Drake men’s basketball, led by Tucker DeVries and a batch of newcomers, holds a 13-3 record halfway through the regular season.
Last night, Drake men’s basketball welcomed the vaunted Indiana State Sycamores to the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa, for a showdown of No. 1 in the Missouri Valley Conference versus No. 2. The Sycamores came into Des Moines undefeated in conference play, holding the coveted top rank in the valley. With a 13-game home winning streak on the line, the Bulldogs ferociously defended their home territory, trouncing Indiana State 89-78.
Now tied for the No.1 spot in the conference, Drake has assured its position as one of the top contenders in the valley. Although predicted to be conference champions in the MVC preseason poll, question marks remained surrounding the team’s ceiling going into the 2023-24 season. But last night was a testament to Drake’s ability to repeat as conference champions, and it answered the preseason question marks with an exclamation point.
The major returners for Drake’s 2023-24 squad were Tucker DeVries, Darnell Brodie and Conor Enright. DeVries, named the best player in the conference after the 2022-23 season, averaged 18.6 points per game in the 2022-23 season, shooting 37.3% from 3-point range. Aside from DeVries, Brodie was the only returning starter from the 2022-23 conference champion team. Brodie nearly became a March Madness hero for Drake, putting up 20 points in Drake’s seven-point loss to Miami, and Enright was a contributor off the bench for Drake last season.
Although they returned three crucial players, Drake sustained irreplaceable losses. Drake starters Roman Penn, Garrett Sturtz and D.J. Wilkins all played their final season of collegiate basketball last year, giving plausible reason to question Drake’s legitimacy going into the 2023-24 season. Following the 2022-23 season, Penn made All-MVC first team, Sturtz made All-MVC third team and Wilkins concluded his collegiate career averaging 8.2 points per game and shooting 37% from beyond the arc. Also vital to Drake’s success was wing Sardaar Calhoun, who made the 2022-23 MVC All-Bench team. Calhoun also left the team after the season.
Having four massive roster holes to fill, Drake Head Coach Darian DeVries hauled in multiple acclaimed recruits. The contributing additions to the roster have been the transfer guard Atin Wright, three-star recruit Kevin Overton and freshman guard Colby Garland. The transfers and incoming freshmen looked promising on paper, but could they replace the production of their four battle-tested predecessors? With half a season of basketball to analyze, the answer to that question is confirmed to be an astounding yes.
Wright instantly slotted in as the starting shooting guard and second scoring option the Bulldogs desperately needed. Averaging 15.2 points per game, Wright has asserted himself as a scoring threat in the MVC. Even with a high volume of over 11 shots per game, Wright’s been efficient, boasting a 45% field goal percentage. Wright’s also knocked down 3-pointers at a high 38% clip, improving vastly from his previous career high of 32.8%. In addition, Wright has been reliable at the charity stripe, sitting third in the conference with an 87.9% free throw percentage. Not only has Wright matched Penn’s scoring from last season, but has exceeded Penn’s 12.6 points per game.
Replacing experience with youth was potentially concerning for the Bulldogs, but the freshman Overton looks like a veteran on the court. Being penciled in as the lone freshman starter comes with tremendous pressure, but watching Overton play, you’d think he was in an empty gym. Averaging the second-highest minutes-per-game on Drake, Overton’s become an integral piece of the Bulldogs rotation. Overton’s 12.8 points per game are the most of any freshman in the conference, giving the Oklahoma product a strong candidacy for MVC Freshman of the Year. Overton’s calm presence has also helped the freshman protect the ball, averaging a team-low 0.4 turnovers per game among Bulldogs averaging 20 or more minutes.
In graduating Penn, Drake lost one of the top playmakers in the conference. While Wright has surpassed Penn’s scoring average, his 1.9 assists per game is a downgrade from Penn’s 5.5. DeVries leads Drake with 3.8 assists per game this season, but Garland, a freshman, has been a dexterous disher of the basketball. In just 20.6 minutes per game, Garland averages 2.5 assists, the second-highest mark on the team. Garland has found his role in Coach DeVries’ rotation – play defense and facilitate – and the freshman has thrived in his position.
The Drake newcomers’ contributions have been indispensable to Drake’s success, but the individual growth of Brodie and Enright can’t be factored out of this winning equation. Starting all 35 games as Drake’s center in the 2022-23 season, Brodie averaged 9.1 points per game, shooting 53.7% from the field and 59% from the free throw line. Developing tremendously from his previous season stats, Brodie is putting up 11.2 points per game, making 63.9% of his shots from the field and draining 73.2% of his free throws. Brodie gave Drake fans a glimpse of this improved play in March Madness when he dropped 20 points against Miami, but Brodie’s 2023-24 season is proving that his performance in March was no fluke. His 15-point, six-rebound and three-assist game against Indiana State yesterday further proved that Brodie is a big-game player, and Coach DeVries can trust his big man to shine when the lights are brightest.
Making his case against Brodie for the most-improved Bulldog, Enright has upgraded in nearly every statistic since last season. Going from 4.1 points per game to 6.7 points per game, a 32.2% 3-point percentage to a 48.8% three-point percentage and a 43.4% field goal percentage to a 49.3% field goal percentage, Enright has earned his status as a starter. Enright has started 15 of the 16 games this season, missing one game with an injury. Last season, he appeared in 35 games but only started four. Enright’s quick and energized play style puts defenses on their heels and makes them weary of challenging him defensively. The redshirt sophomore’s mix of clamping down other teams’ top scorers and knocking down three-point jumpers makes him a frustrating opponent, and a Drake fan favorite.
While roster depth is imperative to winning the conference and making another trip to March Madness, this talented Drake team will ultimately go as far as its best player takes it. DeVries, averaging the second most points in the conference with 19.5, is undeniably Drake’s top dog. Now, without Penn, Wilkins and Sturtz on the roster, DeVries is the true team leader. DeVries’ 19.5 points per game is the highest of his career, yet his efficiency has slightly dropped since his Larry Bird Trophy-winning season. In the 2022-23 season, DeVries shot 37.3% from beyond the arc and 83.8% from the free throw line; those figures have lessened to 33.9% and 77.3% in his 2023-24 campaign, resembling his freshman year statistics.
DeVries, however, made a statement in Drake’s 89-point victory over Indiana State. Matching up against the top team in the conference, DeVries dropped 29 points, shot 6/10 on 3-pointers, hauled in 6 rebounds and added four assists to his sensational stat line. DeVries’ performance against the Sycamores should be frightening to the rest of the conference. A lights-out DeVries working in tandem with a stellar supporting cast is a recipe for a daunting opponent, making Drake a top contenders for the MVC championship.
So, did the newcomers fill the big shoes of those departed? First off, it is impossible to replace Penn, Wilkins and Sturtz, who are all bona fide Drake basketball legends, but there is always room for more. Just like Cinderella, the shoes fit for the Bulldog newcomers. Wright, Overton and Garland are potent weapons for the Bulldogs, and they’ve meshed seamlessly with the returning players, who have made strides from a year ago.
The question is: since the shoes weren’t too big to fill, can the Bulldogs complete the Cinderella story and make another March Madness appearance? With the immense talent on this roster, that possibility remains. But before looking too far ahead, the Bulldogs have 15 regular season games to play, and a gauntlet of a conference schedule to battle through. Drake’s win over Indiana State proves that they’re capable of hanging with any team in the conference. They just need to develop consistency before heading to Arch Madness, which may give them favorable odds to repeat as MVC champions.