2008 Drexel Dragons Preview

September 18, 2008

James “Bruiser” Flint would like to forget about last season.

It was only two seasons ago when Coach Flint’s Drexel Dragons were the hottest story in the world of Philadelphia College Basketball. The Dragons finished with a record of 23-9 and a resume of wins that included Villanova, Temple, Syracuse and Creighton. Despite all of these impressive non-conference victories, Drexel was denied an NCAA Tournament berth and instead hosted an NIT game against ACC-powerhouse NC State.

Coming into last season, Coach Flint’s team had the attitude that they were same team as the year before, despite losing stars Chaz Crawford, Bashir Mason and Dominic Mejia.

“We didn’t come in with the greatest of attitudes,” said Coach Flint. “A lot of guys just thought we were going to do what we did the year before… but I think we learned our lessons.”

“One of the things I always talk to my team about; the pressure is not to perform, it’s to prepare. We weren’t the most prepared team and we didn’t prepare individually as a team. And we paid for it.”

Bruiser Flint’s teams have always played tenacious defense and that is one the main reasons Drexel has been so good during Flint’s tenure as the Dragons head coach. Last year’s team, which finished 12-20 overall and 5-13 in conference play, was no different, but the offense left something to be desired.

“At times we looked to Frank (Elegar) too much and when he didn’t come through that took the air out of us a little bit,” Flint said about his team’s poor offensive play. “Our guys never got comfortable in their roles. We had some younger guys that we had to depend on more so than we ever had (before).”

Flint went on to say how there was too much pressure on veteran players such as Scott Rodgers and Tramayne Hawthorne, who are taking over as the senior leaders this year. They never were really comfortable with taking on a bigger role as the key players in the Drexel offense last season. This year, Flint expects big things from both Rodgers and Hawthorne.

“This summer Scotty has worked his butt off and this is it for him. He knows he can play much better than he did and did a great job going out this summer, getting himself prepared.”

“The thing for Tra (Hawthorne) and Scotty is consistency. The games in which (Hawthorne) shot well, we won. The games in which he didn’t shoot well, we lost. “

“When you become a senior, you see the end of the road,” Flint continued to say about his two seniors Rodgers and Hawthorne. “I think that you come in with a different mentality…And you want to go out with a bang.”

Coach Flint lost two great seniors to graduation this past year with solid inside players Frank Elegar and Randy Oveneke. Last year, Elegar, who has signed a contract to play in Europe, led the Dragons in points, rebounds and blocked shots, while Oveneke was fourth on the team in scoring and second on the team in rebounding.

“We’re probably going to have to do some different things offensively and we hope that one of our big guys can be a guy (who can score) once in a while,” said Flint about life after Elegar and Oveneke. “I always believe in post presence and I always think you need to have a guy to throw it to and get some baskets.”

Some of those big guys that Bruiser expects solid years from include returning big men Kenny Tribbett, Yannick Formbor and Evan Neisler. Tribbett came into Drexel as a top recruit but has yet to really put in consistent performances down low during his short collegiate career.

“We’ve seen flashes,” referring to the talent of Tribbett. “I want to see more than flashes. I think (Tribbett) has the ability and he’s one of the hardest working kids we’ve ever had. He’s just got to put it together.”

Looking at the team’s roster this season, there are a good amount of returning players who are still fairly young, like guards Jamie Harris and Gerald Colds. Last season both Harris and Colds started their fair share of games as freshmen and they will both be asked to step up in Drexel’s back court once again this season.

Bruiser said that he expects Harris to be his full-time starting point guard this year allowing for more off-the-ball movement and scoring opportunities for both Rodgers and Hawthorne. The coach also expects Colds to continue to contribute and show more consistency in his three-point shooting, which at times looked unstoppable.

In addition to returning many young players to the Drexel program, Coach Flint brings in a new recruiting class for the 2008-2009 season.

First, Bruiser signed 6’2” guard Chris Fouch from Rice High School in New York City. According to ESPN.com, Fouch is, “one of the purest shooters in the country.”  Coach Flint also got 6’5” small forward Samme Givens out of the Academy of New Church, who is best known for his excellent knowledge on the court. Flint also added two new big men in 6’6” power forward Kevin Phillip from Brooklyn, NY and 6’8” power forward Leon Spencer, who is a junior college transfer from Charlotte, North Carolina.

