Drexel’s Amari Williams named CAA preseason player of the year

On Thursday, Drexel senior big man Amari Williams was named preseason player of the year in the Coastal Athletic Association in voting by the league’s coaches.

A native of Nottingham, England, the 6-foot-10 Williams won back-to-back CAA defensive player of the year awards and was All-CAA first team last season.

Williams was one of the best rim protectors in the nation last year, averaging 2.23 blocks, 14th in the country. He also led the Dragons in scoring at 13.7 points per game and was second in the CAA in rebounding at 8.8 per game.

Since Drexel joined the CAA in 2001, no Dragon has won player of the year. The last conference player of the year from Drexel came in 1996 when Malik Rose won the award in the America East Conference.

In addition to Williams’ award, the Dragons were picked to finish third, receiving one first-place vote.

The perception of Drexel is high, but coach Zach Spiker isn’t focused on that.

“Expectation is an outside word,” he said. “For us, I think there’s excitement, as [there is at] the start of any season. But I think with the [number] of returners we have and experience that we added as a graduate transfer in Lucas Monroe, I think there’s a focus and a determination to do something.”

Coming off a 17-15 season (10-8 CAA), the Dragons return every player in their rotation besides forward Coletrane Washington, who graduated. It all starts down low with Williams, and point guard Justin Moore, who is coming off an impressive freshman campaign, when he was was named to the CAA’s all-rookie team.

Players like Luke House, Lamar Oden Jr., and Mate Okros have been with the program for at least four years (five in Okros’ case) and have played major roles on the court. The addition of Monroe, who transferred from Penn, gives the Dragons even more of a veteran presence.

But Spiker is proceeding with caution regarding his mindset with an experienced team.

“I think that’s where we can really make a big mistake if we just think we’re going to skip some steps,” Spiker said. “If you don’t do Shell Drill every day, you’re not gonna be a very good defensive team. Doesn’t matter whether you’re old or new.

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“We are assuming nothing, and we are continuing to go through the basics and making sure that we’re really good at them. Maybe because of our experience, we can get through some of those things a little bit quicker. But I think that’s a dangerous game of coaching roulette to assume because we’re older that things will just take care of themselves.”