The Dragons return their most talented core of the Zach Spiker era. But will a lack of depth cause Drexel to languish in the bottom half of the league yet again?
2019-20 Record: 14-19, 6-12 CAA (8th place)
2019-20 KenPom Ranking: 244th (7th in CAA)
Last year was par for the course for Zach Spiker’s Drexel Dragons. In the most recent of Spiker’s four seasons at the helm in Philadelphia, a decently-talented Drexel team modestly underperformed expectations, landing in the bottom half of the league. (In fact, Drexel hasn’t finished in the top half of the CAA since the 2013-2014 season.)
Picked to finish in eighth in the preseason poll, the 2019-20 Dragons went 6-12 in the conference and finished in … eighth. The biggest indictment of Spiker’s regime isn’t that the team has ever really bottomed out since he took over. It’s that, even with a solid core group of players, you haven’t seen that much improvement from year to year.
Could this be the year that the jump happens?
There are reasons to think so. Drexel returns maybe the best duo in the conference in junior guard Camren Wynter and senior center James Butler, both All-CAA performers last year. Wynter averaged 15.7 points last season to go along with 5.1 assists, and Butler finished the year with 20 double-doubles, second in the conference behind only Nathan Knight. With the exodus of experienced talent from the CAA this offseason, they’re the only pair of teammates to return after making any of the three all-conference teams (Wynter was second team, while Butler was third).
In fact, most of the Dragons’ squad returns this year. Zach Walton’s sixth-year waiver means that the only real contributor to depart this offseason was Sam Green, a forward who started most games but averaged under 20 minutes per contest. Continuity isn’t everything, but in a league where nearly every team has to replace significant pieces (Elon being the main exception), Drexel will have to lean on it as an advantage.
One place where that continuity absolutely must translate into improvement, if Drexel wants to be any better this year, is depth. Specifically, the Dragons need to find another point guard that can take minutes and let Wynter get a few minutes of rest. They went eight-deep most of the season, but Wynter averaged nearly 37 minutes per game — they did not have another player who could competently handle the ball. The effects of that were apparent: Wynter averaged almost four turnovers per contest as the Dragons led the league in giveaways.
Drexel will almost certainly fill that role better this season: junior Chuka Mekkam, a JuCo transfer, will probably get the first shot at it, while freshman Xavier Bell could also see some minutes. If either one can emerge, Drexel will be that much more likely to have a solid season.
While most of the scoring load will come from Wynter and Butler, Walton can also put up some points — his return gives the Dragons a legitimate third option. Junior Coletrane Washington, aside from having the coolest name in the conference, can heat up in a hurry off the bench, and sophomore Mate Okros and junior Matey Juric both have range. Sophomore TJ Bickerstaff is a solid second big who can take some minutes from Butler, although Spiker sometimes likes to play both together.
If Drexel is going to improve this year, it’s going to have to be at both ends of the court. Last year’s Drexel team finished 219th in adjusted offensive efficiency and 271st in adjusted defensive efficiency, according to KenPom. Increased depth can probably help them on both sides of the ball, but individual improvement, especially on defense, has to happen in order for Drexel to be where they want to be.
The Dragons were picked third in the CAA preseason this year. Obviously, many people around the league think this is the season where they make the jump. Considering their roster, and the advantages it has over other CAA squads, it probably should be this year. If it doesn’t happen, and Drexel continues to hover between sixth and eighth in the conference, you should not be surprised to see the temperature on Zach Spiker’s chair steadily increase.
Thanks to KenPom.com for the advanced stats utilized in this article.