In 1954, University of Pennsylvania Athletic Director Jerry Ford had the idea to create an entity in which the five Division One basketball programs that resided within the city of Philadelphia could compete for the title of city champion. For the 68 years following, The Big 5 has been a hallmark of Philadelphia’s identity. Cities with as rich of a basketball scene as Philadelphia are few and far between. From the Philadelphia Catholic league, which regularly sells out the Palestra for their playoff games, to the Philadelphia Public League, to the NBA and the 76ers, Philadelphians have long shown up and shown out for their teams within their city. 

For over a half of a century, The Big 5 was emblematic of the inter-city rivalries that fans craved each year. The five schools, Villanova, Temple, St. Joseph’s, La Salle and University of Pennsylvania would all face off in a round robin style tournament, with one team emerging as that year’s Big 5 champion. The champion would bring back pride to their geographic sector of the city and deliver bragging rights to their fans. 

In recent years, The Big 5 has been embattled by increasing apathy for the institution, coming from both the fans and the teams participating in the round robin. Since the mid-to-late 20th century, the only Big 5 school to have any real semblance of success has been Villanova, who has established themselves as one of the premier college basketball institutions in the nation, largely thanks to Jay Wright’s legendary time there. This led to an imbalance between the Big 5 schools, creating a dynamic where the other four schools wanted to play Villanova a lot more than Villanova wanted to play the far inferior Temple, St. Joes, La Salle and UPenn. 

This apathy came to a head in Nov. 2022 as The Big 5 sold a measly 3,246 tickets for their flagship doubleheader at The Palestra, and just a handful of students attended the games. This is just one third of The Palestra’s capacity, and, when juxtaposed with the packed, raucous crowds that used to define The Big 5, it was hard to claim The Big 5 as it was situated at that point had much of an appeal to the city. 

On Dec. 7, 2022, The Athletic reported that the schools of The Big 5 had convened and agreed to revamp the organization. In the new iteration of The Big 5, there would actually be six teams. For the first time in 68 years, Drexel had been included in The Big 5. The six teams are to be split into two pods of three teams. Each team will play one home game and one away game. After each team plays their games, the winners of the two groups will meet on Dec. 2, 2023 in the third game of a triple header at the Wells Fargo Center as they battle for the title of Big 5 Champion. The second place teams from each pod will face off against each other for third place, and the two last place teams will try to redeem themselves by securing fifth place in the earlier games. 

Drexel’s inclusion to The Big 5 comes at a time where many view the Dragons as a team on the rise. In the Zack Spiker era of Drexel basketball, the Dragons have improved their record every single year, and have recorded a winning record three seasons in a row, something that has not happened in most Drexel first years’ lifetimes. The Dragons are returning all but one player from last season, and to fill that one hole is Horace Simmons, a player out of La Salle Prep who is regarded as one of the top recruits in Drexel history. Drexel’s athletics program is rising in many ways at a time when the other Big 5 schools are struggling to recapture the glory they experienced in the 20th century. 

In the last eight months, Drexel Athletic Director Maisha Kelly stated that The Big 5 was intent on working with Drexel to create a new format for the tournament that could re-energize the city’s rivalries. One important detail in this process was creating an entirely new business model surrounding the organization. For the past 68 years, The Big 5 had an extraordinarily barebones financial model.

“What became very apparent is that we had to start to look at The Big 5 as a brand if we were to look at getting games on TV in their own media space and to see if we could get sponsorships and leverage this brand that stretches across six different institutions. And, most importantly, how do we create an event? And where do we have this event? That is where our partners at the Wells Fargo Center were ecstatic to add The Big 5 as an asset. Certainly there is no bigger venue in this city that could accommodate this event should we be successful enough to have the opportunity to activate The Big 5 to its highest financial potential,” said Kelly.

With so much at stake for the historical Big 5 institutions, many see Drexel’s inclusion as a testament to the product they have built on the court, in the athletic department, and in the city. 

“It’s a well deserved respect that was long due, it’s a tip of the hat to the institution that Drexel is. I could argue that Drexel is one of the strongest and most present members of The Big 5,” Kelly stated.

When asked about her personal experience with The Big 5, Kelly, the Philadelphia native and St. Joe’s Alumni, lit up as she recalled her fondest Big 5 memory. 

“In 1994 at The Palestra, St Joes played Villanova. I was a senior in high school, and I was being recruited to run track and field at St. Joe’s. St Joe’s beat Villanova at The Palestra. I was standing in the student section and the student section rushed the court. I didn’t make my commitment that day to go to St. Joe’s, but during my time there as a student athlete…understanding those city rivalries… It’s a brand that is unlike any other,” said Kelly. “We are so local in this city, the different neighborhoods and associations that each school belongs to. The young Big 5 college attendee in me is really thrilled that I get to be at Drexel that is going to be making an incredible impact at this association.”

