In a game that was played so long ago that Ahmad Fields played in it, the Dragons took a tough loss in their last meeting with the Elon Phoenix. The rematch tips at 7pm tonight at the DAC and shapes up to be one of the better men's basketball contest in the building this year. Elon runs an entertaining, uptempo pace and last decided to play defense around four years ago which leads to, if nothing else, exciting basketball.
In their first meeting, Elon shot the doors off (48% from behind the arc) to sneak by Drexel by 5. That was on the second leg of a two game southern road swing that the Dragons were playing on short rest. In that game, Tavon Allen was 2/11 from inside the arc, while Kazembe Abif was 1/1 from the field in 24 minutes. Times have changed, as has the Dragons offensive balance.
The Drexel frontcourt dominated the Phoenix in the earlier contest, doubling them up in rebounding percentage all while Rodney Williams went 7/11 from the floor and got to the free throw line eight times. While Matt Matheny's team may still not be playing much defense, expect to see them switch in and out of zone, and run double teams on the blocks in order to keep the ball out of the hands of Drexel's frontcourt players. Coach Flint has yet to show us the big to big passing that can beat a double team on the inside, so it will likely be up to guards like Terrell Allen to take the kick out pass and dribble drive against an out of position defense. If the Allen's, Rashann London and Sammy Mojica do that they can make a complete living at the free throw line. If they settle for the patented "step in front of the line two pointer" then this becomes much more of a dogfight.
On the defensive side of the ball for the Dragons, the word is extend, extend, extend. They did a very good job limiting Christian Hairston on the inside the first time around and will need to continue to beat him with single coverage in this game That will enable Kazembe Abif and the guards to get out to the perimeter. Drexel's big men have had tremendous difficulties all year long guarding the perimeter (part of what has Mohammed Bah in the doghouse) and Elon loves to shoot triples. Over 45% of their shots are from behind the arc (14th highest in the country), which seems silly once you note that they are 205th in the country in three point shooting percentage. Nonetheless, Tanner Samson and the game will keep throwing those shots up, and it will be important to see the guards to fight through screens and hold their off the ball assignments.
With the Phoenix coming off of back to back to back losses and the Dragons not having won for 40 days and 40 nights expect two hungry teams to come out. Even with both teams looking the CAA Pillow Fight Friday play in games in the face, bodies will be on the floor and with Elon's run and gun style on top of all of that, this should be worth the price of admission. So what the hell, come on out and support your Blue and Gold one more time, you're running out of chances to do that this year with only two home games left after tonight's showdown.
Prediction: Drexel 73, Elon 72
Vegas Line: Elon -4.5
Alan Boston's Take:
Back in the old days, before college hoops became a big business, back when kids played a sport a season, the end of the basketball season was a time when teams would often mail in games. In modern hoops, with kids used to playing 365 days a year and coaches jobs always being scrutinized, there are fewer flat spots to be found.
In his 7th season Coach Metheny has done an excellent job at Elon. Once a middling Southern conference team, they are slowly becoming relevant in the Colonial, a stronger league. If they do not find some reason to get rid of him, I believe he will have Elon competing for the title within 2 years. It will not happen this year. Elon needed to beat College of Charleston at home to have much hope of a first round bye in the conference tournament. Prior to that important loss, they put in a huge effort in a close loss at UNCW.
Drexel showed a ton of fight in not letting the game get out of hand at Northeastern. If they play any semblance of that game, they do figure to beat a team that in the old days, for sure would put in a clunker. In modern times they will have a tough time at best at being energized.
Drexel 76 Elon 69
Thursday, February 18, 2016
Wednesday, February 17, 2016
Searching for a Dragon
It's apparent that the wagons have been circled in the Athletic and Executive offices at Drexel. Basketball game attendance is down sharply, but number of business suits at basketball games is up. The leaks are getting tighter and the cloud within the DAC thicker. With three weeks left in a stubborn, frustrating season it's not too early to be looking forward to the next chapter, and if planing for the future, it is well past time. When the college basketball season ends in Houston the Drexel Men's Basketball program is more than likely going to have a new steward.
When that person is chosen, supporters can only hope the next coach will treat this program with the same class and dignity that Bruiser Flint did. We can hope that the coach will also buy (of age) students a round when they see them at a watering hole, and that they will treat their fellow staff like they would like to be treated. Writing this piece at this time is tremendously insulting to a man who has never been anything but outstanding to those who have supported the program. It's kicking dirt when we should be saying thank you. Today we plan, but when that time comes, we will say thank you, although not nearly - not even close to - as loudly, as passionately or as brilliantly as his fifteen years of service deserve.
