5. Drake

Preseason poll: 4th

Drake escaped the world of Missouri Valley Conference mediocrity last season in a big way. The same type of success can't be expected again, but this team should still be pretty good overall.

The Bulldogs lost significant members of their 28-5 conference championship team. Start with former head coach Keno Davis, who deserted the program for a bigger offer at Providence. Arguably more important are the losses to graduation of three key players: MVC Player of the Year Adam Emmenecker, Leonard Houston and Klayton Korver.

Luckily for Drake, two of its best players from the Cinderella season do return. Guard Josh Young (6'1" Jr.) averaged 15.9 points per game last year and that will likely rise even higher in 2008-09. Outside of Illinois State's Osiris Eldridge, Young should be considered one of the top candidates for conference Player of the Year.

Forward Jonathan Cox (6'8" Sr.) should help alleviate some of the added pressure put on Young. "Bucky" averaged 12.3 points and 8.5 rebounds per game last season. In addition to his rebounding ability, Cox shoots well from the line (77.8 percent) and beyond the arc (44 percent).

New head coach Mark Phelps will have to find others to fill out three spots in the lineup. Transfer forward Adam Templeton (6'5" Jr.) may be one of the more intriguing new faces in the Drake lineup. Templeton now is eligible after sitting out a year for transferring from UC Irvine. He averaged eight points per game in 2006-07 and should provide valuable Division I experience to the Bulldogs.

Drake will have a three player battle to fill Emmenecker's spot. Guards Josh Parker (6'0" So.) and Jacob Baryenbruch (6'0" Sr.) have experience with Drake's system. But, transfer guard Craig Stanley (5'11" Jr.) might be the best suited to initially hold down the point.

Maybe the most important factor in Drake's success or failure this season will be the depth provided by returning players. Forwards Brent Heemskerk (6'8" Sr.) and Bill Eaddy (6'5" Jr.) are two examples of men who will need to have a bigger role this season.

One great season can help recruiting and catapult a team from the dredges of a conference for a few years. Drake must hope that its 25-win season will do that and help build the program up to prominence again.