“Chris can just flat out shoot the ball,” Coach Flint stated about the lone guard in his 2008-2009 recruiting class. “He reminds me a lot of Phil Goss, but a little taller and little more of an athlete. “

“Kevin is a rebounder and physically he will be ready to play. One thing that we lacked last year is that our rebounding was not that good. Kev can run down those balls and we can see him playing right away.”

“Samme can play a lot of positions. He can play the three and the four a little for us. Also, his dad is a high school basketball coach so he’s coming in (with a lot of) knowledge. What I really like about (Samme) is his size and he can give us some nice size on the wing and he would be able to play around the basket for us too.”

“Leon is a great athlete with the ability to finish around the basket. We got what we wanted. We knew we were losing Frank (Elegar) so we wanted to get an athlete (inside).”

With a lot of youth and athleticism on this year’s Drexel Dragons Men’s Basketball squad, Coach Flint went out and scheduled some solid non-conference games. This season, the Dragons will play on the road against Big East powerhouse Georgetown and last year’s National Runner-up, Memphis. In addition, Drexel will play two of their cross-town rivals, St. Joseph’s and the University of Pennsylvania.

When the Dragons play St. Joe’s this year, not only will Coach Flint have to face off against his alma mater, but he will also have to be on the bench opposite his long-time friend, Geoff Arnold.

During Flint’s tenure at Drexel, Arnold, who was also Bruiser’s college roommate, has been on the bench as an assistant coach and associate head coach. But over the summer, Arnold accepted an assistant coach job at St. Joe’s and will be leaving the Drexel bench after seven seasons of service.

“It’s an easy transition for Geoff,” Flint said referring to their time as players for the Hawks in the 1980s. “We still talk every day. We’re the best of friends. We sat down and he felt it was a good opportunity for him.”

With Arnold gone, Bruiser has brought in former Drexel star and LaSalle assistant coach Ashley Howard as a new assistant coach for the Dragons. Flint has also brought in Winston Smith as the new Director of Basketball Operations.

“We actually used (Howard) as an assistant coach since he missed his last two seasons because of an illness and we introduced him to coaching. Winston Smith played for me at UMass.”

“I always try to keep things in-house,” Flint said referring to the hiring of Howard and Smith. “We’ve always been able to have guys who have played for us, been around us and understand what we try to do as a program.”

In addition to a tough non-conference schedule, things don’t get any easier for the Dragons when they enter their conference schedule, facing the stiff competition of the Colonial Athletic Association. The conference’s top player, Eric Maynor, returns to the court for Virginia Commonwealth and teams like George Mason and Old Dominion will always be tough teams to face in this league.

“It’s a tough game every night,” Flint said in reference to the competition in the CAA. “Last year was the first year we hadn’t really done well in the conference. When you’re not ready, you’re going to get beat; and we weren’t ready and we got beat.”

There is certainly room for improvement for the Drexel Dragons in the 2008-2009 season. Losing Frank Elegar will be a tough loss and Coach Brusier Flint will need one of his younger big men to step into that starting center role.

In the back court, Scott Rodgers and Tramayne Hawthorne certainly have the ability to average 15 points per game and, becoming seniors, now may be the time that we see these two gifted players excel on the court.

Sophomore guards Jamie Harris and Gerald Colds both have a year of college basketball under their belt, so one would expect improvement from these two young, talented Drexel guards.

A tough schedule, both non-conference and conference, will prove to be a big test for this young Drexel squad. But Coach Flint feels that this will be a good challenge for his team.

While expectations are not extremely high for this year’s Drexel Dragons team, Bruiser Flint has set some goals for this season, especially on the offensive side of the court.

“I always say offense is about confidence. If you feel as though you are a good offensive player and the shot comes to you, you shouldn’t have any problem. “

“I just want us to be a lot more consistent. If we can do that, then we will win (some) games. Last year we just didn’t have any consistency. I’m hoping with everyone having a year under their belt, they have an understanding of what is asked from them.”

Even though Drexel fans may not be extremely satisfied with the results this season, there is a great chance for an improved team. Coach Flint feels that this season will be the beginning of the Drexel Dragons program getting back on track after a tough 2007-2008 season.

“This team is pretty much together for the next three years. We do lose Scott and Tra this year, but we don’t lose that many seniors after that. So I think the future is bright and we get back to what we’ve been doing; winning some games and going to post-season play. But we have to prepare for it, not just physically, but mentally as well.”