When it became clear that the likelihood of a coaching change was high, an informal questionnaire was sent out to a number of Drexel Men's Basketball supporters and stakeholders. It received a 60% response rate to the one question that was asked: "What would you look for in a potential Head Coach?" It was kept as broad as possible and no recommendations or ideas were provided. What was received back had a handful of consistent threads, and some surprises. Those answers are below:
When that person is chosen, supporters can only hope the next coach will treat this program with the same class and dignity that Bruiser Flint did. We can hope that the coach will also buy (of age) students a round when they see them at a watering hole, and that they will treat their fellow staff like they would like to be treated. Writing this piece at this time is tremendously insulting to a man who has never been anything but outstanding to those who have supported the program. It's kicking dirt when we should be saying thank you. Today we plan, but when that time comes, we will say thank you, although not nearly - not even close to - as loudly, as passionately or as brilliantly as his fifteen years of service deserve.
When it became clear that the likelihood of a coaching change was high, an informal questionnaire was sent out to a number of Drexel Men's Basketball supporters and stakeholders. It received a 60% response rate to the one question that was asked: "What would you look for in a potential Head Coach?" It was kept as broad as possible and no recommendations or ideas were provided. What was received back had a handful of consistent threads, and some surprises. Those answers are below:
- The overwhelmingly most common and in fact unanimous response was said in a number of different ways.
"Youth" "Upcoming" "Not a big conference retread" "Successful at a lower level" "Promising Assistant" "Ambitious"
Not that we would ever give a weary eye towards a former conference mate, but it certainly sounded like an all out avoidance of a Paul Hewitt/ George Mason situation would be appreciated.
- The second most common piece of feedback was split down into two remarks. The first was not just to avoid the Flint coaching tree, but rather the entire Calipari coaching family. There is a desire for a clean break, to use this opportunity to put a fresh face on a program that seems in decline both on the court and in the stands. The second segment of that commentary is a desire to bring in someone who will surround themselves with a staff that will add value to the Head Coach. The Head Coach and Athletic Director need to understand the coaches areas of weakness and bring in staff that will fill those gaps. Perhaps out of need (those positions were allegedly underfunded) and perhaps out of desire, those positions had been filled as a way to promote from within, and to recognize and develop potential coaching talent. Potential donors indicated a preference to see those positions used tactically rather than developmentally going forward.
- One of the other areas of consistent feedback was a strong preference to continue one of Coach Flint's legacies. The phrase "Student Athlete" may not be dead, but it is to the NCAA what Donald Trump is to the Republican Establishment. It's an eye roll, a joke or outwardly trampled on at many Universities. While no school is perfect, that the Men's Basketball program has largely stayed out of legal and APR trouble over Bruiser's tenure is admirable and was shown a large amount of respect by the respondents.
- The importance of recruiting was mentioned by the entire group, but in a very inconsistent manner. Some spoke to the importance of knowing Philadelphia basketball, or at least Drexel's place in Philadelphia basketball. Others spoke towards recruiting for specific skill sets, or finding people to fit the coaches specific system. The takeaway here seemed clear, there are multiple ways to skin this particular cat, the next coach simply needs an effective, actionable plan that fits their goals.
- Respondents were extremely varied in their opinion as to stylistically what they would like to be represented by. As such, no thought will be presented on the subject. One related area to consider is Ken Pomeroy's recent study showing the predictors of future offensive performance. One of the very troubling indicators when the Administration resigned Coach Flint in 2012 with an extended deal and a raise was that his offense had only ranked in the top half of college basketball twice in eleven seasons. When we have predictors like 2pt shooting percentage available, they should be used and while that may not have barred a new deal at the time, it may have given the Administration some pause and concerns to address as part of the deal. Going forward, this knowledge can be used to help highlight potential candidates and programs that have shown consistently strong results in areas that indicate future success.
- One respondent noted Dragon Athletics pride around gender equity, and suggested that female candidates should be considered. I wholeheartedly agree, and would like to use that to speak to a broader "money where our mouth is" approach. The Drexel mission statement states that:
Drexel is an academically comprehensive and globally engaged urban research university, dedicated to advancing knowledge and society and to providing every student with a valuable, rigorous, experiential, technology-infused education, enriched by the nation's premier co-operative education program.
The next Head Coach needs to embody the University's principles. Technology should be used to the best possible advantage, and a budget needs to be available to allow that. The staff should be composed of individuals that will challenge each others assertions and bring arguments to the table that will enable an experimental learning process. A thirst for knowledge and a constant desire to improve and adapt is the foundation of all education, and it is critical in this constantly changing sport. Drexel has a phenomenal campus environment that appreciates and embraces those ideals. It's time for the Athletics Department to join it.
Not all of this is easy. None of this is inexpensive. But there are approximately 1400 assistant men's basketball coaches on D-I, and another 1400 assistant women's coaches. In a city that makes college basketball a front door to their learning institutions there is no reason why Drexel lags behind their peers. The time is long past due. The location is sound. The resources can be made available. Drexel can succeed. The change is coming, and we look to our leaders to cultivate that desire for success.
