Drexel buried under wave of key injuries
In his 14 seasons at the helm of the Drexel men's basketball program, Bruiser Flint has seen his share of battered and bruised players.
In his 14 seasons at the helm of the Drexel men's basketball program, Bruiser Flint has seen his share of battered and bruised players.
Last season, when guard Damion Lee went down with a season-ending knee injury in the NIT Season Tip-Off against Arizona, it marked the third year in a row that the Dragons had lost a key player to a season-ending injury.
"But it's never been like this before, boom, boom, boom," Flint said. "We've been shorthanded before but it's never been like this. We've always had enough guys so that we could practice. Now . . ."
Flint's voice trailed off. Drexel (2-11, 0-2 Colonial Athletic Conference), with just eight healthy players - including a healthy Lee, back from successful ACL surgery - had just suffered its largest loss of the season, falling 73-47 to William and Mary.
The loss extended Drexel's losing streak to seven games, the longest of Flint's career. It ended a three-game home stand in which the Dragons lost their games by an average of more than 18 points. And now, with no reinforcements arriving any time soon, the Dragons, forced to play four freshmen among their top eight players, play their next three games on the road.
"It's put a lot of pressure on everybody because guys are being forced to play roles that they weren't really expecting to play," Lee said. "Guys are forced to play more minutes for longer periods of time. All we can do is keep plugging, keep working hard and learn from what we're going though. Nobody is going to feel sorry for us."
Lee has bounced back well from his injury. He leads the CAA in scoring (20.3) and steals (23). And his knee has held up well under the stress of playing a league-high 37.0 minutes per game. Only a junior, he ranks 21st on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,224 points, needing five points to move into 19th place.
"I'm happy with the way I'm playing, but we play this game for wins. I'd trade numbers for wins," Lee said.
The bad news began for Drexel when starting point guard Major Canady fractured his ankle in practice in October and was lost for the season. Sooren Derboghosian, 6-foot-10 and in the rotation for the first eight games, was recently lost for the season following knee surgery. And 6-7 reserve forward Rodney Williams is out with a stress fracture in his foot.
Of those three, Williams is the only player who has a chance at playing this season.
After losing Chris Fouch and Frantz Massenat, the fifth and sixth leading scorers in school history, last season, expectations at Drexel were measured.
But the rash of injuries and the youth of the team have simply been too much for the Dragons to overcome.
"If we were more mature I think we'd be better equipped to handle it," Flint said. "We're not though. So we just have to keep fighting though. What else can we do?"
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