The Guru Report: Coaches Preseason’ Vote Make Drexel First and Dragons’ Keishana Washington Player of the Year in Revamped CAA

By Noreen Dougherty and Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

Despite the absence of the graduated Hannah Nihill, in what is a new-look Colonial Athletic Association, the conference coaches kept Drexel in familiar territory Thursday, making the Dragons the top choice to win the the league and also their graduate sensation  Keishana Washington player of the year in the annual preseason voting revealed with the virtual media day zoom session.

Drexel has enough back to be in areas the school in West Philadelphia has made a home in conference competition.

Two seasons ago, in the CAA postseason tournament, the first under previous longtime associate head coach Amy Mallon, the Dragons fueled by Washington upset neighboring rival Delaware for the second trip to the NCAA tournament in school history.

A year ago, Drexel and Delaware tied for first in the preseason vote and the Dragons made good with the regular season title only to be upset in their own Daskalakis Athletic Center in a revenge victory by the Blue Hens.

But soon thereafter much change occurred.

Delaware coach Natasha Adair and most of her staff with her went West to take control of Arizona State in the power five PAC-12 following the retirement of Charli Turner-Thorne, one of several coaching legends along with Texas A&M’s Gary Blair, Rutgers’ C. Vivian Stringer, and Florida State Sue Semrau, who called it quits in the offseason.

The Blue Hens replaced Adair with Sarah Jenkins, who had served with Adair but was on Carolyn Keiger’s staff at Penn State. Furthermore, Delaware roster suffered depletions, most notably the graduation of Jasmine Dickey, who became one of the top WNBA rookies after being drafted by the Dallas Wings.

Former Delaware coach Tina Martin, who had been on the staff at UNC Wilmington, became elevated to head coach while at Towson, Diane Richardson, whose Tigers had lost to Delaware in a wild finish in the league semifinals, ended up at Temple after school officials decided to let go veteran Tonya Cardoza, the former longtime UConn assistant who came to Philadelphia replacing her Virginia teammate Dawn Staley, who had left to build South Carolina into a national force and after last season now a two-time NCAA champion.

Richardson ended up being replaced by Laura Harper, who starred at Philadelphia’s Cheltenham High and helped give Maryland its lone NCAA title in 2006 and in a short time turned the fortunes around of Coppin State in Baltimore.

Erin Dickerman Davis, who was another candidate considered by Temple as was Harper, landed as the new coach at William & Mary.

Besides player graduations and coaching shifts, wholesale franchises were affected with the departure of CAA power James Madison off to the Sun Belt Conference and joined by a longtime CAA reigning champion in Old Dominion, which in recent seasons was in C-USA but chose to return to a league it was a member prior to its domination which was ended when former Drexel coach Denise Dillon, now at her alma mater Villanova, led the Dragons to their first title.

Inbound however in the front end of what is becoming a new realignment at several conferences across the nation, the CAA picked up America East force Stony Brook, located on Long Island; Monmouth from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference in central New Jersey, as well as Hampton from the tidewater area and Big South, and North Carolina A&T from the MEAC.

In two seasons while many places hoops squad try to get over the hump, the CAA will be picking up two humps in the presence of the Camels of Campbell University.

The way the CAA voting went, the powers that were right around Drexel in the recent past are gone from the same neighborhood.

The Dragons were a landslide choice, picking up 10 of 13 first-place votes and 142 points, with longtime lower finisher Charleston off its best year in history second and a first placed vote with 125 points.

Stony Brook arrives in the league at preseason third, then Elon, whose Charlotte Smith, author of the three-point buzzer beater that gave North Carolina an NCAA crown, fourth.

Towson with enough veterans to help Harper in her debut got the remaining two first-place votes and fifth ahead of Delaware, which as mentioned had a bunch of players whose eligibility expired.

Then it became a dart-toss with William & Mary, Northeastern, which enjoyed an outstanding season, and then newcomers in North Carolina A&T and a tenth place tie in Hampton and Monmouth, and longtime CAA members UNCW and Hofstra completing the rankings.

Beside the choice of Washington as the top player, the first team group has Spring-Ford grad and Phoenixville native Sydney Wagner, a graduate guard, from William & Mary.

Drexel’s Mallon said of the vote, “Very honored to be in that position, but at the same time we know that puts a target on our back and it’s a reminder to our staff and to our team that we have a lot of work to do.

“The one thing about the way we play is that we’re very versatile andI think our players are.”

