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College Basketball

Missouri Valley Team Preview (Drake Bulldogs)

Drake won 12 games last year following years of 11, 12, 14, and 10 wins.  They went 7-11 in the league last year and tied for sixth place.  So what is causing all the excitement about Drake basketball around Des Moines, Iowa?  Two words:  Tom Davis.  Dr. Tom returned to the sidelines last year, and led a very young team picked ninth in the pre-season polls to that sixth place finish.  He brought his full-court press defense, and Drake finished second in the nation in steals at 11.5 spg, and with all five starters, and nearly every key reserve back, Drake is looking forward to getting another step closer to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1971.  The fans are jumping on for the ride as well, as attendance was almost 6,000 per game, the highest at Drake since the 92-93 season.The unquestioned leader of the Bulldogs is 6’1″ Senior PG Lonnie Randolph.  He garnered second team all-conference honors along with first team all-defensive honors.  He led the league in steals with 70 and was fourth in assists.  He finished with averages of 12 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.8 apg, and 2.7 spg.  At the SG should be 6’1″ Junior Chaun Brooks.  He started 22 games and put up 8.1 ppg and 3.2 rpg.  He also averaged almost 2 spg.  6’3″ Sophomore Nick Grant had a strong first season off the bench scoring 8.3 ppg to go along with 1.7 rpg, and 1.7 spg.  Grant is out for about eight weeks after recently breaking his foot.  It will hurt the Bulldogs some in the pre-conference part of the schedule, but they anticipate him being ready by January when conference play gets going.  Drake lost two good Junior guards in transfers Joshua Robinson (8.7 ppg) and Quantel Murphy (5.6 ppg 3.6 rpg), and with the pressure system in place, will need Freshmen Chris Bryant and Leonard Houston to contribute quality minutes off the bench. The 6’2″ Bryant was a first team all-state performer in Alaska and averaged 28 ppg, 13 rpg, and 6 apg.  The 6’0″ Houston comes in with the reputation of being a very good ball handler.

If there is a concern for the Bulldogs it is in the area of rebounding.  Drake was eighth in the league last year in that category, and still has only one player on the roster over 6’8″.  What they do have up front for starters is all-Freshman team performer Klayton Korver.  The younger brother of Philadelphia 76’er Kyle, Korver averaged 7.8 ppg and 3.6 rpg.  6’4″ Senior Pete Eggers (5.4 ppg and 2.5 rpg), 6’9″ Senior David Bancroft (4.5 ppg and 3.4 rpg), and 6’7″ Junior Josh Powell (6.7 ppg and 4.4 rpg) all played solid minutes last year.  To help the rebounding game, Drake is counting on 6’8 Sophomore Aliou Keta, a transfer from Tulsa.  At 250+ lbs., he is a wide body.  6’8″ Freshman Brent Heemskerk, whose 7’0″ brother is a member of Bradley’s team, will look to work his way into the rotation.

Drake has not finished over .500 in nearly 20 years, the 86-87 season, and year two of Tom Davis’ system has them in a position to do so.  If the rebounding situation gets shored up, that should happen.  But, that’s a big IF.  Even Coach Davis is still concerned, saying, “We are still the weakest interior team in the league and that’s where the games is won-on the boards.”   A move up any higher should still be a year or two away, but this team had some big wins last year, and one would expect the same this year.  The frantic style that Davis’ team plays can cause many a headache, and by the time the conference tournament rolls around, this is a team no one will want to play.

Predicted League Finish:  5th  (10-8)

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