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#Post#: 46387--------------------------------------------------
Game 17 @ Drexel 1/8 at 7:00 PM on FloHoops
By: Oakes Date: January 7, 2026, 8:19 am
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Drexel (6-10, 0-3 in CAA)
Long gone are the days of Amari Williams haunting the paint for
Drexel, and with that— they haven’t been a formidable CAA
opponent since. They were only 18-15 (9-9 in CAA) last season
and this year they only return one player from their starting
lineup. That player is SG Shane Blakeney— the lowest scoring
starter from last year who is now the team’s leading scorer. He
is also shooting just 37% from the floor as the centerpiece of
the offense.
They don’t have great rim protection. But I do think Blakeney is
a big part of their respectable perimeter defense.
Most of the rest of their starting lineup is comprised of last
year’s bench, including: PG Kevon Vanderhorst (only 25% from
three), wing Josh Reed and PF Victor Panov who can be a threat
from deep (39%). While each of their minutes have expanded
greatly this season, none of them have really broken out and
spread their wings in their respective roles.
Their transfer portal additions this off season appear to be
quite limited and not noteworthy. Starting PG and 5’11” Eli
Beard comes from JUCO and has some range— but isn’t a great
distributor. They also brought in a 7’1” big from France named
Martin De LaPorterie who hasn’t made much strides and is
averaging only 4 PPG thus far.
These Dragon’s, by my estimation, might be one of the worst— if
not the worst— teams in the CAA this season. They currently
stack up as the 2nd lowest scoring offense in the conference—
but notably remain middle of the pack in defense in regard to
opponents points per game. They also are last in the CAA in Team
FT% at 64%
Despite all of there struggles this season, they still have home
court advantage vs Stony Brook tomorrow where they hold a 5-3
record. Struggling teams have a knack for playing above their
weight in times of desperation. They only lost to Hofstra by
three earlier this month. But it seems as though Blakeney, Beard
and maybe Panov are the only true threats to score.
——————————————-
Stony Brook offense looked very strong in this past weekend’s
win over NC A&T, but it was still overshadowed by a weak
defensive and rebounding effort which lead to only a 1-point
win. SBU was out-rebounded 48-25 and were only saved by Andrej
Shoshkikj’s season high 27 pts (5/5 from three) and his big
block at the end.
His effort should be celebrated to the high heavens of all Stony
Brook circles, forums and group chats. Shosh has been
inconsistent, sure. But a game like that is a huge confidence
booster for a team that has been effectively PG-less for the
past few games. Erik Pratt needs a wingman out there to offset
the team’s severe lack of rebounding— and I think it needs to be
him. Hopefully performances like this, or even 10-15 pt/ 5 or so
ast games, from him start to happen more regularly. Time will
tell.
Stony Brook also tallied a season high 20 assists! Geno and this
team should be commended for the impressive ball movement vs NC
A&T, particularly their passes along the perimeter to get the
best looks from three. That’s something we haven’t seen a lot of
this year and the team really thrived offensively as a result.
Another bright spot has been a very confident shooting Rob Brown
of late— who has knocked down 8/16 from deep in the past two
contests as he trends toward being more consistent.
I am a big believer that Valentiny needs more minutes at the 4.
His 9 rebounds (4 offensive) were just as valuable to the team’s
win the other day as Andrej’s scoring. Valentiny is playing
above his size on the glass and Stony Brook needs his heart.
Plus he mixes in the occasional three.
Richard Goods, like Shoshkikj, has struggled with consistency.
Stony Brook has won 3 of the 4 games he has scored in double
digits. Fingers crossed this new ball movement will result in
him getting more open looks. But I want to see him play with
more assertiveness on offense — and even more so on the glass.
This team needs his rebounding badly.
———————————————————-
Conclusion —
Let’s hope this newfound ball movement continues, Andrej and
Brown stays hot, Goods plays with confidence and Valentiny
continues to get minutes in crunch time. It’s critical this team
enters their next game 2-2 rather than 1-3.
Home or not, this should be a pretty easy game to win— and one
that Stony Brook needs to take advantage of before they enter
the CAA gauntlet with looming matchups against the the
conference’s top teams: UNCW, Hofstra and Charleston.
Go Seawolves.
#Post#: 46388--------------------------------------------------
Re: Game 17 @ Drexel 1/8 at 7:00 PM on FloHoops
By: OldSeawolf Date: January 7, 2026, 8:33 am
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Great review, Oakes! This is definitely a game that we can take
on the road.
One thing I noticed last game was that Goods' body language was
real bad. Coming off the court, when replaced, he seemed to
lack energy and enthusiasm. I hope that's just a blip, and he
can return to his early season performance caliber.
