IS ON THE TRADE RUMOR TRAIL
Some notes from the DAC ...
* Coach Bruiser Flint said he needs senior leadership from Scott Rodgers and Tramayne Hawthorne, the only two seniors on the team. Rodgers made some clutch free throws and only turned the ball over three times. Hawthorne seems comfortable providing a spark off the bench. Hawthorne (11.2) is the only returnee who scored in double figures last season.
* For a team picked last in the Colonial Athletic Association preseason poll, Drexel looked reasonably good vs. Penn on Tuesday morning. Eight players were in action for 10 minutes or more. Freshman forward Samme Givens collected 10 rebounds in 18 minutes and added seven points.
* Penn didn’t shoot well (5 of 19 threes, 13 of 28 free throws). In the first half, the Quakers had trouble getting second shots (only four offensive rebounds).
* Crowd watching: The 10 a.m. game at the Daskalakis Athletic Center attracted a sellout crowd of 2,434. It was odd seeing many adult male fans wearing suits…Pennsylvania Gov. Rendell, a Penn alumnus, was one of the suits attending the game…Former Drexel players Chaz Crawford and Bashir Mason were present. Crawford is rehabbing a knee injury. He plans to continue playing in Turkey. Mason is an assistant coach at Marist College.
* The DAC Pack, Drexel students wearing their familiar gold T-shirts, now sit behind the visitor’s bench. Previously, they sat across the court…
* In response to the renowned rollouts that Penn students present at the Palestra, Drexel students offered some clever rollouts:
“Daddy’s trust fund need a bailout? You could try working!”
“If Ben Franklin were alive today, he’d be a Drexel engineer”
Responding to a “high school gym” chant by Penn students, Drexel students held up “Our gym may be small, but we’re big where it counts: pride”
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FRAN DUNPHY, Temple
He begins his third season on North Broad with nearly 350 career victories after a long tenure at Penn. The Owls won the Atlantic 10 Tournament last season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
BRUISER FLINT, Drexel
He begins his eighth season with the Dragons after returning to the city where he played collegiately at St. Joe’s. The Dragons have advanced to the postseason in four of the last six years and have won at least 17 games four times under Flint.
DR. JOHN GIANNINI, La Salle
He begins his fifth season at the school after successful tenures at the University of Maine and Rowan, where teams made two trips to the Division III Final Four. At LaSalle two seasons ago, he engineered an 18-win season and third-place finish in the Atlantic 10, the school’s best finish since joining the league for the 1995-96 season.
PHIL MARTELLI, Saint Joseph’s
He begins his 14th season on Hawk Hill, having won more than 250 games. He is a four-time Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year and has taken the Hawks to the postseason in seven of the last eight years.
GLEN MILLER, Penn
He begins his third season at the school after moving within the Ivy League from Brown. In his first season, he led the Quakers to an Ivy League championship and their third consecutive NCAA Tournament bid.
JAY WRIGHT, Villanova
He begins his eighth season at ‘Nova, having amassed 148 wins at the school. Villanova has made the NCAA Tournament for the last four seasons, including three trips to the Sweet 16 and an Elite Eight appearance. Wright came to Villanova following his tenure at Hofstra and has 270 career victories.
