Tribbett, who scored just 2.3 points and added 1.7 rebounds in 7.7 minutes per contest, has shown a knack for scoring on the interior, but needs to show a killer instinct like he had against Temple two years ago, when he led the Dragons to a 15-point road victory behind a 12-point, seven-rebound night.

Formbor, who showed progress during his freshman season after being redshirted his first year, will look to fit into the frontcourt rotation off the bench. Like Tribbett, he also needs to show that killer instinct.

None of these players possesses Elegar's (CAA All-Defensive Team) shot blocking ability; however, Flint's focus on the defensive side has always been more about team stats and not about individual stats.

Flint's recruiting class was projected as one of his best in recent years after he landed four recruits, including six-foot guard Chris Fouch, a highly-touted long-range specialist who he compared to former Drexel great Phil Goss. Fouch was one of the leading scorers (15+ ppg) at Rice High School in New York City. However, after injuring his left knee in the preseason, Fouch will miss the entire 2008-09 season. He will have surgery and is expected to return healthy next year. And considering that Drexel lacks a lot of perimeter scoring punch, this is a huge blow.

The other three recruits - Kevin Phillip, junior transfer Leon Spencer and Sammy Givens - could see action right away.

Phillip, a 6-foot-6 forward out of Bishop Loughlin High School in Brooklyn should become known more for his rebounding and defensive presence, while Spencer, who enters as a junior from Brunswick Community College in North Carolina, should provide the Dragons with some toughness and finishing up front with his 6-foot-8 frame.

Givens, a versatile 6-foot-5 jack-of-all-trades, should begin the season seeing time out on the perimeter. He averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds per game as a senior at Academy of the New Church in Philadelphia.

Drexel will kick off its 2008-09 season with a historic matchup against 33rd Street rival Penn and for the first time in the series' history, the game will be played at the DAC Nov. 18 at 10 a.m. on ESPN. And this is just one of the non-conference tests Flint scheduled for his team.

The Dragons will also face a pair of former Final Four teams from the past two seasons.

Drexel will travel to Washington D.C. to face the Georgetown Hoyas Nov. 22 (2007 Final Four) and then head to Memphis to face Flint's mentor John Calipari and the Tigers, a team that advanced to the 2008 National Championship Game Dec. 22.

Other non-conference highlights include home games against Cal-State Northridge (Dec. 1) and Niagara (Dec. 18, televised on DUTV) as well road games at Bucknell (Dec. 20), Rider (Dec. 27) and a game at the Palestra against St. Joseph's on New Year's Eve for the second straight season.

The Dragons will begin conference play Dec. 6 against defending conference champion George Mason at the DAC and not play another CAA contest until Jan. 3 when they visit Hofstra.

Preseason CAA favorite VCU will come to the DAC Jan. 8, while Drexel will host rival Delaware Jan. 20.

The Dragons will have home-and-home series with Towson, Northeastern, Georgia State, William & Mary, the Patriots, the Pride and the Blue Hens.

Drexel will play at home against Old Dominion (Feb. 7) and make trips to James Madison (Jan. 5) and UNC-Wilmington (Jan. 17).

The Dragons will host an unknown Bracket Buster game Feb. 21 and will close out their regular season schedule Feb. 28 at William & Mary.

The CAA Tournament will be held from March 6 to 9 in Richmond, Va.

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