By Sean Kennedy (@PhillyFastBreak)
As expected, things started off promising, with the Dragons beginning the season 3-1 and the lone loss a close defeat at the hands of UCLA on the Bruins’ home court. Drexel was even leading the formidable Arizona Wildcats late in the first half of their 5th contest, when the injury imp struck again with disastrous results. Swingman Lee went down with what would quickly be diagnosed as a season-ending torn ACL injury, and the Dragons would go on to drop that game against the Wildcats. A few games later, Kazembe Abif would miss some time with a sprained knee, and then go out for the season in February with a fractured hand suffered in practice. With minor injuries to Ruffin and Lee-replacement Tavon Allen also cropping up throughout the season, the Dragons needed a triage unit on some nights.
When it was all said and done, a season that held so much promise with five upperclassmen starters, ended with a very uninspring 16-14 record, and an 8-8 mark in the Colonial Athletic Association. Unfortunately for Drexel fans, things don’t portend to be on the upswing in the 2014-15 season. First, the downside of having a ton of upperclassmen on the roster is many of them aren’t going to be around the following season. The Dragons graduated their starting backcourt and two leading scorers in Massenat and Fouch, plus their leading rebounder in Ruffin. In particular, point guard Frantz Massenat will represent a huge loss as he played more games than any other Dragon in school history and led the conference in assists last season. The team has relied on him as a stabilizing presence controlling the offense for so long that there will surely be an adjustment period with him no longer around.
As if losing all those seniors wasn’t bad enough for Coach Flint, a major injury has already struck again (I’m telling you, there’s some bad juju at work). Oft-injured forward Kazembe Abif will already be out for the season again, as he tore his ACL in summer workouts. His loss means the Dragons will be relying on an entirely new frontcourt from last season’s opener with a pair of sophomores in Rodney Williams and Mohamad Bah. Williams filled in for Abif when he was injured last season, and certainly showed some potential as an athletic shot-blocker, recording over a block per game. Drexel will need to see continued growth from both Williams and Bah as their roles increase dramatically from their freshman campaigns.
In the backcourt, the Dragons will be counting on another sophomore to make a huge impact in point guard Major Canady (expect a lot of ‘Major’ puns in the headlines this season if Canady has some big games). As discussed, Canady has huge shoes to fill from the departed Massenat, and after shooting just 33% from the field and 21% from three last season off the bench, it remains to be seen whether he’s the answer or if Coach Flint will turn to one of the incoming freshmen.
If there’s one strength of the team, it will be on the wings, where the Dragons will start a pair of 4th-year juniors with the 6’7″ Tavon Allen and 6’6″ Damion Lee. Lee, of course, will be looking to bounce back from the ACL injury; if fully healthy, he’ll be the top scoring option for the Dragons. Filling in for Lee last year, Allen had a few nice 20+ point outings, but struggled with inconsistency, shooting below 40% on the season. Interestingly, Allen was an ambidextrous shooter last season, shooting left-handed when behind the three point line, but right-handed inside the arc. He’s committed to going right-handed at all times this year, so we’ll see if that earns him better results.
In the non-conference schedule, Drexel has some tough outings against Colorado (in Colorado), Southern Miss, and the Miami Hurricanes in the opener of the Charleston Classic. Both their contests against city foes will be at home this season, which should help them earn bragging rights for a year against at least one of St. Joe’s or LaSalle. Ultimately though, with so many key contributors departed from last season’s squad, and one starter already out for the season due to injury, it looks like a rebuilding year for the Dragons. The NCAA tournament drought should continue with an eye to 2015-16, when Lee and Allen will be seniors and this current crop of sophomores has another year of experience under their belts.
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