Drexel has been a tough out at home at the DAC in recent years. (Photo: Drexel athletics)
By AARON BRACY
November 2, 2024
DREXEL 2024-25 Big5Hoops.com Preview Package
-Drexel Player Spotlight: Kobe MaGee
-Drexel Season Preview Podcast
2024-25 Capsule Preview
–Head coach/season: Zach Spiker/9th season
–2023–24 record: 20-12, 13-5 Coastal Athletic Association (Big5Hoops.com 2023-24 Drexel Season Review Story)
–Key returnees: 6-6 JR G Kobe MaGee (6.3 ppg), 6-5 SR G Yame Butler (6.1 ppg)
–Key losses: 6-4 G/F Luke House (9.2 ppg, 3.4 rpg; out of eligibility), 6-3 G Justin Moore (12.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.5 apg; transferred to Loyola Chicago), 6-6 F Lucas Monroe (6.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg; out of eligibility), 6-6 F Mate Okros (6.4 ppg; out of eligibility), 6-8 SR F Garfield Turner (5.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg; out for season/knee injury), 6-10 F Amari Williams (12.2 ppg, 7.8 rpg; transferred to Kentucky)
–Key additions: 6-2 JR G Jason “Deuce” Drake (Butler CC), 6-7 JR F Victor Panov (Daytona CC), 6-8 FR Horace Simmons, 6-2 SO G Kevon Vanderhorst (Brunswick CC)
–KenPom preseason ranking: 222 out of 364 Division I teams
–Coastal Athletic Association preseason ranking: 11th out of 14 teams
–Tip-ins: Moore and Williams joined several recent Dragons who have transferred to bigger programs, signifying both Spiker and staff’s strengths in both talent evaluation and development: Tramaine Isabell (Saint Louis), Jarvis Doles (Albany/UMBC), Sam Green (Howard), Camren Wynter (Penn State), T.J. Bickerstaff (Boston College/JMU), Xavier Bell (Wichita State). … In its first season in the Big 5, the Dragons scored a 57-55 defeat of Villanova in the fifth-place game of the inaugural Big 5 Classic at the Wells Fargo Center on Dec. 2, 2023. … Spiker was named the Big 5 Coach of the Year last season. … House signed a contract to play professionally in Germany, becoming the 15th Dragons player under Spiker to play pro. … Due to transfer, graduation, and injury, the Dragons lost 80.9 percent of their scoring from last season. … Simmons enters his first season after redshirting in 2023-24. He averaged 15.8 points and 6.2 rebounds as a senior at La Salle High School.
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Aaron Bracy has been covering Philadelphia sports since 1996. His byline regularly appears on Associated Press stories. Follow Bracy on X: @Aaron_Bracy and like his Facebook and Instagram pages. His book on the 2003-04 Saint Joseph’s men’s basketball team is expected to be published on March 1, 2025. Read a summary and preorder it by clicking HERE. Contact him at aaron@big5hoops.com.