Drake Basketball

Watch out, Missouri Valley Conference!

The Drake Bulldogs (8-11, 3-4) are hot with no signs of cooling down after a convincing 69-59 victory over the Illinois State Redbirds (13-5, 4-3) in front of a national audience on ESPNU.

The services of seniors Josh Young and Adam Templeton helped key the Bulldogs to their third straight victory. Young led Drake with 18 points while Templeton netted his fourth career double-double, tallying 17 points and 14 rebounds.

Drake came out of the gates on fire, establishing a 20-point lead entering the second half.

On the other end of the floor, Illinois State struggled to drain anything, making one of its first 12 shots. Nearly 15 minutes into the game, the Redbirds scored eight points and ended the half down 35-15, thanks to a revamped Drake defense.

"We're improving incrementally on the defensive end," said Drake head coach Mark Phelps in the press release. "And really, that's where our focus is. And guys are starting to hit shots."

As a team, the Bulldogs shot 45.1 percent on the night, while the Redbirds put up a mark of 36.8 percent.

Templeton and junior guard Ryan Wedel took turns going on hot streaks. Templeton drained four three-point baskets in the first half, which puts his season total at 34, just one shy of last year's total.

Wedel enjoyed a successful night with 15 points and five rebounds. One of his three-pointers gave the Bulldogs their biggest lead of the night, 40-15, early in the second half.

Illinois State simply couldn't keep up.

"We got excellent shots in the first half, but then we got distracted on the other end," said Redbirds coach Tim Jankovich. "We made a lot of uncharacteristic mistakes and we had a number of breakdowns."

One oddity was the first half performance of Illinois State's Osiris Eldridge, the MVC's scoring leader and arguably the league's top player. Eldridge was held scoreless in the first half but returned to form, unleashing a volley of six three-pointers in the second half.

That helped narrow the final margin and Eldridge finished with a game-high 26 points.

The Bulldogs' senior point guard Craig Stanley was in street clothes throughout the game, sidelined indefinitely with a right wrist injury. Josh Young filled in for Stanley, getting some minutes at point guard. 

And he looked good.

Young moved into fifth in Drake career-scoring with 1,554 points.

More time at the point for Young may be in demand, especially if it helps the Bulldogs keep winning.

Hey, three's a streak!

It's no secret that Mark Phelps and his staff at Drake University know how to bring in recruits. Next year's freshman class has already been ranked by No. 1 in the MVC by ESPN.

So it shouldn't surprise anybody to hear the Bulldogs have been heavily targeting another intriguing prospect.

Drake fans, meet 6-foot-7 (depending on who's measuring), 210-pound high school senior, Will Yeguete of Florida Air Academy.

Originally of France, Yeguete is a three-star recruit according to Scout.com and is the website's No. 44 small forward.

Yeguete helped Florida Air Academy to a 24-1 record last season. Over the summer, Yeguete played for Nike Team Florida.

During one afternoon in particular, Yeguette tallied 19 boards in roughly 12 minutes of play. His performance opened some influential eyes.

"He’s not the biggest guy on the blocks, but the lengthy 6-foot-6 power forward from Florida Air in Melbourne was a total beast on Saturday," writes Scout.com's Eric Bossi .

"Quick off the floor, determined and willing to bang, he’s deserving of much more recruiting attention than he’s received and could be a difference maker on the glass at the upper mid-major level."

Yeguete has drawn attention from large programs such as Virginia Tech, USC, Alabama and Auburn. Virginia Tech and Auburn have offered him scholarships, according to TheState.com . His only official visit (that seems to be confirmed, at least) has been to St. John's University.

As of late, however, it appears Yeguete has been more interested in mid-major programs.

Scout describes Yeguete as a "classic, undersized blue collar forward."

Scout also claims Yeguete is a "hard-nosed forward who relies on his motor skills for success."

The Bulldogs could benefit from a player of Yeguete's nature. He can rebound and is known for his hustle and toughness.

In other words, Yeguete could possibly plug the gaping hole that is Drake's rebounding weakness.

Even better, Yeguete seems to like what he sees in Drake, as Scout lists Drake as one of Yeguete's favorites.

The big forward was quoted by Florida Hoops Recruits as saying, "I want to go to a good school with good academics."

From firsthand experience, I can attest to the fact that Drake fits the bill.

He's also willing to travel. A good thing, too. Iowa's a bit of a trek from sunny Florida—more obviously so this time of year. 

