City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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(Ed. Note: This article is part of our 2023-24 season coverage, which will run for the six weeks preceding the first official games of the year on Nov. 6. To access all of our high school and college preview content for this season click here.)

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Big 5 Preseason Primers
MBB: Drexel | La Salle | Penn | Saint Joseph’s | Temple | Villanova
WBB: Drexel | La Salle | Penn | Saint Joseph’s | Temple | Villanova

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2023-24 Drexel Dragons MBB Primer
Coach: Zach Spiker, 8th season (93-118, .441)
Last Year: 17-15 (10-8 CAA); lost in CAA quarterfinals (UNC-Wilmington, 73-68)

The Dragons have made slow but steady progress in Spiker’s seven seasons in Philadelphia, going from a 9-23 (3-15) season his first year and gradually working their way up, finally cracking .500 during the pandemic-shortened season and beating that mark each of the two years since. The 17 wins last season were the program’s most since going 29-7 in 2011-12, and with all but one member of the rotation back, the pieces are there for Drexel to continue to rise in the CAA after a fifth-place finish last season.

Key Departures: SG Coletrane Washington (9.2 ppg)

The only one of Drexel’s top 10 scorers who’s not back is Washington, third on the team last year, who elected to call it a career after his senior season instead of utilizing his COVID year of eligibility. The 6-4 guard from western Pennsylvania played in 116 games with 42 starts over his time at Drexel, his senior year his best from a scoring perspective even if his 3-point shooting (32.1%) was below where it had been the previous two years (39.4%).

New Faces: SF Lucas Monroe (Gr. | Penn) SF Horace Simmons (Fr. | La Salle College HS, Pa.)

The Drexel staff brought in two scholarship players: one grad transfer and one true freshman, both 6-6 wings. Monroe comes in after playing three seasons at Penn, forced to grad transfer due to Ivy League regulations; the Abington grad started 25 of 30 games as a senior a year ago, never needing to be much of a scorer (career 4.4 ppg), but his defensive versatility, rebounding (6.0 rpg) and play-making (2.1 apg) as well as his leadership make him a valuable addition. Simmons, a strong shooter from La Salle College HS, can definitely help them from beyond the arc, but the Dragons are deep at the wing for this season.

Projected Lineup: PG Justin Moore (9.6 ppg, 3.1 apg), G/F Lucas Monroe (4.9 ppg, 6.0 rpg at Penn), G/F Lamar Oden Jr. (8.7 ppg, 5.4 rpg), G/F Luke House (8.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg), C Amari Williams (13.7 ppg, 8.8 rpg)

Four returning starters, and we’ll pencil in Monroe to get Washington’s spot in the lineup, as he helps them defensively and helps keep some offensive pop coming off the bench; more about that in just a moment. It’s a group with a lot of length: House is 6-4, while Monroe and Oden are both 6-6, and the 6-10 Williams is a true anchor in the post. They’ve got experience, too: the five above have a combined 163 Division I starts, and more than 6,000 Division I minutes; on top of that, Williams, House, Monroe and Oden are all in at least their fourth year of college. Moore, who played at Cheltenham, McDevitt and Wood (after McDevitt’s closing) in his high school career, needs to take a step forward in his sophomore year after an overall positive but up-and-down freshman season. 

Key Reserves: SF Yame Butler (8.6 ppg), G Jamie Bergens (6.0 ppg), SF Mate Okros (4.9 ppg), F Garfield Turner (3.4 ppg)

There are a few more names that could factor into the bench picture — including Simmons, sophomore Kobe MaGee and redshirt freshman Shane Blakeney — but these were the Dragons’ top four reserves a year ago, and by a decently good margin above anybody else. Okros, who’s played in 103 games with 78 starts over his career, seems a lock for the rotation, while Bergens is the team’s backup point guard, the 6-8 Turner gives them additional size up front and the 6-5 Butler came on strong at the end of last season.

Biggest Strength: Man in the Middle

There’s no doubt that Spiker’s biggest ace in the hole is Williams, the two-time defending league Player of the Year and a first team all-CAA selection as a junior. Now no doubt one of the best big men not just in the CAA but in the whole Northeast, Williams has made major strides in his game every year, including his play-making and conditioning. And his presence is clear in the numbers: after starting the Spiker years off in the bottom 75 teams in the country in defensive efficiency, the Dragons have improved to be 127th in the country last year (1.028 points per possession). When Williams is productive, Drexel wins — they were 10-2 when they hit double-digits in rebounds and 8-0 when he collected at least four blocks. He’s already proven to be great: can he be dominant? 

Area for Improvement: 3-point shooting

The Dragons have generally been a strong-shooting bunch over Spiker’s tenure, topping out at 40th in the country three years back (37.1%), but were down to 303rd nationally (31.8%) a year ago. Of the seven players who took more than 50 3-pointers, only House (49-of-129, 38.0%) and Okros (35.2%) were above 35%; Oden (42-of-139, 30.2%), Moore (13-of-62, 21.0%) and Bergens (15-of-59, 25.4%) were the worst offenders. Butler, who was 10-of-23 from the arc in the last nine games of the season, could be a help, as could Simmons. Considering they lost seven game last year by six points or fewer, a couple extra 3-pointers here and there would be  a major boost. (Working on their 68.1% mark from the foul line wouldn’t hurt, either).