Drake Basketball: 2023-24 season preview and outlook for the Bulldogs

Key reserves to watch

Kyron Gibson – Guard

Gibson is a multi-talented player. The UT-Arlington transfer has prospered everywhere he’s played. He was a junior-college all-American in 2022 and averaged 11.2 points and nearly four assists per game for the Mavericks. As he learns the Drake systems, this senior could end up displacing Enright at the point. He is a plus, three-point shooter and an active defender. At 6’1, 198, Gibson is a good athlete and provides a strong overall floor game.

Carlos Rosario – Forward

Tucker DeVries says Rosario is a player that could replace Sturtz as a player that could fit several roles. DeVries says the 6’7 forward will give himself up to make winning plays and provide rebounding support. The Washington State transfer averaged just nine-minutes-per-game last year after sitting out with a medical redshirt the prior season. Rosario is a long, athletic player that will help on the defensive end.

Ethan Roberts – Guard

Signing the Patriot League rookie of the year was huge get. Young DeVries says Roberts ‘can really shoot it and space the floor’. The 6’5 Roberts averaged over 12-points per game and grabbed 4.4 rebounds while nailing 41% of his shots from long distance. Like DeVries, the Army transfer is automatic from the free throw line (85%).

The other freshmen:

Highly rated Colby Garland (Link Year Academy), four-star recruit Chico Johnson, Elijah Price and Patrick Bath come to Des Moines with outstanding high school credentials. Garland averaged over 18 points for the national champion Lions and won back-to-back State Championships in Arkansas prior to his post-grad season at Link.

All of this team’s incoming freshmen were given three-stars by the rating services. Drake’s ‘present’ seems bright and its future might be even brighter.