"I am willing to go anywhere: distance is not a problem for me," Yeguete said. "I am looking for a place where I can get playing time early in my career."

Though forward is one of Drake's deepest positions, Yeguete would certainly get plenty of PT.

Drake needs a truly big presence down low and Yeguete could be the key to the Bulldogs making the jump from a young, inexperienced group of boys to a talented, Cinderella-type squad.

Rewind a couple of days to last Saturday night when the Drake Bulldogs came from behind to beat the Southern Illinois Salukis, 70-65.

Now, fast forward to last night.

The Drake Bulldogs hit 64 percent (14-of-22) of their three-point attempts to overcome a 13-3 Missouri State Bears squad in Des Moines, IA to notch their second straight victory, 88-77.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves, but one more win is a streak.

The win improved Drake to 7-11 and 2-4 in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Even though Missouri State took advantage of one of the Bulldogs' glaring weaknesses by dominating in the paint, 52-24, Adam Templeton led four Drake players in double-digits with 16 points to simply outscore the Bears.

Templeton, Ryan Wedel, and Josh Young combined for nine three-pointers. On the night, Wedel contributed 15 points and Young tallied 14.

Missouri State guard Nafis Ricks and center Caleb Patterson came off the bench and led all scorers with 17 points apiece.

However, Drake once again fell to an opponent in the rebounding category, 21-34.

But, hey, when you can drain your shots 60 percent of the time and your opponent can only hope to keep up with 46.8 percent—still a respectable figure—not much else matters, right?

As long as winning becomes a trend for the Bulldogs, they won't find many complaints.

Still, it wouldn't hurt to address these issues.

Coach Mark Phelps has maintained all season long that his team is learning and getting better. It's hard to argue that after the Bulldogs picked up wins over two always-tough MVC opponents.

Who would've thought we'd be talking of a possible winning streak in conference play?

To achieve that milestone, the Bulldogs will have to go through a 12-4 Illinois State Redbirds team that sits in third place in the MVC.

A win could prove the Bulldogs really can play with just about anyone in the MVC.

Perhaps they've already proven that.

When a team makes its living from behind the three-point line—as the Drake Bulldogs do—the game plan is quite simple: sink your shots.

The Bulldogs drained 9-of-17 three-pointers in the first half.

Drake followed up by only hitting 2-of-11 in the second half.

Add the fact that the Iowa Hawkeyes—Jarryd Cole in particular—allowed Drake to sniff out points in the paint only a couple times and you have the recipe for the Bulldogs coming up short in Iowa City, 71-67.

With the loss, the Bulldogs dropped below the .500 mark with a 5-6 record.

Several Bulldogs played admirably—freshman center Seth Van Deest led the 'Dogs with 15 points (12 in the second half) and guards Ryan Wedel and Craig Stanley each scored 11.

Noticeably cold for the night was Drake senior Josh Young. While Young rallied late in the game to secure a tally of 13 points, he missed many shots that are normally made with ease.

The Hawkeyes did well in exposing Drake's weakness.

In both appearance and physicality Iowa dwarfed the Bulldogs. Once again, when play got tough, Drake crumbled.

To the credit of the Bulldogs, Iowa was held without a basket for almost the final four minutes of the game, nearly allowing Drake to snatch the victory.

Tomorrow's Matchup

Though the Bulldogs are now 0-2 against in-state rivals, the team doesn't have time to dwell on the loss as they welcome its toughest non-conference opponent in San Diego State tomorrow night for the MVC-Mountain West Challenge.

The good news is the Bulldogs are 22-16 against Mountain West opponents and 4-2 against San Diego State, historically.

The bad news?

The Aztecs return two starters from last year's 26-10 team that reached the NIT semifinals and are currently 8-3 with notable victories over Saint Mary's, Pacific, and Arizona State.

What are the keys to securing a Drake upset over the Aztecs?

1. The Bulldogs need to see more of their balanced attack offense. Ryan Wedel, Ben Simons, Adam Templeton, and Josh Young have all shown they can rack up the points for the Bulldogs. More all-around production will be needed.
   
2. Be aggressive (B-E aggressive!). Drake tends to over-rely on its distance shooting. While excellent, it doesn't tend to win games especially when the other team can match the performance shot-for-shot. Let Van Deest show the Aztecs why he's going to be a force for years to come for the Bulldogs.
   
