Coach Bill Herrion’s team go into the season wanting to prove that they belong with the elite of the American Eat and have a solid nucleus of Upperclassmen to get the job done.  Herrion is a no-nonsense coach who is not immune to having sunrise practices and will only play the players that work the hardest.  He found his horse in the most unlikely of places.  Right at his front doorstep in the city of brotherly love and ironically this kid who would eventually lead the team in scoring was not recruited by any of the other Big 5 teams.  It is not that Drexel did not have some solid big men coming back, they did, but Herrion could not keep his new found stud on the bench.  From the first game it became obvious that Drexel had a new sheriff and the player who got demoted was Senior star Bob Buckley.  It was not that Buckley was not good and did not work hard it was just he was not big enough for the physical play of the American East.  To play post in this conference you better be ready for War.  Buckley was not big enough for the game and took a seat early but this legend will always bleed Dragon Blue! 

Leading the way for Drexel this year was all conference selection and all world pounder John Rankin.  And nobody recruited him from the Big Five!  Rankin is a phenomenal masher underneath who lives to mix it up with the big boys in the paint.  Rankin may be only 6 foot 7 but he as dominating a presence as this league has ever seen.  He backs down from no one and uses his massive strength to uproot people and get the position he desires.  Still developing as a rebounder, Rankin does his damage on offense with dunks and short little turnarounds and baby hooks.  He was the perfect model for what Herrion wants in a player and is the heart and soul of this team.  As one of the coaches he faced said, “When you are playing Drexel you know you have to deal with John pounding from the first whistle until the last.  He does not give an inch to anybody and eventually it wears even good players down.”  But as good as he was underneath, the biggest newcomer to the Dragon family was not a guy with a neck the size of the Liberty Bell but a 5’11 hometown kid who turned this league upside down.   

Nobody was or is as important for Drexel was the play of sophomore point guard Michael Anderson.  Maybe the most underrated player in the league, Anderson is a smooth point guard who scores as well as he dishes.  This is uncommon amongst most point guards on the East Coast who like to dish first especially in the smaller conferences.  Anderson will burn you if you do not stop him with the ball either going to the hoop or hitting an open J.  He is also a heck of a defender as he led the conference in steals and gets many easy baskets on strips and full court trips through the other teams defense.  He is tough as they come and is a monster on the boards (the whole team boards like feens) who got 4 a game even though he is just a tad under six foot tall.  He had five triple doubles which is by far the most in the league and though Rankin maybe the immovable object down low Anderson is the rabbit that makes this engine run.  Fellow Sophomore Todd Lindeman is a great backup and Coach Herrion had the duo on the court together at times to get more speed on the court.  Lehmann is every bit as good of a passer as Anderson and can also hit the trey so playing next to Anderson was an advantage for Drexel.  Herrion was blessed to have this kind of depth and skill as such an important position. 

Drexel had several options to choose from in support of this dynamic duo.  The main support for Rankin underneath were fellow grinders Bob ‘Sweeper’ Stephens, Buckley and Len Hatzenbeller.  As we mentioned before, Senior Buckley had started the season in the starting lineup but soon was replaced by Herrion as he had to get some of his young studs up front on to the court.  He still had a role off the bench but that could change as his lack of size prohibits him from playing the kind of power ball Herrion wants.  Stephens is a solid scoring option who is also the primary option rim protector.  Stephens has the size and skills to post up anyone and has a soft touch inside.  The only problem is that he plays the same position as the slightly bigger Hatzenbeller but they learned to share and played together well.  Stephens is a physical player who loves to board and takes a lot of pressure of Rankin inside.  He is the perfect complement to Rankin and they play well together.  Stephens is also a gifted shot blocker which Drexel needed.  Stephens was the experienced glue, he is going to be a junior, that holds the front line together as he started all but one game last year.  He was the guy who showed the others the type of work ethic that was needed to succeed and survive in the American East and the wars of Philly.   Hatzenbeller is a six nine stud who can fill it up inside and plays both ends well. Injury issues (back) kept him out of too many games but when he played he was a solid offensive force on the blocks.  Junior David Broadus also got some minutes up front when Hatzenbeller went done and showed he too can be productive on the blocks.  He may not be as talented as the three guys in front of him but he can play and will mix it up.  Herrion has such depth up front he had to play these guys together in ultra big lineups to get them all on the court.  He does not dare do this often as they were usually behind the 8 ball on the perimeter and with their athleticism.  Senior Daniel Promilso, 6’4 junior Steve Lilly and sophomores Mike Mitchell battle for leftover minutes.  Mitchell is a 6’10 project from Maryland who will probably get another year of seasoning on the JV but the other two might not even make the roster after productive careers for Drexel.  This group is one of the most competitive and toughest groups of post players in the all of college basketball. 

As for the perimeter for Drexel, they had nowhere near the kind of depth thus making the emergence of Anderson all that more important. There is an entire group of wings battling for playing time coming back this year.  Juniors Gregory Newman and Ron Coley will battle with sophomores Richard Congo and Randall Burkert for time.  Newman will almost assuredly start at one position as this 6’3 Philly kid can flat put the ball in the basket.  He is better suited for the two guard and has already beaten out old school players Mike McCurdy, Bob Morgan and Al MacCart for the job.  Those guys are solid players but nowhere near as dynamic offensively as Newman.  Morgan was a high scorer two years ago but at 5’11 is a bit undersized for D-1.  The battle in reality is for the three spot and all 3 of these guys are capable.  Coley is an athletic 6’2 and will probably backup Newman (you just said that in Jerry’s voice didn’t you) while the 6’7 Congo and 6’5 Burkert split time at small forward.  Neither is quite as athletic as you would like here so there is an opening for the incoming kids but they are solid, bigger wings.  

The team from Philly pleased their phanatical fans.  Even though they had no wins against fellow Philly competition, they were the sixth team from the city to finish with above a 500 winning percentage last season.  Probably not but Drexel are making progress and have the kind of front line that makes their Philly Brethren envious especially with their toughness.  And with one of the most complete point guards in the country Drexel are well on their way.  A couple of years of seasoning and a few bigger wings and this team could just push to join the cult which is Philly basketball’s Big Five.  They may not get the recognition of the Temples and LaSalles of the world but the fans in Philly love their Dragons and know this is a great little program hidden in the obscure and underrated American East. For now!!!”