Not all of this is easy. None of this is inexpensive. But there are approximately 1400 assistant men's basketball coaches on D-I, and another 1400 assistant women's coaches. In a city that makes college basketball a front door to their learning institutions there is no reason why Drexel lags behind their peers. The time is long past due. The location is sound. The resources can be made available. Drexel can succeed. The change is coming, and we look to our leaders to cultivate that desire for success.
Sunday, February 14, 2016
Northeastern - Away - Postgame
Scott Kier returns with a recap of the Drexel/Northeastern game. Thanks as always to Scott for his continuing contributions to Dragons Speak.
Final Score: Northeastern 70, Drexel 60
Drexel Player of the Game: Rodney Williams
Key to the Game: Sticking to the Gameplan
Next Game: Thursday February 18 vs Elon @ the DAC
One of the frequent criticisms that the Dragons have found themselves facing this season has been their inability to continue doing what works. As games progressed, the team seemed to regress back to their “guards first” strategy that they have commonly turned to in years past. With the makeup of this team, and the general lack of a consistent three-point shooter, Drexel has had to find another answer.
Up against a nine game losing streak, Bruiser Flint and his team headed to Boston, Massachusetts to face the Northeastern Huskies for the first of two meetings that will happen over the next couple of weeks, as the CAA regular season winds down. The Huskies, who feature some of the best three-point shooters in the CAA this season, came out of the gate firing. Led by David Walker, who was a perfect 5-5 from three in the first half, the Huskies ran out to a 15-point lead at halftime.
As they have done on more than one occasion this season, Drexel battled back in the second half. Getting as close as 8 points with just under 4 minutes to go. Northeastern held out, however, ultimately beating the Dragons by a score of 70-60. Topically, this game might have seemed like just another double digit loss suffered by this year’s team, but when you dig closer there were a lot of good signals shown by the Dragons on Saturday.
First, as a team, the Dragons showed themselves to be very disciplined sticking to their initial game plan: get the ball inside, and create from the post. Rodney Williams put up a career high 23 points on 9-11 shooting. Kazembe Abif added 6 points of his own. The Dragons shot 52% from the field for the game, 65% from inside the arc. Subtracting Tavon Allen’s 1-6 performance from downtown, the guards were 4-11 from three which, as compared to past games, was pretty admirable.
Rodney Williams played like a man possessed. He frequently found himself double teamed, and after Jeremy Miller picked up his fourth foul shortly into the second half, Northeastern was forced to turn to Kwesi Abakah as Miller’s replacement. Abakah just could not keep up with Williams who went 4-5 from the field. When Abakah picked up his fourth foul, Northeastern was forced to shift from their normal 2-3 defensive set to a 3-2 set, creating more space for Williams on the block. All in all, the Dragons scored 28 of their 60 points in the paint and shot 61% from the floor in the second half.
Now for the not-so-good.
The Dragons struggled to cover Northeastern on the perimeter. David Walker, in particular, was lights out from three, and the Dragons initial response to this was to cover him with Sammy Mojica. Tavon Allen, who has found himself coming off the bench more often this season, has proven himself to be a strong defender despite his struggles on the offensive side of the court. Time after time, early in the game, Walker found himself taking a virtually uncontested three pointers. They needed to “D” him up a little tighter, and Tavon might have been a great option there.
Late in the first half, Bruiser decided to make the rarely attempted move of taking both Kaz Abif and Rodney Williams off the floor. The big men were replaced by Tyshawn Myles and Austin Williams who had played together for all of nine minutes thus far this year. In an even bigger head scratcher, Bruiser then shifted his team into a 2-3 zone of their own. The problem is one of the biggest vulnerabilities of the 2-3 is that it is a traditionally weak defensive scheme against strong outside shooters like the Huskies. Thankfully, in the 90 seconds that the Dragons played their rarely used zone “D” which has not been seen since Mike Conners tried to construct it last season, the Huskies only made one three pointer.
Then, there was the foul shooting. Coming into Saturday’s contest, the Dragons were shooting 69% from the free throw line. In Saturday’s game, they found themselves at the line 16 times making just 7 free throws. They kept their turnovers down, made their shots from inside, but could not convert from the line. While they were 6 for 9 in the second half, the 1 for 7 start in the first twenty minutes created an even more difficult mountain to climb for Bru’s crew.
Mohamed Bah once again found himself at the end of the Drexel bench. His demotion was so severe in the Northeastern game that he never made his way on to the court. Bah played a total of just 8 minutes in the three contests prior to the Northeastern game. One has to wonder if he has fallen out of favor with the coaching staff or if he has some nagging injury that has not been publicly reported. It seems reasonable to lean towards the latter based on the fact that his minutes did not gradually decrease but he just completely fell off the face of the earth after the Hofstra game.
