This season's Drake team isn't very big.
They are not very athletic.
They're not a great 3-point shooting team.
They're not deep.

Yet, they're 12-0.  Other than Music City Bulldog (RIP), nobody would have predicted 12-0 at this point in this season

What's the secret sauce?  The magic ingredient?

To me, it's got to be Ben McCollum.  Either he just sees things that nobody else sees, or he's a wizard. Either way, I don't care.

Here's hoping he's leading the Bulldogs for a long time.

+1000
I believe Mac when he says he recruits more than a basketball player.  One must embrace the grit, passion and perseverance, and team concept.

Everybody is always in the right place and has a nose for the ball Kinda like 3 or 4 Garret Sturtz on the floor

The coming of age of Bennett is a big part of the success.

The kids are definitely the main ingredient, but perhaps Mac knows how to stir the ingredients

Cheers to that. It feels like we have a front row seat to the most fun case study in all of CBB this year.

After watching him for about a third of a season, it just absolutely blows my mind that no D1 schools offered him out of HS.  

He's a savant and he gets his guys to buy in. He works to make a very complex system simple.  If you have 50ish minutes, here's a podcast that is very dense but very explanatory.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/21yB7n0Qtqxp54ok7fyrHR?si=iJ3jTn2BRReFwUKhlk8CZQ

I chuckle a little because those who have watched it for years know what it looks like. As much as we try to explain it, until you see it for yourself it is hard to believe or understand. It just sounds like standard coach cliche/jargon.

The players have talked about knowing their roles and playing to their roles. It doesn't mean they lack the ability to fill other roles but that is not what they're expected to do. Mac has a great ability to see what each player brings and then putting them in position to be successful within those roles.

It also goes beyond cliche that he only wants players who are the right fit. If they are "me first" players then he doesn't want them (no matter how talented) because they won't be willing to sacrifice for the overall success of the team.

Agree Ballgame. You watch almost every other team these days and the kind all play the same way. Lots of over dribbling and iso ball. Which works fine when you’ve him got great athleticism but not so much other times. At times when we go a couple possessions where we can’t even get a shot off I find myself asking what we’re doing but now I know better.

That's some really interesting stuff.  Thanks for the link.

I think the NW @ Duke exhibition game in fall of ‘19 is when we realized what we had with Mac & his players.
For several years Duke played the D2 Champion in an exhibition game to start the following season.
After the ‘19 title Duke only beat NW 69-63 in a game NW went into fulling thinking they had a chance win(FWIW Duke shot 22 foul shots, NW shot 4).
After the game Mike K said he thought NW could finish in the middle of the ACC and that Trevor Hudgins could probably start for several D1 teams.

Duke did not invite NW back after their ‘21 & ‘22 titles.

Mac always seems to find D1 caliber players no D1 team wanted out of HS. If they weren’t D1 caliber as freshman they were by the time they graduated. Justin Pitts, Trevor Hudgins, Diego Bernard, Ryan Hawkins to name a few

Well put, BlueJay1969.

More affirmation that Drake is a top team nationally: K-State beat No. 17 Cincy in Manhattan last night. 

It’s the Mac system. It confuses the hell out of the other team. They get frustrated and start making silly mistakes. The better teams can adjust (see KS) but the MVC teams are going to struggle mightily against this system. The way Mac plays is perfect for Drake - we will never have 5 star recruits. But his system neutralises the talent gap. What exactly is his “system” - still not quite sure. It just works. And despite the slow pace, it’s fun to watch. 

https://www.maryvilleforum.com/sports/cats-dogs-mccollum-drake-get-off-to-12-0-start/article_1bae973c-c6f5-11ef-97db-176263acfa8c.html
Story from the ‘Ville -great read to help understand the ‘sauce’

Defense. Defense travels even when shots aren’t falling. You’re not going to see a lot of minutes if you can’t defend.

That’s what’s going to be interesting to me. Can he do it at Drake like he did at Northwest? Will he be able to redshirt kids and keep them in the program 4 and 5 years at this level with NIL and the portal? He’ll recruit good shooters and teach them to play defense and he can do that when he knows he has 4-5 years to get them stronger and develop them into the player he thinks they can be.

You’ll hear Mac talk about culture a lot and it’s not just coach speak. It’s important to him and it became a factory at NW, where recruits would come in and the experience on those rosters would drive the culture… leading by example, teaching practice habits, showing the intensity needed to play for MAC. It was established and maintained by those guys that had been there and the leadership roles were passed down as the next group came through. Thats a big part of the early success at Drake… having those 4 guys that understand all of that. They’re not the most physically gifted or maybe even talented players, but there’s a ton of experience there from guys that are connected and know how to win Mac’s way.

The last piece and as important as any is that for the last decade plus, Ben has had a tremendous point guard. His point guards dictate the game… they control the pace, they never feel rushed or frustrated… every one of them has had that humble confidence that seems to grow in the big moments. It’ll be interesting to see who is next after Bennett.

Ben is a real coach. He’s tough, but his players seem to love him. He X’s and O’s as good as anyone and he develops players. Hopefully, he’s still able to do that now that D1 sports is no longer amateur athletics.

We’ve got the best player in the conference, the best pure shooter in the conference, a roster full of guys who know their roles and fill them with a passion and perhaps the best coach in the country putting it all together.

Imposing their will on defense. Basically every opponent is being held well below their season average and most are held to their season low.

Darth Vader
Lord of the Sith
Founding Father - Drake Spirit Committee (1990)