The next in this season’s series of CAA previews is the Drexel Dragons.

2010-11 in Review: Looking at a team that went 16-16 in 2009-10, the 2010-11 season was an improved one for the Drexel Dragons. Bruiser Flint’s team finished 21-10 with an 11-7 record in conference play. The Dragons started the season alternating wins and losses in conference until a few streaks kept the Dragons above .500. That staple of the Dragons season was their dominance at home. The Dragons ended with 12 wins and only 2 losses at the Daskalakis Athletic Center. Their home court advantage was evident during key wins against top CAA teams ODU and VCU. The Dragons entered the CAA tournament as the 4 seed. Their first round opponent, Towson, put up a fight but Drexel came away with a 75-69 victory. The Dragons moved on to the CAA quarterfinals and played a close game to the end with the VCU rams. Chris Fouch hit back-to-back 3’s with 30 seconds left to tie the game at 60 before Jamie Skeen hit a buzzer beating shot to knock the Dragons out of the tournament, 62-60.

Against Northeastern: The Dragons started conference play against Northeastern in an early season game at the TD Garden during the Boston Tip-off Classic. Drexel came into the game with a 5-1 out of conference record before the opener. The Dragons, led by 27 points from Chris Fouch, would win a closely contested game. They led for most of the second half, however the Dragons would only win by 5 points. Drexel would continue their dominance at home during the second meeting with the Huskies. The Dragons, again led by Fouch, would cruise past the Huskies 72-58 in a game where NU only shot 29 percent from the field. Joel Smith hit 6 of his 11 three-point shots to lead Northeastern.

Key Losses:

• Gerald Colds: The senior guard finished his career as one of the top three-point shooters for Drexel. Colds knocked down 123 3-pointers in four years as a Dragon. He averaged 9.7 points and 2.7 rebounds per game during his senior campaign, his best in the blue and gold uniform. He finished third on the team in scoring and second in assists with 2.5 per game. Colds finished the season shooting 30% from behind the arc. The Dragons will miss Colds’ ability to spread the floor and keep defenses honest this coming season.

Key Returns:

• Chris Fouch: Fouch led the team in scoring as a sophomore last year. The 6-2 guard has averaged double digits in each of his two seasons. As a freshman, Fouch averaged 11 points per game and earned Drexel’s first CAA Rookie of the Year award.  In his second season, Fouch averaged 15 a game and this while coming off the bench in all but two of his 31 games played. Fouch is by far the most skilled shooter on the Dragons hitting an impressive 62 3’s last season. The Dragons leaned on Fouch to carry the team, scoring 30 (career high) and 27 against Binghamton and Northeastern respectively. He ended the year with 20 against VCU in the CAA tournament, including 8 in the final 53 seconds to tie the game. Fouch, through just two seasons of play, already has 800 points in his career with Drexel. Fouch is a dominant scorer who will be counted on this season, once he returns from off-season knee surgery that will likely keep him out until the beginning of CAA play.
• Samme Givens: Givens, the lone senior on the 11-12 Dragon team, was second in scoring and first in rebounds during his junior year. The 6-5 forward was the only player in the CAA to average a double-double, with 12 points and 10 boards per game. He led the conference in rebounding and this earned him second team sll-CAA honors. Despite his size, he has grabbed at least 100 offensive rebounds in each of his three seasons. Givens also led the team in FG% and 52% as well as blocks with 26 in 2010-11. He has gotten better with each passing year and his senior campaign should turn out to be his most productive yet.
• Derrick Thomas: Started all 31 games at guard as a sophomore and was second on the club in minutes. Thomas looks to be the team’s top on-ball defender as he regularly guarded the opponent’s top perimeter threat. Thomas averaged 6.9 points and 2.5 rebounds during his sophomore season.
• Frantz Massenat: Massenat started every game as a freshman at point and was named to the CAA’s All-Rookie team. Massenat led all CAA freshmen in assists with 3.3 per game. He averaged over 5 points per game while shooting over 40% from the floor.
• Daryl McCoy: McCoy Emerged as one of the most improved players in the CAA as a sophomore.  At 6-9 270 McCoy became one of the top interior defenders in the league. McCoy more than tripled his scoring output from his freshman year, averaging 5.4 points per game and ended the year shooting an impressive 53% from the floor as a sophomore. McCoy averaged 7.8 rebounds per game, placing him second on the team and tying him for fifth in the CAA.

What to Expect: The players who make up the Dragon’s roster have not changed much.  They return 4 starters, only one of whom is a senior, as well as their leading scorer who came off the bench last year. This Drexel team is very young and has a lot of talent and potential. Last year the Dragons finished 5^th in the CAA with a freshmen starting at point and a sophomore leading the team off the bench.  If the Dragons can continue their dominance at home they should be much improved this year. A team featuring a full starting line-up of return players as well as two of the top CAA players will hope to make an even higher jump in conference play. Drexel had a strong season last year and this year they could easily be better. They need Chris Fouch to recover from his off season knee surgery and continue his great play. The Dragons still have time and room to grow with such a young team, but they will be looking to make an impact in the CAA during the regular season as well as the during the tournament.

-Coray Runge

WRBB Sports Basketball CAA, Drexel, Fall Preview