There was plenty that the Dragons did, or did not do that contributed to their loss, however there was a lot to be proud of in this game. Their presence on the blocks was remarkable, and the team fully embraced that aspect of their game. At the 8-minute mark, Bruiser Flint decided on the lineup that he would use for the rest of the game. While some offensive/defensive subs might have been helpful as the game wrapped up, Bruiser put his best five on the floor when the game was close: Kaz, Rodney, Terrell, Rashann, and Mojica. Tavon Allen, who has struggled in late game situations, found himself on the bench for the first time this season when Drexel had a chance to battle their way back into the game.
While his defensive presence would have been helpful, Tavon has shot 3-18 over the past three games from three. He has not been making shots and Mojica, who had a good shooting day, was a much better option. A Sammy/Tavon offense/defense tandem might have been helpful, but ultimately, the Dragons battled back and have a lot of things to be proud of.
The Dragons return to the DAC Thursday night in a rematch against Elon. In their first meeting, Rodney Williams had a dominant 19 point performance. With some hard work and a little luck, here’s to hoping that Rodney can build on his performance Saturday in Boston. If the team sticks to their game plan, they will have a great chance at ending this ten game slide.
Final Score: Northeastern 70, Drexel 60
Drexel Player of the Game: Rodney Williams
Key to the Game: Sticking to the Gameplan
Next Game: Thursday February 18 vs Elon @ the DAC
One of the frequent criticisms that the Dragons have found themselves facing this season has been their inability to continue doing what works. As games progressed, the team seemed to regress back to their “guards first” strategy that they have commonly turned to in years past. With the makeup of this team, and the general lack of a consistent three-point shooter, Drexel has had to find another answer.
Up against a nine game losing streak, Bruiser Flint and his team headed to Boston, Massachusetts to face the Northeastern Huskies for the first of two meetings that will happen over the next couple of weeks, as the CAA regular season winds down. The Huskies, who feature some of the best three-point shooters in the CAA this season, came out of the gate firing. Led by David Walker, who was a perfect 5-5 from three in the first half, the Huskies ran out to a 15-point lead at halftime.
As they have done on more than one occasion this season, Drexel battled back in the second half. Getting as close as 8 points with just under 4 minutes to go. Northeastern held out, however, ultimately beating the Dragons by a score of 70-60. Topically, this game might have seemed like just another double digit loss suffered by this year’s team, but when you dig closer there were a lot of good signals shown by the Dragons on Saturday.
First, as a team, the Dragons showed themselves to be very disciplined sticking to their initial game plan: get the ball inside, and create from the post. Rodney Williams put up a career high 23 points on 9-11 shooting. Kazembe Abif added 6 points of his own. The Dragons shot 52% from the field for the game, 65% from inside the arc. Subtracting Tavon Allen’s 1-6 performance from downtown, the guards were 4-11 from three which, as compared to past games, was pretty admirable.
Rodney Williams played like a man possessed. He frequently found himself double teamed, and after Jeremy Miller picked up his fourth foul shortly into the second half, Northeastern was forced to turn to Kwesi Abakah as Miller’s replacement. Abakah just could not keep up with Williams who went 4-5 from the field. When Abakah picked up his fourth foul, Northeastern was forced to shift from their normal 2-3 defensive set to a 3-2 set, creating more space for Williams on the block. All in all, the Dragons scored 28 of their 60 points in the paint and shot 61% from the floor in the second half.
Now for the not-so-good.
The Dragons struggled to cover Northeastern on the perimeter. David Walker, in particular, was lights out from three, and the Dragons initial response to this was to cover him with Sammy Mojica. Tavon Allen, who has found himself coming off the bench more often this season, has proven himself to be a strong defender despite his struggles on the offensive side of the court. Time after time, early in the game, Walker found himself taking a virtually uncontested three pointers. They needed to “D” him up a little tighter, and Tavon might have been a great option there.
Late in the first half, Bruiser decided to make the rarely attempted move of taking both Kaz Abif and Rodney Williams off the floor. The big men were replaced by Tyshawn Myles and Austin Williams who had played together for all of nine minutes thus far this year. In an even bigger head scratcher, Bruiser then shifted his team into a 2-3 zone of their own. The problem is one of the biggest vulnerabilities of the 2-3 is that it is a traditionally weak defensive scheme against strong outside shooters like the Huskies. Thankfully, in the 90 seconds that the Dragons played their rarely used zone “D” which has not been seen since Mike Conners tried to construct it last season, the Huskies only made one three pointer.
Then, there was the foul shooting. Coming into Saturday’s contest, the Dragons were shooting 69% from the free throw line. In Saturday’s game, they found themselves at the line 16 times making just 7 free throws. They kept their turnovers down, made their shots from inside, but could not convert from the line. While they were 6 for 9 in the second half, the 1 for 7 start in the first twenty minutes created an even more difficult mountain to climb for Bru’s crew.
