In case anyone hasn’t noticed, Drexel University is the hottest college basketball team in Philadelphia. The Dragons have won nine games in a row. Drexel is 16-5 overall and 8-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association. Bruiser Flint, Drexel head coach, has the Dragons playing well at both ends of the floor.

Flint has a solid group of players that include 6-foot-4 sophomore Frantz Massenat, 6-foot-6 freshman Damion Lee, 6-foot-4 junior Derrick Thomas, 6-foot-9 junior Daryl McCoy, 6-foot-2 junior Chris Fouch, 6-foot-8 sophomore Dartaye Ruffin and 6-foot-5 senior Samme Givens.

Givens played his high school basketball at Academy of the New Church. He has a chance to become just the third player in school history to score over 1,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds. He currently has 1,055 points and 924 rebounds in his career. Givens has a lot of talent, but also exhibits hard work and determination.

Givens clearly reflects the style of play Flint has developed for his team. Flint has his team playing hard, scrapping for loose balls, battling for every rebound, looking for the open man, taking good shots, all the things that contribute to winning basketball games. And Drexel has done exactly that.

Drexel was a preseason favorite to win the CAA championship. The way they’re playing now, the Dragons have a chance to capture the league title. George Mason leads the conference with a 9-1 record. Drexel is tied for second with Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and Old Dominion with 8-2 records. In this nine-game winning streak, Drexel has beaten George Mason, Old Dominion and VCU. The last time they lost a game was to Georgia State on Jan. 2. On Wednesday night, Drexel spanked Georgia State to avenge the earlier defeat with an impressive 68-46 victory at the Daskalakis Athletic Center, better known as the “DAC.”

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, especially if you know Flint’s background when it comes to basketball. Flint grew up in West Philly and played a lot of basketball at Sherwood Recreation Center near 56th and Christian Streets. He was a terrific player at Episcopal Academy and Saint Joseph’s.

He started his coaching career in the Sonny Hill League where he sharpened his basketball skills as a player. He had some great mentors like Claude Gross, Tee Shields, John Hardnett and his father, James Flint.

Flint landed his first college coaching job as an assistant at Coppin State under the legendary Ron “Fang” Mitchell. After a few years, he moved to the University of Massachusetts where he worked with head coach John Calipari, who now coaches Kentucky. When Calipari left the Minutemen’s program, Flint took over as head coach. He spent five years at UMass before coming home to become head coach at Drexel. This is his 11th season with the Dragons. He has 186-139 record at Drexel, which includes four NIT appearances. In 2006–07, Flint had an outstanding team that should have received a NCAA tournament bid. That team finished with a 23-9 record. It’s possible this year’s team could be just as good.

“It remains to be seen right now, we still have a lot more games to go,” Flint said. “We had a good year last year. We knew we were returning a lot of players. So, the expectations were high from the start. We knew we had an opportunity to play well this year. We still have some time to go. We just have to stay the course and try to get better every week.”

Drexel will host Delaware in a big CAA game on Saturday, Jan. 28, at 2 p.m. on The Comcast Network. Flint will face his good friend Monté Ross, the head coach of the Blue Hens. Ross, like Flint, grew up in the Sonny Hill League. He gradually climbed the ladder in the coaching profession, working as an assistant at Lehigh and Saint Joseph’s. Actually, Drexel dropped a 71-60 decision to Delaware earlier this season. However, Flint knows when it comes to the Drexel-Delaware games throw the records out the window.

“It’s a rivalry game,” Flint said. “We know they’re going to be ready. They’re always ready for us. I told our guys they have to understand the type of intensity they bring. We know it’s going to be tough.”

It won’t be easy for Drexel as it goes for its 10th consecutive victory. Then again, that’s nothing new for Flint and the Drexel Dragons, who have been rolling their sleeves up all season long with great success.

Contact staff writer Donald Hunt at (215) 893-5719 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .