College basketball preview: Evergreen’s Drey was last season’s sixth man, this season’s leader

Taylor Drey was playing timid.

For most of his junior season at The Evergreen State College, Drey was coming off the bench as the team’s sixth man, and he and Geoducks coach Tim Malroy struggled early to carve out a fitting role.

“It took a little while for he and I to try to work with each other with his style and my style,” Malroy said.

Drey lacked comfort and with his time sectioned off, often had trouble finding a rhythm rotating in and out. In the 20 games he came off the bench, he scored in double digits just three times and said he didn’t always know when he should take the opportunity to shoot.

“Later on in the season, (Malroy) figured out the right thing to do for me, and how to play me and use me as an advantage,” Drey said. “It just took time.”

When Alix Hernandez, one of Evergreen’s top scorers, was sidelined with an ankle injury late in the season against Southern Oregon, Drey was suddenly thrust into a starting role. He’d started one game earlier in the season, managing six points, but this was more permanent.

“It boosted my confidence a lot more,” Drey said. “I knew my coach had confidence in me, and I could play my game and have some fun.”

He recorded a season-high 30 points against Eastern Oregon in his first game in the new role. The next day, he put up 25 points against College of Idaho.

“It really kind of became obvious that he can excel at this level,” Malroy said.

In the seven games Drey started, he averaged 18.7 points — significantly higher than his season average of 9.4.

“He has an unwavering confidence in his ability to raise his level of play, no matter where he’s playing or who he’s playing against,” Malroy said. “He keeps going and keeps competing and keeps trying to win battles.”

Drey, a senior and second-year transfer, first caught Malroy’s attention when he played at Lower Columbia College. Malroy, who formerly coached at Green River in the Northwest Athletic Conference, had a rapport with Drey’s coach. Drey was still available in late August, attended an open gym at Evergreen and Malroy added him to the Geoducks squad.

“I knew he was athletic,” Malroy siad. “That just serves him so well in our game — getting up and down and taking the pounding guys want to give him, and give it back to them. He doesn’t diminish at all. His game doesn’t break down.”

Malroy said Drey’s intangibles — his determination and discipline — set him apart.

“Everything I’ve given him, he’s tackled it,” Malroy said. “I’m really excited to see how his year turns out.”

The Geoducks return seven players — including three starters in Drey, Jarrick Mitchell and Ryan Quigley — from last year’s team, which finished ninth in the Cascade Collegiate Conference (8-20, 5-15 CCC), and dropped its final nine games.

“We were on our way to a better season last year, but fell off at the end,” said Malroy, now in his third season at Evergreen. “We’re looking to compete at a much higher level this year.”

A much bigger level, too. Malroy added three players — Big Bend transfer Shawn Spencer (6-foot-10), Tacoma Community College transfer Jaurence Chisolm (6-8) and Great Falls transfer Dalton Groenewold (6-6) — that will create a new wrinkle in Evergreen’s offense.

“I need to make some adjustments to the system because we’re much bigger than we have been in the past,” Malroy said. “Mostly, I’ve been forced to rely on uptempo and wearing teams out. I’m able to incorporate some sets that take advantage of height and depth. ... I think it makes us more versatile, not changing, but adding things to what we do well.”

“Teams were picking on us last year,” Drey said. “Hopefully this year it will open a lot more for the guards, and we can show a strong presence in the post.”

The up-tempo offense will still be there, Malroy said — which plays well to Drey’s pace.

“We’re pretty quick this year,” Drey said. “We should be getting up and down the court.”

This story was originally published October 19, 2016 at 7:13 PM with the headline "College basketball preview: Evergreen’s Drey was last season’s sixth man, this season’s leader."