Comparing Drake men's basketball's 2008 and 2023 trips to the NCAA Tournament
Each spring, Adam Emmenecker is forced to relive one of if not the worst moments in his basketball career.
The former Drake guard was a member of the 2008 team that made it to the NCAA Tournament. The No. 5 seeded Bulldogs lost to No. 12 seeded Western Kentucky, 101-99, in the first round. Ty Rogers hit a long 3-point buzzer beater in overtime and sent Drake packing.
Not only was it an upset win for Western Kentucky, but the highlight reel shot frequently finds its way back into circulation when March Madness rolls around.
“It’s a buzzer beater that I get to rewatch every March Madness, because it’s on a highlight reel somewhere with me standing right in front of a guy about 30 feet from the rim,” Emmenecker said. “And he puts up a shot with a couple of seconds left and (I) watch it go in and we lose the game, 101-99.”
On the plus side, Emmenecker said that people agree it was one of the more entertaining games of that tournament.
But the loss – and the way that Drake lost – is still a tough pill to swallow.
“Do you feel the accomplishment?” said Emmenecker, who these days serves as Drake’s TV color commentator. “Absolutely. But as a competitor, as an athlete, it’s always easier to nitpick what you didn’t do as opposed to feel good about what you did. I don’t think I’m alone in this, that there’s maybe some unfinished business of what could have been.”
All of that is to say one thing: That Drake men’s basketball has the opportunity in this tournament to get redemption of sorts for that 2008 team, a group that the current Bulldogs are incredibly similar to, in more ways than one.
Several similarities between the 2008 and 2023 teams
There is a lot of overlap between this current Drake squad and the 2008 team. From the regular season records to the starting lineup, it’s easy to pick up on a few similarities between the Bulldogs then and the Bulldogs now.
Drake’s is bolstered by an experienced starting five. Roman Penn, Garrett Sturtz and D.J. Wilkins are in their fifth years with the Bulldogs, and two of those three played in the 2021 tournament. Darnell Brodie brings the size, and to say that Tucker DeVries is a standout sophomore would be an understatement.
The 2008 group was led by Leonard Houston, Klayton Korver and Emmenecker. Jonathan Cox brought the size, and Josh Young was a sophomore at the time.
“We had a core group of seniors, three core seniors,” Emmenecker said. “We had a big man who had one year of eligibility left, and we had a sophomore who was our leading scorer. If you look at it that way, there (are) a lot of similarities, right?”
The comparisons don’t end there, though.
Unlike the 2021 team – which earned an at-large bid to the tournament – the 2008 and 2023 teams earned an automatic qualifier after winning the MVC Championship. The 2008 group recorded 15 conference wins and beat Illinois State, 79-49, for the title. This current team finished with 15 league wins and beat Bradley, 77-51, in the championship.
Each team’s season featured lengthy win streaks, as well.
“If you look at the score and the way the game played out in the championship, it’s very similar in terms of the game tone,” Emmenecker said. “There are definite corollaries now, even this team being in the No. 5 and No. 12 matchup, and we were in the No. 5 and No. 12 match.
“This team has been very fun to watch, and you can definitely make plenty of comparisons in terms of the way this year played out with the success we had 15 years ago.”
Both teams also went into the tournament with a healthy lineup. Drake has struggled with a major injury issue – sometimes, issues – in each of Darian DeVries’ seasons as head coach.
“(Having a healthy team) is all new under coach DeVries,” Emmenecker joked. “That has been his Achilles’ heel, ever since it started his first year with Nick Norton. That is a new phenomenon.”
The similarities even continue off the court. Emmenecker has a sandwich named after him on Jethro’s menu. Penn and Wilkins partnered with Lucky Horse and released their own burger this year.
But above all, Emmenecker sees a lot of his 2008 team’s attitude in this current group. The Bulldogs have found a way to win in tough games, much like Drake almost did in the first round of the 2008 tournament.
