Welcome to The Sports Bank’s third annual college basketball season preview series. Two years we looked at 99 teams in 99 days. Last year, we were slightly more aggressive and expanded to 111 teams in 111 days and will do so again as we look ahead to the 2012-2013 season.
We will rank the 75 power conference teams and top 36 mid-majors in reverse power ranking order. We’ll break down rosters, transfers, incoming freshmen, non-conference schedules, and pick a player to watch for each team.
The Drexel Dragons lose just one player from last year’s team that picked up 29 victories and won the CAA regular season title. They missed out on the NCAA Tournament though and are hoping to right that wrong this time around.
DREXEL DRAGONS
Last Season: 1st, 16-2 in CAA, 29-7 overall
Predicted CAA Finish: 1st
Projected Depth Chart
F/C: Daryl McCoy (Sr)/Goran Pantovic (Jr)
PF: Dartaye Ruffin (Jr)/Kazembe Abif (So)/Casey Carroll (Fr)
G/F: Damion Lee (So)/Tavon Allen (Fr)
SG: Derrick Thomas (Sr)/Chris Fouch (Sr)
PG: Frantz Massenat (Jr)/Aquil Younger (So)
Gone: F-Sammie Givens
2012-2013 Outlook:
Leading the way for the Dragons this season will be their talented backcourt which features four players who averaged at least eight points per game last season. Point guard Frantz Massenat sets the table, coming off a sophomore campaign in which he led the team in scoring and was First Team All-CAA. While he can dish the rock, Massenat also shot 45% from distance.
He will be flanked by Damion Lee who was the CAA’s Rookie of the Year last season and fellow returning starter, Derrick Thomas. Playing a huge role off the bench again will be sharpshooter and one of the league’s top Sixth Men, Chris Fouch. All four of those guys shot at least 35% from downtown a year ago giving head coach James Flint the luxury of four experienced guards capable of filling it up. Aquil Younger and redshirt freshman Tavon Allen add depth in the backcourt.
The guard play will be relied upon to do most of the scoring with forward Sammie Givens graduating. 6-9, 280 pound center Daryl McCoy does return but is known more for his physicality on the boards than low post scoring ability. Dartaye Ruffin who was the main post reserve last season likely steps into the starting lineup to replace Givens with a trio of inexperienced forwards competing for minutes off the bench. As a result, Drexel will likely use a four guard look frequently throughout the season with Lee playing the four. It might hurt their effectiveness on the glass but gives the Dragons a very dangerous scoring lineup.
VCU’s exit opens the door for Drexel to become the team to beat in the CAA. Per usual, George Mason and Old Dominion will also be in the picture but the conference is Drexel’s for the taking. Now if they can only take care of business in the postseason tournament and earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Player to Watch: Damion Lee
The former Towson commit rose to the occasion in some clutch games for Drexel last season and was a pleasant surprise considering he was not highly recruited coming out of high school. His future is extremely bright and having a year under his belt should allow him to take his game to an even higher level as a sophomore.
Key Non-Conference Games:
11/9 at Kent State
11/15 vs. Illinois State
11/22 vs. St. Mary’s (Anaheim Classic)
11/23 vs. Xavier/Pacific (Anaheim Classic)
11/25 vs. Cal/Drake/Georgia Tech/Rice (Anaheim Classic)
12/22 vs. Davidson
12/31 vs. St. Joseph’s
OTHER 111 IN 111’S:
#48 St. Louis Billikens
#49 West Virginia Mountaineers
#50 BYU Cougars
#51 Temple Owls
#52 Washington Huskies
#53 California Golden Bears
#54 Kansas State Wildcats
#55 Nevada Wolfpack
#56 Colorado Buffaloes
#57 Iowa State Cyclones
#58 Northern Iowa Panthers
#59 Colorado State Rams
#60 Iowa Hawkeyes
#61 South Florida Bulls
#62 Valparaiso Crusaders
#63 Illinois Fighting Illini
#64 Arkansas Razorbacks
#65 Wichita State Shockers
#66 George Mason Patriots
#67 Virginia Cavaliers
#68 Villanova Wildcats
#69 Maryland Terrapins
#70 Marshall Thundering Herd
#71 Iona Gaels
#72 Northwestern Wildcats
#73 Oklahoms State Cowboys
#74 Rutgers Scarlet Knights
#75 USC Trojans
#76 UConn Huskies
#77 Harvard Crimson
#78 Xavier Musketeers
#79 Ole Miss Rebels
#80 Clemson Tigers
#81 Oregon State Beavers
#82 Texas A&M Aggies
#83 Providence Friars
#84 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
#85 Oklahoma Sooners
#86 Lehigh Mountain Hawks
#87 Washington State Cougars
#88 Long Beach State 49ers
#89 Belmont Bruins
#90 Vanderbilt Commodores
#91 Dayton Flyers
#92 Houston Cougars
#93 UCF Knights
#94 Old Dominion Monarchs
#95 Oregon Ducks
#96 LSU Tigers
#97 South Carolina Gamecocks
#98 Seton Hall Pirates
#99 Georgia Bulldogs
#100 DePaul Blue Demons
#101 Boston College Eagles
#102 Penn State Nittany Lions
#103 Arizona State Sun Devils
#104 Virginia Tech Hokies
#105 Texas Tech Red Raiders
#106 Auburn Tigers
#107 Wake Forest Demon Deacons
#108 TCU Horned Frogs
#109 Mississippi State Bulldogs
#110 Utah Utes
#111 Nebraska Cornhuskers
David Kay is a senior feature NBA Draft, NBA, and college basketball writer for the Sports Bank. He also heads up the NBA and college basketball material at Walter Football.com and is a former contributor at The Washington Times Communities. David has appeared on numerous national radio programs spanning from Cleveland to New Orleans to Honolulu. He also had the most accurate 2011 NBA Mock Draft and the most accurate 2012 NBA Mock Draft on the internet (Yup, repeat champ… #humblebrag.)
You can follow him on Twitter at David_Kmiecik.