Big 5 Basketball: Preseason power rankings for 2019-20 season

5. Drexel

Drexel entered last season having unexpectedly lost Tremaine Isabell, one of the best players in program history, who transferred to Saint Louis to play his last year of eligibility. The Dragons surprised plenty by maintaining course and having an almost identical statistical year without Isabell in 2019, even managing to improve their CAA win total by a game. This year, Drexel could take another step forward, even with the loss of their top three scorers from last year’s team.

Alihan Demir was the most recent Drexel star to decide to play his final year of eligibility at a higher-level conference. The Turkish forward transferred to Minnesota this off-season, taking with him almost 15 points and over six boards a game. The Dragons lose their other two leading scorers with the departures of Troy Harper and three-point specialist Trevor John, who both completed their eligibility. But while the losses are huge, this balanced Drexel team returns enough talent to continue to improve this year.

Two double-digit scorers from last year’s team are back, reigning CAA rookie of the year Camren Wynter and leading rebounder James Butler. Veterans Kurk Lee and Zach Walton were sidelined last year due to injuries, but figure to be major contributors if they remain healthy. Spiker also has talented returning sophomores in Tim Perry, Jr. and Coletrane Washington, who both showed big upside as freshmen.

It’s been a slow climb back to respectability for a Drexel program Bruiser Flint left in the gutter after a few good seasons in his 15 years at the school. Spiker’s been steadily improving the team since he got to campus, and this year should be the best Dragons team he’s fielded since taking the job. It’s not that I’m entirely convinced this group is ready to make serious noise in the CAA, but I think Joe’s is bad enough to give the still-growing Dragons the edge.