DES MOINES (AP) -- Those wondering what Drake coach Mark Phelps is all about should first know this. Phelps didn't just work for Arizona State coach Herb Sendek -- he's a graduate of the Sendek School of Coaching.
Phelps, who spent the past 12 seasons under Sendek at North Carolina State and with the Sun Devils, said those years spent working for the meticulous Sendek were the best possible preparation for his first college head coaching job.
"Everything he did, he did with a purpose. He did with great detail," Phelps said of Sendek. "I learned Basketball 101, 102, 201, 202 and quite frankly, since I was there for 12 years, I feel like I earned my masters in how to coach college basketball."
It's a good thing Phelps had so much schooling. He's got big shoes to fill.
Keno Davis, who left Drake after one season for Providence, invigorated the Drake program like no one before him. Davis led the Bulldogs to a 28-5 record, the Missouri Valley Conference regular season and conference titles and the program's first NCAA tournament berth in 37 years.
Davis won The Associated Press
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Phelps, who was hired in April, isn't promising an encore.
"Our measuring stick is not last year," Phelps said. "Our players and our coaches have very high standards and expectations of themselves. What we're going to do on a daily basis is try to honor those expectations by consistent daily work."
Davis didn't leave the cupboard bare. But it isn't exactly full, either.
The Bulldogs will have to replace 60 percent of their starting lineup, including Valley player of the year Adam Emmenecker. Drake lost three senior starters in all: Emmenecker, Leonard Houston and Klayton Korver. The good news is that the Bulldogs bring back two of the league's best in junior guard Josh Young and senior forward Jonathan Cox.
Young was the Valley's leading scorer at 15.9 points per game, and he shot an impressive 43 percent from 3-point range. Cox gave the bombs-away Bulldogs an inside presence, scoring 12.3 points and grabbing 8.5 rebounds, and his ability to knock down shots from the perimeter gave opponents headaches.
"We return two players who, quite frankly, should be in every conversation when it comes to Missouri Valley player of the year this year," Phelps said.
The roster is rather green after that.
Drake will slot UC-Irvine transfer Adam Templeton into the small forward spot. Templeton, who sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules, was a two-year starter at UC-Irvine with good range from the outside. Forward Brent Heemskerk, who hit 69 percent of his shots in limited duty last season, will be in line to see more action in the frontcourt in 2008-09, as will fellow senior John Michael Hall.
The major question mark Phelps will look to answer in fall practice is at point guard. Sophomore guard Josh Parker will battle with junior college transfer Craig Stanley and senior and former River Valley (Wis.) star Jacob Baryenbruch for the spot vacated by Emmenecker, whose uncanny ability to run the offense and make the right play at the right time was invaluable.
"I don't think anybody goes into a phone booth and becomes Adam Emmenecker," Phelps said.
Cox said that Phelps has proven to be more vocal and detailed than Davis. But Davis and Phelps both like to play aggressive -- using a fast-break offense to set up the 3-point shot -- and that should help ease the transition from Davis to Phelps.
"He brings a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of past experience, so we should be good this year. We don't have any concerns or anything with our new coach," Cox said.