In response to the most parrotted criticism of The Big 5’s redesign, the fact that the city of Philadelphia seemingly does not care as much about The Big 5 anymore, Kelly offered a nuanced description of how she sees the situation. 

“I don’t look at it as a “bringing back The Big 5” I look at it as ‘what is the next evolution of The Big 5?’ The way that students attend games and socialize on college campuses is very different today than it was 68 years ago. There was much more of a community and social engagement at basketball games in this city. We are not going to be able to bring back what The Big 5 once was, but what we can do is re-energize the rivalries that exist amongst the six of us,” said Kelly. “We are going to be in the business of creating an event surrounding these games. We are responsible to make sure that we have events here on campus so that way when we bring in Temple to The DAC this year or that when we go to La Salle and to the Wells Fargo Center, all the students, faculty, alumni and drexel community are with us, so that everyone is willing to be a part of what can be a marquee event for this university. Most importantly, we want to give our students their opportunity to storm the courts.” 

Kelly was emphatic in her desire to see Drexel students rally behind the team, reiterating that, “You don’t raise championship trophies without having a community and wave of energy behind you.”

All told, much remains to be seen as to what the revamped Big 5 will actually bring to the city. But Kelly feels that the change has already put the winds behind Drexel’s back as an institution, propelling the Dragons to fly even higher than they have before. 

“The biggest win is the brand association. I think what benefits us is the fact that now we are The Big 5 and so there is a brand recognition and association. This is a clear statement. You are known by the company you keep, and it strengthens our position that we are directly associated with The Big 5.”

The 2022-2023 Drexel Men’s Basketball season was certainly an interesting one. The season featured tremendous highs, cavernous lows, and, ultimately, ended in conference purgatory. The Dragons ended with 17 wins and 15 losses, their best record in a full season since the 2011-2012 season. Finishing with an above .500 win percentage for the second year in a row is also a feat that the Dragons had not accomplished since Barack Obama’s first term of the presidency. This achievement was also done despite many pundits not predicting much success for the team in the preseason. The Dragons were rolling out a very young squad, where even the veteran players that had played college basketball before were being asked to play larger roles than they were accustomed to.

Depending on who you talk to, either Drexel overachieved this season or left a lot of untapped potential in the tank. However, according to Coach Zack Spiker, those two outcomes are not mutually exclusive.

“I think the answer could be yes to both of those at the same time. I think we had some missed opportunities throughout the season. If you look at our schedule and study it, our free throw percentage was the difference. A lot of our losses were one possession games,” said Spiker.

Free throws were a recurring nightmare in close games for the Dragons. Drexel lost four games by a combined total of seven points. In those four games, Drexel was only able to convert on 49 of their 79 free throws, leaving 30 points that are allegedly “free” on the table. In essence, the Dragons were just seven points away from exceeding 20 wins this season, a benchmark that many use as the qualification of a truly successful college basketball season. 

In some ways, free throw struggles are going to be endemic in a team that is heavily reliant on the nearly seven-foot tall Amari Williams for the bulk of their offense, however, Coach Spiker noted that this is no excuse and each individual player would have to improve on their free throw percentage during the offseason. 

The offseason will be an important one for the Dragons as they seek to capitalize on their upwards trajectory, as well as the fact that some of their biggest competitors in the CAA are losing their best players to the transfer portal or due to exhausted eligibility. This is not the case for Drexel, who do not anticipate losing any players to the transfer portal, and whose sole scholarship opening has been used to sign one of the Philadelphia Catholic League’s best players in Horace Simmons. With that kind of stability, Drexel will be able to concentrate all of their attention on improving as a unit and as individuals.  

“I think it’s an important offseason for us, I think we got a group that understands what we have coming back and we’re just trying to work and get better. It’s important that we are all doing what we can to get better, whether it’s free throws or any kind of individual work, whatever it may be,” said Spiker.

With all said and done, Spiker looks back fondly on many moments throughout the season, especially beating Towson and College of Charleston at home in the DAC.

“My best memories are of the home game atmosphere. The scoreboard, the student body coming out every night,” Spiker said. “I just want to encourage everybody to come out and make a difference in the outcome of every single game.”

One key theme for Spiker has been consistency, or, perhaps more aptly, consistent improvement. “It’s the first time in 18 years that we have had three straight winning seasons. Certainly I think we are bringing a level of consistency to the program. Our defensive numbers have gotten better every year, with this season being the best. I think we have had a steady representation on the CAA All-Rookie team, which means we’re bringing in good players, and we’ve had a lot of consistency with our coaching staff and our players and that’s how you become a veteran program.”