“One of the most fun things about our group is kind of that quiet confidence to know that no matter how the game was going, we’d find a way to make a play and get back in the game,” Emmenecker said.
Does Drake have what it takes to upset Miami?
Drake plays Miami at 6:25 p.m. Friday in Albany. Bulldogs fans hope that 12-seed Drake can pull off the upset over 5-seed Miami .
FiveThirtyEight predicts that the Hurricanes have a 59% chance of winning the first round matchup. But that means Drake has a 41% shot of advancing, and that is the highest win probability of any team seeded 12 or higher.
The Bulldogs have a 29.6% chance of upsetting Miami, according to The Athletic, which is its fourth most likely upset of the tournament. The Sporting News model gives Drake the best odds, with a 42.9% chance of a Bulldogs’ victory.
Emmenecker would agree with those odds. He believes that the Bulldogs have a solid chance to upset Miami, just as then No. 12 seed Western Kentucky beat out No. 5 Drake in 2008.
More:An inside look at how Darian DeVries landed the job with Drake men's basketball
“Absolutely,” Emmenecker said, about whether Drake has what it takes to pull off an upset. “There’s no fear in this group. And when you don’t have fear – and when you have a lot of experience – you never know what can happen.”
Predictions and probabilities aside, Emmenecker thinks Drake has a shot just by what he’s seen from the Bulldogs all season.
Part of Drake’s success will depend on if Miami’s Norchad Omier plays; he suffered an ankle injury in the ACC Tournament. Emmenecker knows that experience is on the Bulldogs’ side. There are players on this squad who know what it feels like to make the NCAA Tournament, and who know what it feels like to lose in March Madness.
Emmenecker also knows – based on the scouting report – that defense is the Hurricanes’ weakness. Drake won the MVC Championship because the Bulldogs were able to put it together on both ends of the floor and if they do that against Miami, Emmenecker has confidence in his alma mater.
“(Miami has) three really, really good guards,” Emmenecker said. “Which means, if Drake has a good day, especially shooting the basketball, I feel really good about their chances in this one.”
Adam Emmenecker's advice for the current Bulldogs’ players
Emmenecker knows the emotions that come along with playing in the NCAA Tournament. It may have been 15 years ago, but those are memories that stick with a player.
The next few days are critical for the current Drake players, specifically the three super seniors who returned with one goal in mind: Win the MVC Championship and compete in March Madness.
And while that was the goal of those three players, it will take a team effort to make it past the first round.
“Roman and Tucker (DeVries) have been good all year,” Emmenecker says. “So, I’m going to carve those two aside because expectations for those two are already sky high. But when you’re playing against really good teams, you need something extra, you need something different.”
He suggests that Drake needs strong performances from the remaining players in the starting lineup, as well as big contributions from the bench. Even with one or two star players, the Bulldogs will need help from the whole roster.
“Expect normalcy out of Roman and Tucker, maybe let those two try to close the game,” Emmenecker continued. “But if – Darnell Brodie, D.J. Wilkins, Garrett Sturtz – one of those three figures out a way to be a level up, I really like Drake’s chances.”
Emmenecker will leave the strategy to Darian DeVries. But he was once in the players’ shoes, and with that experience comes some words of advice.
“Number one, the time goes by really fast, so try to take time to appreciate where you are, what you’ve accomplished and who you’re with,” Emmenecker said. “The second thing, though … just be yourself and do what you’ve done to be successful to get here.
“You see some, when they get in the NCAA Tournament, change the way they play just because it’s so unique and it’s so different. For these guys, not only take the time to appreciate the experience, (but) just be who you are and the success will follow.”
Alyssa Hertel is the college sports recruiting reporter for the Des Moines Register. Contact Alyssa at ahertel@dmreg.com or on Twitter @AlyssaHertel.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: How does Drake's 2023 squad compare to the 2008 men's basketball team?
