Drexel basketball preview: Can Tavon Allen be go-to guy?

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Our City 6 men's basketball continues today with a look at Drexel. Be sure to check out the "Big Men on Campus" video above featuring Tavon Allen. Earlier in the week, we took a look at Temple and St. Joe's.

Bruiser Flint spent a lot of his offseason on the phone, chatting with doctors, trainers and fellow coaches from around the country.

After going through what he called “without question” the most frustrating season of his career, the longtime Drexel head coach had to figure out why so many of his players keep getting hurt.

Was it something he was doing wrong? Or was it simply just a case of awful luck?

“It wasn’t a thing where I was blaming anyone,” Flint said from his office, shortly before the Dragons’ season opener vs. Saint Joseph’s on Friday. “I just wanted to get more information for myself. It’s just to unusual to have three straight years where you’re losing two or three players at a time.”

Last season was especially bad for the Dragons, who lost forward Kazembe Abif and point guard Major Canady to season-ending injuries before the season even began. Things then somehow got even worse as five other players went down with significant injuries during the season, including leading scorer Damion Lee shortly before the conference tournament.

It got so bad that coaches had to scrimmage in practice because there were so few healthy players. Perhaps it’s not surprising, then, that the Dragons finished with an 11-19 overall record and a 9-9 mark in the CAA before getting bounced by last-place College of Charleston in the first round of the conference tourney.

But Flint took some bit of solace when he learned that, for the most part, the injuries weren’t from over-usage and that it really was just a perfect storm of bad luck.

And maybe his team’s fortunes will finally begin to turn in 2015-16.

“I hope nobody ever has to go through a season like that,” Flint said. “At least we can practice and scrimmage now. We couldn’t do that stuff last year. Our preparation was absolutely awful. … Hopefully we get some luck and everyone stays healthy. Because if we stay healthy, I think we’ll be pretty decent.”

Even if completely healthy, though, it could still be an uphill climb for the Dragons, who were picked to finish eighth in the CAA. A big reason for that is the huge loss of Lee, who decided to use his final season of eligibility as a graduate transfer for national powerhouse Louisville.

It’s clear the move was a tough one for Flint, who had high hopes for one of the best players in program history after injuries derailed most of his 2013-14 campaign (his redshirt year) and the final three games last season.

“It is what it is, man,” Flint said. “That’s what he wanted to do, so good luck to him.”

Who will replace the huge void left by Lee, who averaged 21.4 points last season, the fourth highest total in the NCAA? The best bet is 6-foot-7 fifth-year senior Tavon Allen, who’s averaged a tick over 11 points per game in each of his last two seasons.

Now, Flint hopes he’ll take the next leap.

“I’ve always felt he had the talent,” Flint said. “But you gotta put your mind to it. I can’t always think you’re gonna make it; you’ve got to think you’re gonna make it. It’s been discussed with him. I think he should have been an all-league player for the last two years. But he’s got to be more consistent.”

Can he find that consistency and be one of the top players in the conference in his final collegiate season?

“I’m definitely gonna work for it,” Allen said. “It’s not gonna be easy but I think I have the talent and work ethic to be one of those guys. So that’s what I’m hoping for.”

Allen will have help in the backcourt from Roman Catholic product Rashann London, who was thrown into the fire and started every game at the point as a freshman last season. The Dragons should also get a boost from the return of Canady, who was a starter as a freshman in 2013-14 before missing last season with an ankle injury, as well as the emergence of Utah transfer Ahmad Fields.

Fields, a sophomore, averaged 3.3. points and 2.1 rebounds per game for Utah in 2013-14 before sitting out last season due to NCAA transfer rules.

Fields and Allen both dealt with minor injuries early in the preseason but are fine heading into the Friday’s opener.

“From an athletic standpoint, I think he’ll be one of the better athletes in the league,” Flint said of Fields. “He’s just got to go out and show it.”

Of all the players returning after sitting out the 2014-15 season, though, perhaps the most exciting one is graduate student Kazembe Abif, who was an important part of the Dragons’ rotation from 2011-14.

According to Flint, the 6-foot-7 Abif “brings a different dynamic” to the team. Allen, for one, agrees with that assessment.

“Kaz is a monster,” Allen said. “He just brings so much energy with his effort. He’ll let you know when he’s giving you the business down there. It will be good to watch. He brings a different aspect to the game for us.”

Abif’s return should also ease the burden that had been placed on Drexel’s other frontcourt players, including junior Mohamed Bah (who started all 30 games last season) and especially junior Rodney Williams.

After being named to the CAA all-rookie team in 2013-14, Williams continued to make strides as a sophomore, averaging 8.2 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. And he thinks his game will even blossom more with Abif rejoining him in the frontcourt.

“When it came down the post, I saw a lot of double teams and different looks I wasn’t used to,” Williams said. “Having him here now will allow me to play more one-on-one and have less pressure, so I should be more efficient this year.”

Williams ended up missing the first eight conference games last season because of injury — which actually made him one of the more fortunate ones. Not that he ever felt fortunate, though, when all of his teammates were dropping like flies.

“That was honestly like the worst season I’ve ever had in my life because you don’t experience things like that,” Williams said. “But there was nothing we could do but try to keep pushing forward.”

And they’ll continue to push forward in 2015-16 with a clean slate and, for now, a healthy complement of players.

“We’re definitely due some type of luck and good fortune,” Allen said. “Maybe this could be our year. Maybe this is when the luck comes our way and not for everybody else.”

On Thursday, we look at the La Salle Explorers.

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