Mohamed Bah once again found himself at the end of the Drexel bench. His demotion was so severe in the Northeastern game that he never made his way on to the court. Bah played a total of just 8 minutes in the three contests prior to the Northeastern game. One has to wonder if he has fallen out of favor with the coaching staff or if he has some nagging injury that has not been publicly reported. It seems reasonable to lean towards the latter based on the fact that his minutes did not gradually decrease but he just completely fell off the face of the earth after the Hofstra game.
There was plenty that the Dragons did, or did not do that contributed to their loss, however there was a lot to be proud of in this game. Their presence on the blocks was remarkable, and the team fully embraced that aspect of their game. At the 8-minute mark, Bruiser Flint decided on the lineup that he would use for the rest of the game. While some offensive/defensive subs might have been helpful as the game wrapped up, Bruiser put his best five on the floor when the game was close: Kaz, Rodney, Terrell, Rashann, and Mojica. Tavon Allen, who has struggled in late game situations, found himself on the bench for the first time this season when Drexel had a chance to battle their way back into the game.
While his defensive presence would have been helpful, Tavon has shot 3-18 over the past three games from three. He has not been making shots and Mojica, who had a good shooting day, was a much better option. A Sammy/Tavon offense/defense tandem might have been helpful, but ultimately, the Dragons battled back and have a lot of things to be proud of.
The Dragons return to the DAC Thursday night in a rematch against Elon. In their first meeting, Rodney Williams had a dominant 19 point performance. With some hard work and a little luck, here’s to hoping that Rodney can build on his performance Saturday in Boston. If the team sticks to their game plan, they will have a great chance at ending this ten game slide.
Saturday, February 13, 2016
Northeastern Preview
Life wins today, so no preview, but Alan was kind enough to put together his take so you're not without commentary! For what it's worth, I'm in total agreement with Alan. We're in mid February, and this is the end of the end of an era now.
Thanks again to Alan and everyone who has assisted in this place coming together this season.
~Dan
Prediction: Northeastern 67, Drexel 42
Vegas Line: Northeastern -11
Alan Boston's Take:
As I begin to write, I am reminded of the opening line of the gorgeous song from Damien Rice, The Blowers Daughter (check out Matt Corby's version from Australian Idol. You will not regret it):
"And so it is . . . . . . ."
Perfect. Well, for me it is. What else can you write about Drexel' basketball program? They somehow managed to lose to Delaware. There, I finished the sentence. Let me begin again. And so it is. And so it is. Drexel got a bit unlucky as they get to play Northeastern with a healthy Quincy Ford, twice.
Even more bad news. In 35 minutes against Towson on Thursday night, Ford was 2-11, scoring a grand total of 4 pts. Northeastern still won the game. Ford figures to be 100% tomorrow. He also figures to score more than 4 pts. When he is healthy, Northeastern is one of the best in the conference. When he is not healthy, they are still better than Drexel. Then there is the not so small matter, that Bill Coen coaches Northeastern basketball. He will out coach the majority of coaches in D-I. Given that Bruiser still roams the Drexel side lines, that already puts them at a huge disadvantage. Let me be a bit more succinct. If you can not win at Delaware, you are not going to win on short rest vs a healthy Northeastern team. Drexel got one field goal in the first half at C of C. Northeastern just won 47-44. Is a first half shut out possible?
Northeastern 69 Drexel 32
Thanks again to Alan and everyone who has assisted in this place coming together this season.
~Dan
Prediction: Northeastern 67, Drexel 42
Vegas Line: Northeastern -11
Alan Boston's Take:
As I begin to write, I am reminded of the opening line of the gorgeous song from Damien Rice, The Blowers Daughter (check out Matt Corby's version from Australian Idol. You will not regret it):
"And so it is . . . . . . ."
Perfect. Well, for me it is. What else can you write about Drexel' basketball program? They somehow managed to lose to Delaware. There, I finished the sentence. Let me begin again. And so it is. And so it is. Drexel got a bit unlucky as they get to play Northeastern with a healthy Quincy Ford, twice.
Even more bad news. In 35 minutes against Towson on Thursday night, Ford was 2-11, scoring a grand total of 4 pts. Northeastern still won the game. Ford figures to be 100% tomorrow. He also figures to score more than 4 pts. When he is healthy, Northeastern is one of the best in the conference. When he is not healthy, they are still better than Drexel. Then there is the not so small matter, that Bill Coen coaches Northeastern basketball. He will out coach the majority of coaches in D-I. Given that Bruiser still roams the Drexel side lines, that already puts them at a huge disadvantage. Let me be a bit more succinct. If you can not win at Delaware, you are not going to win on short rest vs a healthy Northeastern team. Drexel got one field goal in the first half at C of C. Northeastern just won 47-44. Is a first half shut out possible?