3. D-D-D, Defense! It isn't one of Drake's strengths but the Bulldogs can't afford to get in a shootout with the Aztecs. Head Coach Mark Phelps needs to draw up a plan that will allow the Bulldogs to come up with some big stops.
4. Get Josh Young the ball. Even when struggling, he is the best player on the team. Let him do his thing. 

Sound simple? That's because it is.

The Bulldogs don't need a miracle offensive makeover to reach the next level of performance. While a few tweaks on defense could be beneficial, this team has the talent—and now some of the experience—it needs to keep up with older squads.

When a young squad such as the Drake University men's basketball team plays to its full potential and puts its talent on display, one is given a glimpse of where the program is headed.

By tromping the South Dakota Coyotes in the opening game of the Drake Invitational, 96-81, the Drake Bulldogs showed the program could return to the top of the MVC in the coming years.

The Bulldogs reached a season-high in total points behind a scalding 50 percent shooting mark.

The game may have also served as the turning point of a season that has thus far been disappointing. Drake's seniors gave fans reason to believe the Bulldogs may be getting over early growing pains, which will have to be worked out come Missouri Valley Conference play.

Senior guard Josh Young led the Bulldogs with a season-high 21 points, draining 4-of-5 three-pointers.

Young's now sits at 1,418 career points, becoming only the sixth player in Drake history to score 1,400 points in a career.

As a team, the Bulldogs shot a lights-out 53.8 percent from behind the arc.

Senior Adam Templeton recorded a double-double, adding a career-high 17 points and exerting himself as a force under the basket, grabbing 16 rebounds—the most for a Drake player since Jonathan Cox's 16 boards against Western Kentucky in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament.

The Bulldogs profited from a well-balanced attack. Five players reached double-digits for the first time this season.

Freshman forward Ben Simons continued to show his ability to light it up from all areas of the floor. Last year's Michigan Mr. Basketball runner-up shot 70 percent, tallying 20 points for the Bulldogs.

Drake guard Ryan Wedel totaled 14 points and senior Craig Stanley came off the bench to add 13 points for the Bulldogs.

While at times it appeared the Bulldogs would have trouble putting away the Coyotes, back-to-back three-pointers by Simons and Templeton capped a 9-0 Bulldog run late in the game.

Drake's 89-77 lead forced South Dakota to begin fouling early with 1:35 left to play. The Bulldogs continued draining their shots, however, and the Coyotes were unable to lessen the gap.

Drake will face off against the Binghamton Bearcats tonight in Des Moines, as the 'Dogs try to even out the win/loss column and reach 5-5.

A win could give the Bulldogs some momentum heading into Iowa City to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes next Saturday.

The Drake Bulldogs are a perplexing squad to watch in action.

In Friday's game against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, one minute they were up 20 points, the next they were left gasping for breath during a time out after the Cougars' forward Mark Yelovich nailed a three-pointer to bring his team within one point of Drake.

Yelovich would go on to score a game-high 24 points.

All the while, one of Drake's assistant coaches was handed duties of waking up the team.

Apparently, the Bulldogs still thought it was all just a bad dream.

The reality was SIUE taking it's first lead of the second half with 24.4 seconds left almost too easily as the lackluster Bulldogs skidded to their fifth loss of the season.

Where was the aggression, the passion, and the "100 percent reason to remember the name,"—as is stated in Drake's introduction jingle?

It was nowhere to be found.

If it makes the sting go away, SIUE went on to win the Drake-hosted Hy-Vee Classic, topping Texas-Arlington in the finals. That was the Cougars' second win of the season.

Does it feel better yet?

Here's a Band-Aid: The Bulldogs fell victim to a horrendous seven-minute 11-second scoring drought that allowed SIUE to gain control of the game and reach striking distance midway through the second half.

It didn't get any better as the end neared. Senior Craig Stanley missed a go-ahead lay up with 10.5 seconds left.

Oh, sorry, none of that helps.

Well, Stanley's fellow senior Josh Young managed just six points.

That's probably not helping either...darn.

I could go on about the bad and ugly from this game forever but don't have the time or strength.

Maybe the proper remedy is to just move on from the struggles to the good.

Saturday, Drake trumped North Dakota 72-63 to take third place in their own tournament.

Young scored a season-high 17 points—that's more like it—while freshman forward Aaron Hawley came off the bench and tied his season-high of 16—the second time the young man has stepped up in a game.

A glaring similarity between this contest and the Bulldogs' previous was yet another scoring drought, this time of eight minutes 50 seconds.

