Kobe MaGee averaged 6.3 points last season and is looking forward to a larger role as a junior in 2024-25. (Photo: Drexel athletics)
By AARON BRACY
November 2, 2024
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Player Spotlight: Kobe MaGee
Class: Junior
Position: Guard
Height: 6-foot-6
Weight: 205 pounds
Hometown: Allentown, Pennsylvania
2023-24 stats: 32 games, 6.3 ppg, 2.1 rpg, .509 FG (81-159), .354 3PT (23-65), .941 FT (16-17)
Outside of basketball: Entrepreneurship and innovation major. … Philly sports fan of Eagles, Flyers, 76ers, and Phillies. … Huge music fan. Collects vinyl records and has albums of Drake, Kanye West, Lauryn Hill, and Michael Jackson included in his collection. … Holds group Bible studies with teammates. … Pregame meal includes pasta, chicken, and potatoes. … Enjoys hanging out in Philly at the Reading Terminal Market and in the Fashion District. … Aims to play basketball professionally and wants to open his own training facility and start his own brand of clothing line. … Enjoys the cartoon Family Guy and the movie Soul.
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Kobe MaGee and Drexel keep hearing about all the players they have lost. And, certainly, the Dragons have had some big-time departures with the transfers of Amari Williams (Kentucky) and Justin Moore (Loyola Chicago). But there is still talent at 33rd and Market streets.
“Everybody that came back all improved, whether it’s their game or size and muscle,” MaGee told Big5Hoops.com. “I commend them for it. They all take a level of seriousness to the game, and it’s going to further better our team and better themselves as well.”
MaGee was an integral, though not focal, point of last season’s Dragons team that went 20-12 overall and 13-5 Coastal Athletic Association. He averaged 6.3 points and 2.1 rebounds while shooting 50.9 percent (81 of 159) from the field, including 35.4 percent (23 of 65) from the arc. He has worked hard on his game this offseason and is ready for a larger role.
“I would definitely say that me this year is going to be a way different me from last year,” MaGee said. “The scout that other teams have will not be correct. It’s going to be a great year for me and a great year for our team.”
Optimism Abounds
MaGee’s optimism might surprise outsiders, including voters in the CAA preseason poll who picked the Dragons to finish 11th in the 14-team league, but he knows what Drexel has.
In addition to MaGee, 6-foot-5 senior guard Yame Butler (6.1 points per game last season) is expected to be a focus offensively. The Dragons also have 6-5 sophomore guard Shane Blakeney (2.0 points per game) and 6-8 junior forward Cole Hargrove (0.9 points per game) back from 2023-24, and both will be looking for bigger roles. Three junior college transfers, 6-2 junior guard Jason “Deuce” Drake (Butler CC), 6-7 junior forward Victor Panov (Daytona CC), and 6-2 sophomore guard Kevon Vanderhorst (Brunswick CC), are expected to make immediate contributions. The Dragons also are counting on 6-8 forward Horace Simmons, a redshirt freshman who averaged 15.8 points and 6.2 rebounds as a senior at La Salle High School, to have an impact this season.
“I’ve seen nothing but effort every day, grinding, competing on the court, competing off the court, helping in the community,” MaGee said of the transfers. “They’re bringing that consistency to our team, and that’s what we need. They’re bringing in that hard work. It’s going to be a great year for them as well.”
Embracing His Role
MaGee has been there to help the transfers, both on and off the court, and is embracing his new role as a team leader.
“I personally think my role is to be the glue guy, whole new team, trying to get everybody acclimated to the system that we run,” he said. “I take it as a challenge. I always think life is a test, and I’m put in certain situations on purpose to see how I adapt to it. I just think being the glue guy is my destined role for this team this year.”
Consistency, MaGee said, is key for those in the front of the line.
“What I bring is consistency,” MaGee said. “Consistency and hard work is all that teams need. Last year Luke House, Mate Okros, Lamar Oden, they all brought consistency, and that kind of rubbed off on me. Now, going into practices and games, everybody knows what they can expect of me. And I’m trying to lead our guys on the path to consistency and hard work.”
Expanding His Game
MaGee plans to expand his game this season. He made a huge jump as an outside shooter, through practice, repetition, and practice, from his freshman to sophomore season, making 35.4 percent (23 of 65) from the arc last season after hitting 15.8 percent (3 of 19) as a rookie. He’ll continue firing away from long range as a junior. Always an elite free throw shooter, he 95.8 percent (23 of 24) from the line in his career, MaGee plans to get to the charity stripe more this season.
“I’m way more aggressive this year,” he said. “I put on a lot of muscle. I’m definitely going to be going to the line a lot more this year, getting more paint touches, getting more layups. I think I’ll definitely be on the line a lot more.
“Last year, I don’t think I could’ve created a shot off the dribble as much as I wanted to. This year, I can 100 percent, definitely, create a shot off the dribble, or I can catch and shoot, or I can get a backcut layup, postups, whatever. This year is going to be a lot different than what you’ve seen in the previous years.”
Same Drexel
But, MaGee expects, things will be similar for Drexel as in recent years when the Dragons have been one of the top teams in the CAA.
“I think we can be March Madness ready,” he said. “We’re picked 11th only because of the people we lost. I think they’re going to be surprised of what we can do as a group.
“Just be ready for Drexel. Be ready for what we have to offer. Don’t sleep on us. That (No. 11 preseason ranking) weighs heavy on us, and we’re taking it as a competition. So, don’t sleep on us.”
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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.