Here’s how Drexel guard Kobe MaGee went from flashes of potential to rising star power
Starting as a high school senior with no offers to leading the Dragons with 16.5 points in the first eight games, the Allentown native has emerged into a go-to presence on the court
In his third season at Drexel, Kobe MaGee’s successful development from an unheralded recruit to a top-10 scorer in the Coastal Athletic Association is just one example of how head coach Zach Spiker has been able to uncover and develop diamonds in the rough and develop them into stars.
Across MaGee’s first two seasons with the Dragons, the guard showed flashes of potential and quickly carved out a niche within Spiker’s rotation, something that spoke volumes when considering the established veterans that he leapfrogged in the lineup.
Today, MaGee has asserted himself as a go-to presence. Across the first eight games, the Allentown native leads the team with 16.5 points , a number that is in large part due to the blistering 48% that MaGee is shooting from three-point range.
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Not bad for a guy who in his final year of high school wasn’t initially sure if he’d even get to play in college.
“I was a senior in high school with no offers,” MaGee said. “I went to [the] Philly High School Live [showcase] and played my heart out. Drexel saw that, they saw my leadership, and they offered me along with one other school, but Drexel showed the most love, so I showed the most love back, and I committed,” said MaGee. “It was the best decision I ever made in my life.”
Coming into the season, it was apparent to both outside observers and those within the Drexel program that MaGee would be a pivotal part of whatever success was found by the Dragons this year. Spiker’s program saw most of its established rotation exit, whether through the transfer portal or graduation.
“Seeing all the guys hitting the portal, it kind of hit me a little bit, but you can’t stop someone from trying to achieve the highest level that they can, so I really wasn’t worried about it,” said MaGee. “I knew the leadership roles and on the court roles for [Yame Butler, Shane Blakeney and myself] would change. I think we handled it pretty well, and I think our mindset is that we just go to war with some dogs, that’s about it.”
MaGee’s scoring has been hard to miss, especially for those who were in the building for his 28-point outburst against Colgate or who saw him drop 23 points against Chicago State in the third-place game of the Sunshine Slam. If you ask MaGee, feel free to call him a dynamic scorer — don’t finish the sentence there.
“A lot of people look at me right now as a scorer, and I’m way more than a scorer,” MaGee said. “I’m a defender. I’m a leader. I can score the basket, I can get you touches, I can get you assists, I can get you rebounds, whatever you need, I’m there for it. I’m a multidimensional player, and I think everyone needs to see that.”
On the backs of an unleashed MaGee, Butler, and forward Cole Hargrove, Drexel is off to a 5-3 start to the season. Many preseason prognostications predicted a rough season on 33rd and Market. In the Dragons’ home conference, they were predicted to finish 11th in the CAA preseason coaches poll — just one year after they finished second in the conference.
MaGee, however, is excited to prove these predictions wrong.
“I personally set our expectations high,” said MaGee. “With everyone that left, they kind of ranked us a low number in our conference. I think that was the wrong move. It kind of put a chip on our shoulder. Everyone has that fire in them; we all have the talent, so I think we could really get it done this year with the team that we got.”
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