Obviously, shooting and scoring are problems that the Bulldogs need to address—along with the defense.

One thing is for sure: If Josh Young performs, so do the Bulldogs.

It's hard to continually look for that step-up performance when the team's leader is struggling—especially on this youthful, inexperienced squad.

Hopefully, Coach Phelps and his crew get things figured out in a hurry—conference play is looming nearer.

The Bulldogs' tough Missouri Valley Conference foes will make them their chew toys if they can't find some answers.

For the second year in a row, ESPN.com ranked the Drake Bulldog's basketball recruiting class of 2010 the best in the Missouri Valley Conference.

According to Scouts Inc., which compiled a list of the best recruiting classes for each NCAA Division I conference in conjunction with ESPN, the future appears bright for Bulldog basketball.

According to ESPN's article, Drake's three recruits of the early fall signing period—PG Karl Madison, SF Jeremy Jeffers and SF Rayvonte Rice—give the Bulldogs a combination of perimeter size, strength and skill. The class can "hit the three or score through contact on physical drives."

ESPN named Madison the Bulldogs' top incoming player stating: "Madison is a true point guard and a leader on the floor. He can play fast or slow, and takes great care of the ball. He can knock down the open three and find the open man when he draws a crowd."

Drake Head Coach Mark Phelps said in a press release that the ranking and attention for Drake "bodes well for the future of the program."

"This is great news that people are recognizing the fact that we're bringing in good players," Phelps said.

In the meantime, the Bulldogs need to focus on the present rather than the future as they open a very sweepable four-game home stretch. Drake will host Southern Illinois University Edwardsville December 4th in the first round of the Drake Hy-Vee Classic.

The MVC's top recruiting class of 2009 has thus far provided glimpses of its potential.

Leading the way for the freshmen is F Ben Simmons—second on the team with 12 points per game—and C Seth Van Deest—second on the team with 4.7 rebounds per game.

Nevertheless, more was expected of Drake and its new talent than a 2-4 record in November, but an upcoming easier schedule could help.

Games against SIU-Edwardsville, North Dakota or Texas-Arlington (depending on outcome), South Dakota and Binghamton could realistically amount to four wins and put Drake at 6-4, kick-starting them into a Big Four contest at Iowa—also a very winnable game that would give the Bulldogs a needed confidence boost.

It didn't matter that Josh Young—who had suffered a hip pointer in practice last week—was healthy. Young was held to 11 points as the Drake Bulldogs fell to the faster, stronger Iowa State Cyclones 90-70.

The Cyclones made the 40-minute field trip from Ames to Des Moines to arrive at a Knapp Center half-filled with friendly colors of cardinal and gold.

Iowa State easily improved to 3-0 after leading by 19 at the break and never letting go of a double-digit margin after that.

Young drew first blood with a jumper, but that was about all the Drake faithful had to cheer for as Cyclones' guard Lucca Steiger soon silenced cheers with a three-pointer—of which Steiger gave the Bulldogs their fill.

Steiger would go on to score a career-high 32 points on 10-of-16 shooting beyond the arc.

Freshman Ben Simmons led the Bulldogs with 24 points, hitting four of six three-point attempts.

The Bulldogs hit 45.5 percent of three-point attempts but Iowa State had answers and then some for every shot.

As a team, Iowa State shot 60.9 percent from three-point range and 56.3 percent overall.

Stopping the opponent's big men proved to be a problem once again in Drake's second outing, as preseason All-Big 12 forward Craig Brackens recorded a double-double with 22 points and ten rebounds.

Iowa State will ride home pleased with the revenge it served Drake. The Bulldogs won the previous match-up in Des Moines 79-44. It was the Cyclones' worse loss ever to Drake.

As is the recurring trend nowadays, the Bulldogs were out-rebounded 39-21.

Whether Young was not 100 percent or the Cyclones really are 20 points better than the Bulldogs, Drake has a lot to figure out before traveling to Orlando this weekend to finish up the Glen Wilkes Classic.

Drake will compete against Georgia State at 12:30 p.m. Friday, Akron at 12:30 p.m. Saturday, and Central Florida at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.

The Drake Bulldogs men's basketball squad knew they would need to find that certain "step-up" player to support Josh Young this season. The only problem: Josh Young was not dressed for the game as the Bulldogs fell to a talented IUPUI Jaguars 88-82 Saturday afternoon in Des Moines.