Spiker hopes to keep the consistency of the program trending upward as the head coach, however, he did recuse himself from making any comments about his contract status moving forward outside of emphasizing his desire to keep growing the Drexel program. 

If Drexel can maintain their upward trajectory with the continued development of key players like Amari Williams and Justin Moore, as well as the infusions of impact recruits such as Horace Simmons and Shane Blakeney, the Dragons could make a name for themselves on the elevated stage they will find themselves on come next season. With the revival of the Big 5, which now features a tournament between Villanova, Drexel, Temple University, La Salle, St. Joseph’s University and University of Pennsylvania, Drexel will have the opportunity to demonstrate that they are one of the preeminent squads in the city, something that has statistical backing as the Dragons have the second most wins in Philadelphia since 2020.

After the Philadelphia Phillies snapped an 11-year playoff drought in 2022 and were two games away from winning the World Series, fans now have a taste of the postseason and are hungry to get back—and this time finish the job. 

The Phillies exceeded all expectations last season and now the pressure is on to deliver once again.

The core of the team is mostly intact, with a few additions and subtractions. Bryce Harper (albeit injured), J.T. Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber, Aaron Nola, Zack Wheeler, etc., are all back with the team and ready to compete.

However, Rhys Hoskins, a key player in the magical postseason run, will miss the entire 2023 season due to a torn ACL. Second baseman Jean Segura signed a new contract with the division-rival Miami Marlins. And starting pitcher Ranger Suarez is sidelined until at least late April with an elbow injury. 

Knowing some of last season’s heroes could miss time or leave the team altogether, president Dave Dombrowski and owner John Middleton spent big money this offseason. The biggest acquisition of them all was shortstop Trea Turner, a perennial all-star and one of the undisputedly best players in all of baseball.

Joining him is all-star reliever Gregory Soto, former Mets starting pitcher Taijuan Walker, and closer Craig Kimbrel. Middleton and Dombrowski are not satisfied simply just making it to the World Series—they are determined to bring the trophy back to Philadelphia. Their off-season moves prove they are serious about achieving that goal.

Amongst all the other moves is the arrival of the top pitching prospect in all of baseball, Andrew Painter.

Painter, just 19 years old, is a six-foot-seven starting pitcher who features a 100-mile-per-hour fastball and wicked offspeed pitches to go along with it. He will be a key factor in the Phillies rotation for hopefully the next decade, or even longer. There is one minor hiccup, however: 

Painter is currently not throwing due to a right elbow injury. Healing his injury is key right now and it would not be surprising to see the team be extra cautious with their prized prospect. But if and when he debuts this season (Painter has been adamant that he will), there will be another dynamic arm taking the mound at Citizens Bank Park.

The biggest question mark this season, though, is Bryce Harper’s health. The 2021 MVP had surgery on his elbow this offseason, with the team initially saying his return would be around the all-star break (early to mid-July).

The team revealed that Harper might be ahead of schedule by not putting him on the 60-day injured list, signaling a return in late May or early June.

The Phillies were able to have success last year without Harper, so it is easy to imagine them treading water until he is able to return and then taking off when he is back in the lineup. 

With the offseason behind them and the anger from falling short last season ready to motivate them this season, the Phillies seemed primed for another successful year.

Making it back to the World Series will be a challenge, but as we saw last year, with the city of Philadelphia behind the team, anything can happen.

When you see the number ten on the back of a jersey, you know that person is a star straight away. With that double digit behind her purple shirt, Angel Reese walks and talks like just that. To say the women’s NCAA final was sensational is an understatement.

After the final whistle blew on April 2, we all knew the spotlights were either going to be on Iowa’s Steph Curry regen, Caitlin Clarke, or LSU’s Angel Reese. With 12.9 million total viewers, the spotlights were going to be very bright, and very heated.

Yes, Angel is a phenomenal outstanding player—I mean, the athlete is LeBron James and Shaq approved. Winning the best player award in the biggest college basketball tournament just added to her list of achievements. But there is something even greater than that. What Angel did after the final was remind every single person watching of something very important—to stay true to themselves.

Standing inches away from First Lady Jill Biden and being on prime time Sunday television, the pressure was on for Angel, but the six foot three shooting guard reminded everyone that it is possible to be who you are in spite of who is watching.

Caitlin Clark, University of Iowa’s star scorer, increased her celebrity throughout the NCAA tournament with her dominant ability to take over each game Iowa played, as well as for her penchant for trash talking while doing so. She gained virality multiple times throughout the tournament with overt demonstrations of her dissing her opponents. While the national audience ate up Clark’s theatrics, many had an adverse reaction when Angel Reese returned the favor after helping lift LSU over Iowa in the National Championship game. 

The controversy grew as Angel Reese pointed out the racial disparity in the way her actions were perceived.

