As Drake gets set for its 100th year of basketball third-year coach Tom Davis hopes to lead the Bulldogs to their first winning season since 1987. The Bulldogs are optimistic following a strong finish to last season which ended with a 13-15 record. Davis says there are a lot of questions about the team and they have to prove themselves, but he says he likes what he sees. Davis says teaching the up-tempo game is harder than a slow-down game.
Junior forward Klayton Korver is expected to redshirt following an off-season knee injury but Davis says added size and a deep back court shelp help the Bulldogs score more points. He says that should lead to more easy baskets this year than what they got. He says they didn’t rebound enough to run with the ball, and if they do they, they should score more.
The Bulldogs will have to be improved if they want to post a winning record. A challenging non conference slate that features games against Detroit and Boston College to go along with annual matchups against Iowa State and Iowa will provide a major challenge. He says someone will have to jump up and have a great year out of nowhere to elevate his team because he says the league is too tough. Drake’s first game will be against Detroit in the new Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.