Northeastern 69 Drexel 32
Friday, February 12, 2016
Delaware (Still Sucks) - Away - Postgame
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| Drexel fans know this feeling well |
At the 9:14 mark in the first half of last night's Drexel loss at the University of Delaware, Rodney Williams was called for a dubious foul. He was moving away from the direction of the basketball when a referee blew the whistle and indicated he was pushing the man in between him and the ball. Bruiser Flint, as he is known to do, went after the official, providing his interpretation of the play and perhaps his thoughts on the call. Once this was done, the signal went to the bench to send in a substitute for Rodney, as that had been his second foul and the coaching staff wanted to protect him from getting his third in the first half.
Unfortunately, Coach Flint spent too much time jawing at the official, and as a result the subsitute came off the bench too late to check in during that stoppage of play. Kazembe Abif had to wait until the following stoppage to check into the contest. The following stoppage was due to a Charging [Player Control] foul on Rodney Williams, his third foul. Because of that third foul, the Drexel coaching staff held Rodney out not just until halftime, but through the first four minutes of the second half. In those first four minutes, Delaware scored 15 points, and the game went from tied to a seven point Delaware lead.
Delaware ended up winning by nine.
It's rare that we can draw such a straight correlation from a coaching mistake to a games outcome, but if there was a game, this was it. And it went well beyond just taking too long speaking to an official. This was a two point game at the "Under 4" media timeout in the second half. The teams starting point guard, who had 5 first half assist and no turnovers on the night, Terrell Allen, never entered into the game during the final four minutes, a head scratching personnel decision. And then there was this:
Coming down the floor down 4 with 1:12 to go, the Drexel guards passed the ball around the perimeter for 18 seconds before Tavon Allen took the shot in the above picture. Bruiser only used two second half timeouts in this game, leaving one in his pocket, perhaps thinking it could be used next game, a la Donovan McNabb's second overtime snafu. Instead of using the last timeout, instead of calling a play and getting the ball to Rodney Williams on the block, who had already scored 10 points on just 6 field goal attempts, this was the shot the Dragons took, an off balance three, while down four with 51 seconds to play. If you're still looking for a reason this team struggles in close and late games, look no further.
And so Monte Ross and Delaware have their first win. Their defense was terrible and their front court were nothing but turnstiles, but after making jumpshots early, Drexel fell in love with the jumper for the rest of the first half until the staff re-adjusted their focus during halftime. Again. They turned away easy points for harder ones. Again. They lost a close game. Again. At this point, it's time to be concerned about the University's tax-exempt status, because there is clearly no education going on in the men's basketball suite.
Thanks to Chris Mlynarczyk of Blue Hen Studios for providing photos from the Drexel/Delaware contest. He continues to be a pleasure to work with.
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Delaware - Sucks - Everywhere - Pregame, Postgame & Every Game
University of Delaware alum Chris Christie spent the last eight years, and possibly his entire life, preparing to run for a job that he learned on Wednesday he wasn't going to get. He is certainly having the worst year of any Delaware related individual as of early 2016. Monte Ross, coach of the 5-18 (0-12) Blue Hens Men's Basketball team isn't having a great time either. And then there's Monte's agent, who is also Bruiser Flint's agent. Plenty of pain to go around.
If you feel like you need a shower after that opening paragraph, you know how it feels to root for the Dragons or Blue Hens this year. The teams are a combined 1-23 in conference. Drexel isn't just the worst shooting team in the conference, they're 347th of 351 teams in the country. But as Drexel fans, we know that. What is exciting is that Delaware is dead last in the conference in defense, and the number is so astronomically bad that they can't even claim they are only in last just because they haven't played Drexel yet. UD's conference play defensive efficiency number is 351st of 351 nationally. By a lot.
Most in the game will tell you that defense is mostly effort, and there's certainly an extent to which that can be believed. While many apologist will look towards Monte's mere 6 scholarship players and the injuries that have hit his team, it's hard to see a way in which any team is winless in this CAA. The players left on the floor for UD simply aren't putting in effort on the defensive end.
On offense, it's a bit of a different story. Kory Holden is trying to set a school record for shots taken, which is all the more impressive because Devon "Ballhog" Saddler played at Delaware and sometimes accidentally attended class there as well. Normally one player taking that many shots is a questionable strategy, but given what is around him, Kory's perma-green light is excusable. Kazmon Hayes has taken a step backwards in his junior season and his classmate Devonne Pinkard isn't CAA talent. On the inside, Marvin King-Davis is both still on the team and temporarily not suspended, giving UD a legitimate threat. He is joined by Maurice Jeffers who spends most games looking like he is trying to run in a 4 foot deep pool. Not a lot of motion in that ocean.
So in some ways, what we have on our hands is an exciting contest between two longtime rivals who will be more than excited to be seeing each other. Mohammed Bah and the Dragons should be able to get to the rim, while the best player on the court likely is bringing the ball up for the Blue Hen's. If Drexel wins, they will likely lock up not last place in the CAA, so they've got that going for them, which is nice.