“I don’t fit in the box that you all want me to be in. I’m too hood, I’m too ghetto. You told me that all year. But when other people do it, y’all don’t say nothing,” Reese said. “So this is for the girls that look like me, that want to speak up on what they believe in. It’s unapologetically you. It was bigger than me tonight.”

Anyone who has played some sort of competitive team sports knows that once in a while trash talking comes into play. I remember watching an interview with American Premier League football player, Weston Mckennie. He was asked about some of his strengths and the second one he mentioned was trash talking. 

So why is Angel being slammed for this? All she did was wave the infamous “You Can’t See Me” gesture popularized by John Cena and point to her ring finger. Then all of a sudden, popular figures like Dave Portnoy with two million twitter followers are calling the 20-year-old sophomore classless and “a piece of…” (you can probably guess the end of it). 

You also have people like Keith Olbermann with almost a million followers calling her an idiot. All these old guys coming for the throat of any other twenty-year-old might break them, but Angel responded in an interview with NBA by saying “I don’t care what anybody has to say about me. I love who I am. … I’m authentically me.” This resilience from a college sophomore is really impressive and sets a huge example for anyone who thinks they need to sacrifice their whole personality to achieve something.

I find it weird and wrong that a lot of people with huge followings are publicly slamming someone who is half their age—and these same people will be retweeting mental health posts a few weeks from now. But we all have to look at the strong and authentic personality of this future star. In a world where everyone tells you that you have to be a certain way or have a certain character to do something, Angel Reese reminded everyone, especially me, that we should not compromise who we are to appeal to people we probably do not even care about.

P.S. A huge shout out to the ladies who played that blockbuster final, that was one of the best basketball games we have seen in quite some time.

After losing to University of North Carolina Wilmington by a score of 73-68, Drexel’s season has ended. For the second year in a row, Drexel has fallen out of the CAA playoffs in a tightly contested four-seed versus five-seed matchup.

For the second time this season, the Dragons and the Seahawks matched up in a hard fought, blow-for-blow battle. For the second time this season, Drexel had a double digits lead over UNCW at one point during the game. And, for the second time this season, Drexel suffered critical injuries during the game that rendered the squad depleted, causing them to come up just short of a victory. 

In the first matchup between Drexel and UNCW, the Dragons were without either of their rotational point guards, and Amari Williams left the game early with an injury. Yame Butler was able to nearly single-handedly keep Drexel in the game before they narrowly fell in double overtime. In this matchup, Justin Moore, the CAA All-Rookie team point guard, had returned for Drexel. Some thought that the combination of an insurgent Butler paired with a resurgent Moore would be enough to push the Dragons through to the quarter-finals, however, after just six minutes on the floor, Butler suffered a gruesome injury that saw him leave the Drexel sideline on crutches and in a walking boot. 

Butler’s departure did not impede Drexel’s ability to build a 12 point lead with 12 minutes remaining in the game, however, this lead entirely vanished in just three minutes. At this point, it was clear that Drexel did not have the firepower to punch back when UNCW started getting hot from the floor, something that Butler has shown a deft ability for over the past month of conference play. To make matters worse, Mate Okros left the game in a walking boot with eight minutes left. 

Despite being undermanned for the final stretch of play, Drexel found themselves with the ball down just three points with 15 seconds left on the clock. Carrying the ball up the floor, Justin Moore had an opportunity to tie the game, but his shot from beyond the arc came up short, ensuring UNCW’s win and continuation into the quarter-finals. 

Where Drexel significantly underperformed throughout the most important moments of the second half was at the free throw line. The Dragons shot an abysmal 60% from the charity stripe, leaving nine “free” points on the table. 

After the game, Coach Zach Spiker summarized the contest saying, “We built a lead and weren’t able to capitalize on it. Credit goes to Wilmington for doing the things that they could control, they controlled the offensive glass, hit a couple shots. That was one of the big differences in the game.” 

When asked about his message to the players after the loss, Coach Spiker highlighted the lone player on the team who is out of collegiate eligibility, Coletrane Washington.

“We have one guy who has exhausted his eligibility, so we took a few minutes to acknowledge and celebrate what all Coletrane Washington has done in his time here at Drexel… and I thought you saw the best of his abilities today. We are going to miss him in this program,” said Spiker. 

Spiker expanded that, “The message was short for the rest of the guys. We will regroup, but it’s a raw locker room and I don’t think words can necessarily do it justice. A tightly contested quarter final game is just the beginning for this group, and a lot of it has to do with [Justin Moore].”

With the Men’s Basketball season over, all attention is on Women’s Basketball as Keishana Washington seeks to reclaim Drexel’s status as Champions in the CAA Tournament beginning March 10th against the winner of Monmouth versus Charleston, at SECU Arena in Maryland.