For the third time in the last five years, the Drake men’s basketball program is off to an undefeated 6-0 start. However, after several years of stability under Darian DeVries, it’s now with former Northwest Missouri State (DII) head coach and four-time National Champion Ben McCollum at the helm.
Following DeVries departure for West Virginia, McCollum and his Bulldogs were doubted early this offseason. Instead of big headlining transfer additions, McCollum and his staff opted to recruit his roots and brought in a slew of talented Division II additions to run the floor.
Following McCollum over from his previous stop, graduate guard Mitch Mascari, junior guard Bennett Stirtz and graduate forward Daniel Abreu have instantly become the Bulldogs top-three scorers.
Averaging 18.3 PPG, 4.8 RPG and 6.3 APG, Stirtz has had no problems plying his trade at the Division I level as both a scorer and a playmaker, currently 46th nationally in assist rate on KenPom.
In the Bulldogs recent upset over Miami (FL), it was Stirtz leading the way with a game-high 21 points before later adding a 16-point, 11-assist double-double as Drake upset Vanderbilt.
It’s the program’s first ACC and SEC upsets since 2017 and 2022 respectively, leading Stirtz to be selected as the Most Valuable Player of the 2024 Charleston Classic.
Behind him, the 6-foot-6 Abreu has proven a consistent scoring threat from almost anywhere on the court, shooting 46% on field goals, 40% from behind the arc, and 80% at the line.
In the season opener against York (NAIA), Abreu managed a career-high 30 points but more impressively contributed a double-double with 18 points and 10 boards to lift Drake over Miami (FL).
Last but not least, Mascari is a three-point sniper and currently managing 51% from three-point range on 43 attempts which is 32nd nationally. This including a 26-point effort during a win against Stephen F. Austin in which he shot 8-for-13 from deep.
Rounding out the undervalued offseason additions, junior wing Tavion Banks arrived from highly-touted JUCO program Northwest Florida State where he spent the last two seasons.
During the 2023-24 campaign, he helped the Raiders to a quarterfinals appearance at the NJCAA DI National Champonship and has handled the transition to this level well.
In Friday’s defeat of FAU, it was Banks finishing as the Bulldogs third leading contributor with a DI career-high of 12 points, three rebounds, three assists while coming off the bench.
Bringing some much needed DI experience to the rotation has been Wyoming transfer Cam Manyawu. After an impressive freshman season with the Cowboys, his production has only increased under McCollum averaging a career-high 9.8 PPG while starting all six of the opening contests.
On Monday, Manyawu had a breakout offensive performance with a double-double of 18 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots in the Vanderbilt win.
While early on it’s seemingly been about the offensive production with all four of Drake’s leading contributors shooting 40% or better, McCollum’s defense has been top-tier.
According to KenPom, the Bulldogs are currently 80th nationally in adjusted defensive efficiency and 30th in turnover percentage led by Manyawu’s 1.2 BKPG and Stirtz with 2.0 STLPG.Â
Despite being picked fifth in the MVC’s Preseason Poll with Stirtz a member of the Preseason All-Conference Third Team, Drake is already greatly surpassing early season expectations.Â
This Monday, that undefeated start led to the Bulldogs receiving 29 votes for the AP’s Top 25 College Basketball Poll for the program’s first votes since November of 2023.
However, before conference-play begins in late December, Drake will have opportunities to build on this historic undefeated run with matchups against Georgia Southern, Kansas State and Green Bay.
With Drake already at six wins under its first-year head coach in McCollum, this program has a platform to maintain that stability and secure its seventh consecutive 20+ win season.