Young suffered a hip pointer in practice and was dressed in street clothes for the game. He is questionable for the contest against Iowa State on Tuesday.

Young's teammates revealed a glaring weakness: defense.

IUPUI shot a spectacular 67.3 percent—with the help of easy access to the basket. The Jaguars dominated the Drake defense down below, scoring 42 points in the paint and recording seven dunks.

Forward Robert Glenn led the charge for the Jaguars with a game-high 37 points. Glenn continually punished Drake's smaller defenders.

The afternoon was a tale of two halves in which the Bulldogs dominated in the early going but efforts dwindled heading into halftime and continuing til the final buzzer.

Junior Ryan Wedel, who many predicted would provide the majority of Young's support this season hit his first five shots including four three-pointers—all in the games opening three minutes and 29 seconds. After that, Wedel ran dry and wasn't heard from until late in the second half. He finished on a run that came too late, totaling 23 points to lead the Bulldogs.

IUPUI had an answer for everything, including Wedel.

Jaguar guards Alex Young and Leroy Nobles combined for a 10-for-16 effort from three-point range. The two were continually given wide open shots.

Coach Mark Phelps expressed his concerns after the game.

"We struggled on defense in the second half and weren't able to get shots," Phelps said in a Drake Athletics press release. "Clearly we have a lot of issues to address defensively."

The Bulldogs will also need to put up a stronger effort grabbing rebounds if they want to challenge in-state rival Iowa State.

IUPUI owned the boards 28-18.

Drake's weaknesses showed but the Bulldogs hope adding a healthy Young to the equation can put the team back in the swing of things. The impact he has on the team's performance was evident.

Young's replacement Frank Wiseler showed his potential ability to fill Young's shoes with a nine-point, seven-assist effort.

The Bulldogs had their moments. When they were hot—they were hot. Freshman forward Ben Simmons put his three-point range on display, hitting four three-points all in the second half.

However, in terms of overall team consistency, room for improvement is plentiful.

The Drake Bulldogs will look to rebound from last year's mediocre mark of 17-16 by kicking off the 2009-2010 season against the IUPUI Jaguars.

The game is one of five on-campus contests in the third annual Glenn Wilkes Classic. Saturday will mark the first time in history that the two schools have met.

It's hard to place a prediction on the game, with the Bulldog squad being the school's youngest since the 1990-91 season—yet the talent and potential is undeniably present.

Everything rests on Drake's senior trio of F Adam Templeton, G Craig Stanely, and G Josh Young—the team's key leader.

Young struggled with health issues last season but—when healthy and supported by his teammates—he is one of the most dangerous players in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Drake's supporting cast includes 10 players who have yet to see college basketball action, most of them up front for the Bulldogs.

The focus will be on the big men. Drake will see just how fast its young and inexperienced frontcourt led by Templeton and freshman Ben Simmons—former Mr. Michigan Basketball runner-up—can gel against a much more experienced Jaguars squad led by senior forward Robert Glenn.

Glenn was a welcome surprise for IUPUI last season, notching 13.9 PPG and 5.4 RPG. The Jaguars will need more of the same play from Glenn this season if they want to challenge for the Summit League championship.

Both teams mirror each other in the fact that they're looking for that "step-up" player.

IUPUI could have its man in sophomore forward Alex Young who averaged 10.8 PPG as a freshman.

Drake, on the other hand, will be asking players to step up in support of Young.

Junior Ryan Wedel—who was out of action last year after transferring from Arkansas State—could be the outside threat Drake needs to lessen teams' focus on Young. The former Mr. Kansas Basketball averaged 15.1 PPG and led the Sun Belt in three-point baskets in two seasons starting for the Red Wolves.

Whichever team finds the right people to step up their game will win this contest.

Afterwards, the Drake basketball program will have a better idea of where it stands: returning to the top or stuck in mediocrity.

Three Recruits for Bulldogs

The future of Drake basketball looks even brighter as three top recruits committed earlier this fall.

PG Karl Madison (Lanphier High School, Springfield, IL), SF Jeremy Jeffers (Greenfield High School, Wilson, NC), and SF Rayvonte Rice (Champaign Centennial High School, Champaign, IL) have all verbally stated they'll be attending Drake next fall. ESPN scouts score the three as 90, 88, and 85 overall, respectively.

All three recruits could see immediate action next season.

The 2010 recruiting class is shaping up to challenge this year's freshman class—which was considered by Yahoo Sports to be Drake's most talented in 20 years.