Prediction: Pass. I won't pick UD to win their first game, and I won't pick a DU team that has yet to win outside of Philly this season.
Vegas Line: Delaware -2.5
Alan Boston's Take:
Wow. What can you write? Both teams have been tortured by injury. Both teams have coaches that would appear to be in trouble. I could never fire a coach who loses multiple players to injury, but big money makes the most honorable, evil. Both Bruiser and Monte have not done a great job, so their imminent departures are more deserving than most. However, if, for example, La Salle canned Giannini after this year, that would be undeserved.
Both Drexel and Delaware have put up little fight in the last couple of games. Delaware has played much of the year with 6 scholarship players. That is obviously catching up as they have offered little resistance in the last 2 games. Drexel similarly since jumping out 13-4 on JMU has not put up much of a fight. Who shows up? Delaware has not won a conference game. This may be their only shot. I do think they will be all in. Drexel has had flashes of being a good team. That is something, Delaware has not. So we have the better team on the road vs a desperate home team. If Drexel has not mailed it in, they should win both the rebounding battle and with it the game. I make this call with much ambivalence.
Drexel 72 Delaware 69
If you feel like you need a shower after that opening paragraph, you know how it feels to root for the Dragons or Blue Hens this year. The teams are a combined 1-23 in conference. Drexel isn't just the worst shooting team in the conference, they're 347th of 351 teams in the country. But as Drexel fans, we know that. What is exciting is that Delaware is dead last in the conference in defense, and the number is so astronomically bad that they can't even claim they are only in last just because they haven't played Drexel yet. UD's conference play defensive efficiency number is 351st of 351 nationally. By a lot.
Most in the game will tell you that defense is mostly effort, and there's certainly an extent to which that can be believed. While many apologist will look towards Monte's mere 6 scholarship players and the injuries that have hit his team, it's hard to see a way in which any team is winless in this CAA. The players left on the floor for UD simply aren't putting in effort on the defensive end.
On offense, it's a bit of a different story. Kory Holden is trying to set a school record for shots taken, which is all the more impressive because Devon "Ballhog" Saddler played at Delaware and sometimes accidentally attended class there as well. Normally one player taking that many shots is a questionable strategy, but given what is around him, Kory's perma-green light is excusable. Kazmon Hayes has taken a step backwards in his junior season and his classmate Devonne Pinkard isn't CAA talent. On the inside, Marvin King-Davis is both still on the team and temporarily not suspended, giving UD a legitimate threat. He is joined by Maurice Jeffers who spends most games looking like he is trying to run in a 4 foot deep pool. Not a lot of motion in that ocean.
So in some ways, what we have on our hands is an exciting contest between two longtime rivals who will be more than excited to be seeing each other. Mohammed Bah and the Dragons should be able to get to the rim, while the best player on the court likely is bringing the ball up for the Blue Hen's. If Drexel wins, they will likely lock up not last place in the CAA, so they've got that going for them, which is nice.
Prediction: Pass. I won't pick UD to win their first game, and I won't pick a DU team that has yet to win outside of Philly this season.
Vegas Line: Delaware -2.5
Alan Boston's Take:
Wow. What can you write? Both teams have been tortured by injury. Both teams have coaches that would appear to be in trouble. I could never fire a coach who loses multiple players to injury, but big money makes the most honorable, evil. Both Bruiser and Monte have not done a great job, so their imminent departures are more deserving than most. However, if, for example, La Salle canned Giannini after this year, that would be undeserved.
Both Drexel and Delaware have put up little fight in the last couple of games. Delaware has played much of the year with 6 scholarship players. That is obviously catching up as they have offered little resistance in the last 2 games. Drexel similarly since jumping out 13-4 on JMU has not put up much of a fight. Who shows up? Delaware has not won a conference game. This may be their only shot. I do think they will be all in. Drexel has had flashes of being a good team. That is something, Delaware has not. So we have the better team on the road vs a desperate home team. If Drexel has not mailed it in, they should win both the rebounding battle and with it the game. I make this call with much ambivalence.
Drexel 72 Delaware 69
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Building a Mystery
Please note the following chart:
Kenpom's O-Rating is essentially points per possession times one hundred. For reference, the scale loosely translates to:
124 - Damion Lee
115-124 - All CAA 1st Team Player
105-115 - Very good CAA Player
100-105 - CAA Starter
95 -100 - Potential CAA Starter
90 - 95 - CAA 6th Man
Below 90 - CAA Liability
So that Kenpom rating is a bit of who we are on offense. I stress on offense because this next chart is where things get interesting. It shows a players +/- rating over a 40 minute span. That's how much Drexel outscores or gets outscored by their opponents when this player has been on the floor:
This illustrates a much larger point. Anyone good, when they want to, can make numbers tell virtually any story that they want. If you want to argue Mohammed Bah is terrible, you can from the above. If you want to argue that the team would be lost without Mohammed Bah, you can from the above. It's with investigation, context, and study, that you can find the underlying story behind the digits. Knowing that, let's take a deeper look into plus/minus.
