City of Basketball Love

Matthew Ryan (@matthewryan02)
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — If this was Camren Wynter's last game in a Drexel uniform, it's safe to say he left it all on the floor.

With fourth-seeded Drexel trailing fifth-seeded Delaware by 11 at the half, the senior came out firing on all cylinders in the second frame, trying to do whatever he could to stave off elimination in the quarterfinals of the Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament.

From the start of the second half until 8:11 remaining, Wynter scored 18 of Drexel's 28 points, going 7-for-7 from the field, 1-for-1 from deep and 3-for-3 from the free throw line to pull his Dragons within three. But, after the lengthy run, the Blue Hens pulled away to hand Drexel a 66-56 loss and end its season.

"Obviously, disappointing result today," Drexel head coach Zach Spiker said. "It's tough. I think the CAA is so competitive, if you don't put together a couple halves, you're going to find yourself in a tough situation."

Wynter, who was honored on Senior Night last week, finished with a game-high and season-high 28 points on 12-for-20 shooting and was the only Dragon to score in double figures on Sunday. His scoring output was the second-most by a Dragon in the CAA tournament, trailing only Chris Fouch’s 30-point outing in 2014.

"I think today's performance […] to get 28 points, that's one of the greatest performances in a playoff game that any player from Drexel's had in the CAA," Spiker said.

Although Wynter is a senior, a return is possible due to the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA from last year's pandemic-affected season. Joining Wynter as possible departures but players who still have one more year of eligibility are seniors Matey Juric, Coletrane Washington, and graduate students Trevion Brown and James Butler.

After the game, Wynter said that he hasn't thought about if he will return or not.

"(Wynter's) path and his journey, for four years to be part of it for Drexel, we're incredibly grateful and just thankful for it all, [what] Cam's given us, and all of our seniors: Coletrane, (Butler), Melik (Martin) and Matey Juric as well," Spiker said. "But it's hard, it's difficult to have that finality, that ending. You never want that."

Of the five seniors and graduate students who may depart, none have done more in terms of on-court production than Wynter and Butler.

Wynter made an immediate impact on the court at Drexel, becoming the third Dragon to win CAA Rookie of the Year. He followed up his freshman campaign earning Second Team All-CAA honors, and was named First Team All-CAA as a junior and senior. Wynter is third all-time in assists at Drexel and moved into sixth all-time in scoring at Drexel with 1,657 points after Sunday's performance.

He led the Dragons to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 25 years a season ago after winning the CAA Championship as a six seed and brought them their second consecutive winning season for the first time since 2010-11 and 2011-12.

His departure would leave a huge hole in terms of scoring production for Spiker's squad and would mark the end of one of Drexel's best players' careers.

"Not everybody's willing to listen and learn when you get to a certain point, and this guy has been a sponge for four years, and I'd take four more in a heartbeat," Spiker said of Wynter.

"The last four years at Drexel have been amazing," Wynter said. "Coach Spiker and the staff took a chance on me when other schools didn't; other schools didn't look my way. […] I came in with a lot of other players, obviously, we're all seniors now, so I think we looked around the locker room and just were thankful for one another, that we spent the last four years together and we made a long-lasting relationship whether I do choose to come back or not. We're all friends for life."

Butler's college career hasn't been as linear as Wynter's. He started college at Navy before transferring after his first year. He enjoyed a stellar first season with the Dragons and then had a big junior season where he averaged 13.2 points a night and 11.7 rebounds per game, good enough for third in the nation. He was named Third Team All-CAA as a junior and senior before taking a step back this season, where he was hampered with a lower-body injury.

Through 11 games on the season, Butler averaged 13.4 ppg and 9.7 rpg before his injury kept him out for a few weeks, and when he returned, he came off the bench. Since then, he only scored in double figures once and had zero games with 10 or more rebounds. 

With nine rebounds on Mar. 24 against UNCW, Butler became just the fourth player in Drexel history to register at least 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds.

2021-22 brought its ups and downs for Butler, but through it all, he didn't hang his head.

"(Butler) had an injury, that happens, and another guy came in and was maybe even more productive," Spiker said. "Do you know how many people don't have the intestinal fortitude to stick with it and keep going and be a great example? James Butler [...] left an incredible impact, and maybe the largest one is, there's no better example of a great teammate. [...] The way he handled this season with injuries, I couldn't be more proud of [him]."

"I hang out with him and most guys, when something like that happens, they complain. They don't want to come to practice," Wynter said. "He's one guy who, you could never see it in his face. He never talked about it. It's always team-first with him, and I really respect that."

If all the seniors and graduates depart, the Dragons still have a solid nucleus of talent projected to return. Sophomore’s Xavier Bell (11 ppg) and Amari Williams (9.5), who was All-CAA Third Team and the CAA Defensive Player of the Year, are coming off solid years and would see bigger roles next season, while Lamar Oden Jr. (4.6 ppg) would likely see an increase from his 15.5 minutes per game. They also have three committed players in the Class of 2022, including Archbishop Wood senior Justin Moore.

While the future at Drexel is still unknown, one thing that's certain is that players like Wynter and Butler have made their mark on the program, and in the record books.

"When we get a little further away from this, I'm just very, very grateful and thankful and honored to coach at Drexel and coach this group," Spiker said. "And we'll see what happens after that, but I'll tell you what we're gonna support these guys in any decision they make. They've been awesome for us."