City of Basketball Love

Eugene Rapay (@erapay5)
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With a six-point lead at halftime over La Salle, Drexel head coach Bruiser Flint wasn't completely satisfied.

Kazembe Abif just wasn't producing, going scoreless in the first half of play with only one offensive rebound and an assist to show for his seven minutes of action.

Looking at his bench, he was left with a puzzle that he has been trying to solve all season long. Flint was hoping to instill a spark in his frontcourt to be physical, and to produce.

He had Mohamed Bah and Tyshawn Myles to pick from, both of whom combined for two points and four rebounds in 12 minutes of action up to that point. However, Myles already had three fouls to his name.

The 2015-16 Drexel squad team is still figuring out its frontcourt rotations, but it saw glimpses of what can work in its first win of the season, which came Saturday against La Salle.

One of the key pieces in attaining that win was junior forward Rodney Williams. Williams notched his best performance of the season so far with a double-double, scoring 14 points and grabbing 13 rebounds.

“We need him to be that type of player,” Flint said. “He can be a double-double player, but he hasn't been.”

While Williams was one of the bright spots in Drexel's win, he has not been immune to the same issue that has been plaguing the Dragons' forwards – foul trouble.

“We do make some bad fouls because we're swiping at the ball instead of just playing big,” Flint said. “I always talk to them about not having to swipe down, just play big and make the guy make a tough shot over the top of you.”

Williams can be a steady performer for the Dragons, but has taken himself out of games due to quick fouls. He and the team did a better job of managing themselves in the La Salle game. Williams only had one foul after the first half, but showed glimpses of going back to his old ways with three fouls in the second half. It's something that he's working on.

“The new rules were tough for me at first,” he said.

The NCAA imposed new rules going into this season in regards to the physicality of the game. Referees are keen on regulating the ways in which players move and act on the court.

“It was just frustrating at first, all the fouls, but I just went into the office and watched film,” Williams said. “I tried to correct my mistakes.”

It paid off, as he was able to stay on the court of Saturday's game up until the final buzzer.

However, the Dragons will need each of their forwards to be smarter with their fouling. In the win against La Salle, their forwards combined for 21 of the team's 41 rebounds and helped out rebound the Explorers.

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Fields' return still unknown

For the fifth consecutive game, Drexel redshirt sophomore Ahmad Fields was not suited up.

Fields is playing in his first season as a Dragon, after transferring in from Utah. He saw limited playing time as a Ute, playing in 19 games and averaging 3.3 points per game.

He has not seen action since the season opener at St. Joseph's, where Drexel lost 82-81. He had nine points and five rebounds in 18 minutes of action before fouling out.

There hasn't been any updates on his status. His absence also hampers the team's depth at the front court.

“I know nothing about the injury report,” Flint said. “When the dude shows up for practice one day, that's when you know. We've been injured so much that I don't even ask anymore.”