First, note the two plus/minus columns before. In the first column, I have removed any part of games following the final sub before there were two minutes remaining. The reason is simple, and is best seen when looking at Terrell Allen and Rashann London. When subbing in a close game during that time of the game, coaches will go offense/defense. Bruiser generally has Terrell in on offense only, and London in for defense. That will skew a stat like +/- because Rashann London can only see a negative impact if he only plays on defense, and visa versa for Terrell Allen.
Beyond that, when looking at the +/- there is, among other issues with the statistic, a sample size issue. None of these numbers have stabilized yet, and with Mohammed Bah's limited playing time, his is even more unstable than the other significant contributors on the team. With those disclaimers in place, lets allow ourselves to be blown away:
Mohammed Bah has a positive +/- on a 3-20 basketball team. With an O-Rating in the 70's!
Additional perspective: This "really bad", "you don't need to guard us" (thanks to Bruiser Flint for the quotes) team has outscored their opponents when Mohammed Bah has been in the game. And that's not just any opponents - the Dragons have played a top 50 strength of schedule nationally. They've outscored some very good opponents, but only when Bah was on the floor.
And that's where numbers end. They have provided the question, and from there the smart fan looks to the tape, examines him closer on the floor, and tries to find out what he is doing that is so beneficial. Could it be that past DU teams only had one forward scorer on the floor at a time, and he is a better fir in that system? Perhaps Bah's high screen's/ high post offensive sets clear out the bodies from under the basket making it easier to get to the rim? Is it a defensive contribution, helped by him being larger than most of the other forwards? Is it the plays that the coaches are calling when he is in the game? Whatever it is, it's worth looking at, because Drexel seems to be a much, much better team when Mohammed is on the court.
We find the questions to then look for in the tape. That's how numbers can be best used in the modern game. And that is what has given us this mystery.
So fans what is your hypothesis?
Kenpom's O-Rating is essentially points per possession times one hundred. For reference, the scale loosely translates to:
124 - Damion Lee
115-124 - All CAA 1st Team Player
105-115 - Very good CAA Player
100-105 - CAA Starter
95 -100 - Potential CAA Starter
90 - 95 - CAA 6th Man
Below 90 - CAA Liability
So that Kenpom rating is a bit of who we are on offense. I stress on offense because this next chart is where things get interesting. It shows a players +/- rating over a 40 minute span. That's how much Drexel outscores or gets outscored by their opponents when this player has been on the floor:
This illustrates a much larger point. Anyone good, when they want to, can make numbers tell virtually any story that they want. If you want to argue Mohammed Bah is terrible, you can from the above. If you want to argue that the team would be lost without Mohammed Bah, you can from the above. It's with investigation, context, and study, that you can find the underlying story behind the digits. Knowing that, let's take a deeper look into plus/minus.
First, note the two plus/minus columns before. In the first column, I have removed any part of games following the final sub before there were two minutes remaining. The reason is simple, and is best seen when looking at Terrell Allen and Rashann London. When subbing in a close game during that time of the game, coaches will go offense/defense. Bruiser generally has Terrell in on offense only, and London in for defense. That will skew a stat like +/- because Rashann London can only see a negative impact if he only plays on defense, and visa versa for Terrell Allen.
Beyond that, when looking at the +/- there is, among other issues with the statistic, a sample size issue. None of these numbers have stabilized yet, and with Mohammed Bah's limited playing time, his is even more unstable than the other significant contributors on the team. With those disclaimers in place, lets allow ourselves to be blown away:
Mohammed Bah has a positive +/- on a 3-20 basketball team. With an O-Rating in the 70's!
Additional perspective: This "really bad", "you don't need to guard us" (thanks to Bruiser Flint for the quotes) team has outscored their opponents when Mohammed Bah has been in the game. And that's not just any opponents - the Dragons have played a top 50 strength of schedule nationally. They've outscored some very good opponents, but only when Bah was on the floor.
And that's where numbers end. They have provided the question, and from there the smart fan looks to the tape, examines him closer on the floor, and tries to find out what he is doing that is so beneficial. Could it be that past DU teams only had one forward scorer on the floor at a time, and he is a better fir in that system? Perhaps Bah's high screen's/ high post offensive sets clear out the bodies from under the basket making it easier to get to the rim? Is it a defensive contribution, helped by him being larger than most of the other forwards? Is it the plays that the coaches are calling when he is in the game? Whatever it is, it's worth looking at, because Drexel seems to be a much, much better team when Mohammed is on the court.
We find the questions to then look for in the tape. That's how numbers can be best used in the modern game. And that is what has given us this mystery.
So fans what is your hypothesis?
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