Mallon noted that the Dragons are their own brand and “we don’t try to be like another school.”

She also expressed excitement over the new-look Daskalakis Athletic Center that underwent a renovation over the summer that includes new video.

Drexel, which opens at home Nov. 10 with a visit from Rider, the central New Jersey member of the MAAC, located near Princeton, will see games against Lehigh, which has a new coach in Bucks County native and former Princeton star Addie Micir; two Big Five road stops at La Salle and Saint Joseph’s in an ongoing relationship, an Ivy swing to New England at Yale and Dartmouth, and for the first time in a long while a city visit from Penn State, formerly in the A-10 before moving to the Big Ten several decades ago.

Belle Koclanes, a former Dartmouth head coach, is back in the profession joining Mallon’s staff while last year’s transfer star Tessa Brugler is director of basketball operations.

A key player back for a fifth season allowed under the NCAA’s reaction when the Covid pandemic hit is Maura Hendrixson, while one of the freshmen is Grace O’Neill from West Chester and Archbishop Carroll.

Speaking of her goals for the season, Washington said player of the year, “which I’ve already been named preseason player of the year, which shows that I have earned the respect from the coaches and players in the league.”

She also cited wanting “to be able to continue rising in the scoring charts and just being a leader for my team.”

Jenkins said of her return to Delaware, “It’s going to be a team effort for us. It’s going to be by committee. I think we’ll have different games where we’ll have different scorers. 

“We’re giving everybody the opportunity to use their skills sets and do the things they do well. And I hope in the long run that pays off for us and I think every day we’ll have multiple players that contribute points wise and I’m hoping and praying we have kids who continue to step up on a consistent basis.”

Down at Towson, Harper said of her new role, “This team knows how to win. There is an expectation here amongst them, so the culture piece, as far as teaching them that they’re winners has really been easy.

“I think now it’s just getting all the new faces to gel and mesh and really trust each other,” Harper said.

“The most important thing in year one is getting to know your players and getting to know your staff. So what excites me here is the expectation. I’m so grateful for Dr. Eigenbrot to give me this opportunity to keep things going,” Harper continued.

“Coach Rich, who coached me at the University of Maryland, who recruited amazing student-athletes, makes my job a lot easier when I have a blanket of players here that are ready to go, ready to win, ready to work hard. So right now it’s just more so implementation and just allowing them to know how good they can become.”

Of her new Tigers coach, Anissa Rivera said, “‘Coach just really makes us work hard and all of the newcomers, the returners, she just really wants us to mesh together and I think we’re doing a great job of that. We’re getting stronger on the court, everyone’s been communicating better so it’s been really good.”

Meanwhile, Martin, who has had to plunge in a rebuilding job at UNCW, said, “I think the CAA has grown so much. I’ve been in this league for a long time and it’s amazing to see growth, it’s amazing to see the good teams that are coming into the league, both in the north and the south, so I just think it’s an outstanding league and it’s going to be a lot of fun to play in.”

Stony Brook’s Ashley Langford, who took over the helm last season, said she was chomping at the bit when she learned from her administration the school was heading to the CAA.

“Having been in the league I think that’s an advantage but it’s also an appreciation for how good the league really is.

“We will get challenged in our non-conference schedule and see where we are and learn from those lessons early. That will prepare us and give us experience and confidence as we go into the CAA and ultimately, hopefully, postseason play.”

CAA

1. Drexel

2. Charleston

3. Stony Brook

4. Elon

5. Towson

6. Delaware

7. William & Mary

8. Northeastern

9. NC A&T

10. Hampton

11. Monmouth (tied 10)

12. UNCW

13. Hofstra

Preseason POY: Keishana Washington, Drexel

First Team

Jenna Nnecchiarico (Charleston, Sr., G)

Riley Casey (W&M, Gr., G)

Anissa Rivera (Towson, Sr., G/F)

Sydney Wagner (W&M, Gr., G)

Keishana Washington (Drexel, Gr., G)

Second Team

Jazmin Harris (NC A&T, Gr., C)

Kylie Kornegay-Lucas (Towson, R-Jr., G)

Evonna McGill (Elon, Gr., C)

Nylah Young (Hampton, Jr., F)

Annie Warren (Stony Brook, Gr., G)

 

Honorable Mention: Gigi Gonzalez (G), Stony Brook; Carrie Gross (G), UNCW; Anika McGarity (G/F), Charleston; Gemima Motema (G), Northeastern; Rosi Nicholson (G), Hofstra