On the morning of the start of the season (sure it's an exhibition, but who the hell really cares, Drake basketball is BACK), I can't help but get excited for where the next step of the Mark Phelps era will take us. I feel like the transformation he wanted to make to our program is complete, and now he has the pieces to fully implement his vision for Drake Basketball.
As I look forward to the possibilities in the future, I can't help but think about where we have been. Let's take a second to consider the recent coaching eras:
Maury John Era. You don't know who Maury John is? If you don't, do the following:
Shown are average wins and losses per season, the winning percentage over that time, and then two metrics:
- SRS = Simple Rating System. This essentially is point differential, adjusted by opponents point differential. I've taken the average of each SRS for each season and shown it above. Note that these are not available for any of Maury John's years or many of the post-John era, so disregard. A value of 0.0 implies an absolutely average team on a national scale.
- SOS = Strength of Schedule. Average of opponents SRS. Think of it as how many points above average your schedule is.
Using these figures, let's step back through history, starting from the bottom working up:
- Look at the banners in the rafters of the Knapp Center and ask yourself "Who was coaching during those awesome times?"
- Read this: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/19950716/SPORTS11/50627033/Maury-John-Drake-University-1995. Seriously, it is a fantastic piece.
Post-John Era and Gary Garner Era. There's no replacing someone like Maury John, as evidenced by the years running through Gary Garner's tenure. We were fairly mediocre, both on a national scale (SRS 1.0 during Garner era) and in overall record (220-251 between both eras). We were trending in the wrong direction, returning to mediocrity. It was time for change.
Pre-Davis Era. Unfortunately, the change was for the worse. For 14 seasons, we were undoubtedly in the argument of the worst program in Division 1 basketball. After going 25-35 in less than two seasons, players refused to play for Tom Abatemarco and he left the program under scandal (Google it). Rudy Washington took time to clean up Abatemarco's mess, and actually was MVC Coach of the year in 1992-1993 when he led the dogs to a 14-14 record. But the bottom fell out, and he went 35-46 in his next three years. Scandal later followed Washington, as he would later be fired as the SWAC commissioner for allegedly mismanaging funds (i.e. overpaying himself) http://media.www.therip.com/media/storage/paper443/news/2005/04/13/News/Bc.Hires.Former.Drake.Basketball.Coach-923556.shtml.
In stepped Kurt Kanaskie, who took losing to a new level. He went 62-136, and started 0-36 in the MVC for his first few years. I know it's brutal to say, but he took us to rock bottom. I attended Drake University during his tenure, and one moment that sticks out from his time was the blowout loss at Iowa in the fall of 2001 (http://statsheet.com/mcb/games/2001/12/12/drake-59-iowa-101) cementing that we absolutely didn't belong on the same floor. At that point in time, I think it's fair to say we were probably more likely to see a move to non-scholarship basketball before we would make our next NCAA D-I Tournament appearance. The losing continued into 2003.
For a stretch of 14 years, we were dismally below average (-3.1 SRS), scandal ridden, faced with endless ineligibility due to athletics, and a joke of a basketball program within our own state. This was all while we were playing perhaps the easiest stretches of opponents in recent coaching eras (1.7 SOS).
Tom Davis Era. And one day in 2003, a small beam of light came through. Drake hired Dr. Tom Davis. Instant credibility came to the program. Hard work would be needed, but we would soon belong on that same floor with Iowa and other big teams. Attendance surged. His teams pressed like crazy. We started knocking off decent MVC teams every now and again at home. It took time, but we slowly got better and better. And then, in 2006, we blew out Steve Alford's Iowa Team at home on ESPNU. The seasons of losing were over, as this big win catapulted us to a 17-15 record. Sure it was 17-15, but we were back out of the cellar. We were a winning program again. More work was to be done. We needed to start winning MVC tournament games, stringing together more wins. It was time to turn the keys over to Keno.
Keno Davis "Era". It's hard to call one year an era, but it was such an unforgettable season and feeling that you really have to refer to it as its own era. It was short lived, but a magical 28-5 season that saw astronomical offensive efficiency in the form of Adam Emmenecker and a list of shooters. But it was too good to last, and Keno moved on.
The Mark Phelps Era. And that brings us to the present. The Mark Phelps era is really just beginning. The first two years were certainly rocky, essentially providing us mediocre basketball that fans saw during the Gary Garner era. But I don't think that is the normal run rate under Phelps' watch. It's been rocky, but its clear that he's taking the program in a different direction, but I like what I see. We have had the top rated recruiting classes in the MVC for two straight years. We haven't had this talented and athletic team in quite some time. It's time for big things to happen.
And so, as an ode to Tom Davis, keep him in mind when we see Kraidon Woods dunk a basketball and hang from the rim by his elbow, or when we see Rayvonte Rice bowl through the lane, or when we see Seth Van Deest block multiple shots, or when we see Ryan Wedel pull up from the HyVee line. We're not going back to the dark days. Things are looking up from here. While there was a transition period from the Davis watch -- we are where we are because Dr. Tom Davis gave his time to make this program able to achieve the greatest of heights. To Dr. Tom, a big thanks.
Let's get this show on the road.
I'm curious to your predictions to where Drake will finish and how the rest of the conference will play out? The MVC has to be excited about those extra games in Dayton now.
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