#Post#: 46389--------------------------------------------------
Re: Game 17 @ Drexel 1/8 at 7:00 PM on FloHoops
By: Chairman of the Board Date: January 7, 2026, 12:26 pm
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its almost as if checkie changed names and is still writing for
us...
i think we all noticed a christmas slump. yet, im optimistic,
because despite our middling record and frequent letdowns, i
think the team is capable of causing a March upset, and that's
what really counts. GO SB
#Post#: 46390--------------------------------------------------
Re: Game 17 @ Drexel 1/8 at 7:00 PM on FloHoops
By: Checkmate Date: January 7, 2026, 1:16 pm
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I too was surprised to see that Drexel's basically just trotting
out last year's bench players as their nucleus. Shane Blakeney's
really the lead guy? Granted, that's how programs did it for 100
years, but with the portal now and players coming and going, you
have to be active. You look at William & Mary going all in on
highly productive D-IIs along with some D-Is and it's been a
good combo. Drexel, on the other hand, struck out entirely.
We're going on the road here, but Drexel's last two home games
have had fewer than 800 fans each. I can't imagine it's
particularly hostile, but of course the gym is still more
familiar to our opponent. I don't often go around looking at
attendance, but I had seen that BC/NC State – a power conference
game – had a mere 1800 fans the other day. Granted, class isn't
in session, but when you take their plight into consideration
along with our underwhelming attendance, it makes you wonder
about where college basketball is at big picture.
#Post#: 46391--------------------------------------------------
Re: Game 17 @ Drexel 1/8 at 7:00 PM on FloHoops
By: Oakes Date: January 7, 2026, 1:41 pm
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[quote author=Checkmate link=topic=1214.msg46390#msg46390
date=1767813381]
I too was surprised to see that Drexel's basically just trotting
out last year's bench players as their nucleus. Shane Blakeney's
really the lead guy? Granted, that's how programs did it for 100
years, but with the portal now and players coming and going, you
have to be active. You look at William & Mary going all in on
highly productive D-IIs along with some D-Is and it's been a
good combo. Drexel, on the other hand, struck out entirely.
We're going on the road here, but Drexel's last two home games
have had fewer than 800 fans each. I can't imagine it's
particularly hostile, but of course the gym is still more
familiar to our opponent. I don't often go around looking at
attendance, but I had seen that BC/NC State – a power conference
game – had a mere 1800 fans the other day. Granted, class isn't
in session, but when you take their plight into consideration
along with our underwhelming attendance, it makes you wonder
about where college basketball is at big picture.
[/quote]
Yes, I am not quite sure why that happened. Was it lack of
funding/NIL? Have to think this falls on the athletic department
over there. Have to evolve in this new landscape.
Historically, they landed Melik Martin from Monmouth in 21-22
and Lucas Monroe from UPENN in 23-24. Its happened before ---
but still at a far less rate than other CAA competitors. Seems
like they did strike out, not a good look.
As for your last point -- I always hope its in a good place.
Then I realize not as many students and locals really care too
much about smaller D-1 schools without a personal connection.
But Drexel and Boston College havent been winning programs of
late, so that might have something to do with it. Then again--
Drexel ranked 11th in attendance in Amari Williams senior season
back in 23-24 which was a fun year for them. Seems like they
struggle to get fans in that building. (Stony Brook was 4th in
attendance that year. Now we sit at 9th...)
#Post#: 46395--------------------------------------------------
Re: Game 17 @ Drexel 1/8 at 7:00 PM on FloHoops
By: Accelerator Date: January 8, 2026, 7:39 pm
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Second half shooting to start
Stony Brook: 1-19 (5.2%)
Drexel: 2-15 (13.3%)
Combined: 3-34 (8.8%)
Why am I still watching this?
#Post#: 46396--------------------------------------------------
Re: Game 17 @ Drexel 1/8 at 7:00 PM on FloHoops
By: Checkmate Date: January 8, 2026, 7:45 pm
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We’ll see where we end up but 20 percent shooting has to be a
Division I all-time low.
#Post#: 46397--------------------------------------------------
Re: Game 17 @ Drexel 1/8 at 7:00 PM on FloHoops
By: Accelerator Date: January 8, 2026, 7:51 pm
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37 points...
#Post#: 46398--------------------------------------------------
Re: Game 17 @ Drexel 1/8 at 7:00 PM on FloHoops
By: Checkmate Date: January 8, 2026, 7:53 pm
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5 for 27 from three, 7 for 32 from two.
#Post#: 46399--------------------------------------------------
Re: Game 17 @ Drexel 1/8 at 7:00 PM on FloHoops
By: Chairman of the Board Date: January 9, 2026, 8:15 am
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6 assists. it's the same story, not all the time, but when we
lose, it's the same story.
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