By any measure, the 2011-12 season represented a major step forward for the Drake men's basketball team under head coach Mark Phelps, in his fourth season. Here's a look at the  major accomplishments, both team and individual, from the season. 

HONORS AND AWARDS

• Junior Ben Simons and sophomore Rayvonte Rice earned second-team All-MVC and NABC All-District 16 honors.
• Simons was captain of the Most-Improved Team and earned his first MVC Player of the Week honor for games of Jan. 9-15, 2012.
• Senior Kurt Alexander earned a place on the All-Bench Team.
• Junior Jordan Clarke earned second-team MVC Scholar-Athlete honors.

TEAM NOTES

• Drake qualified for a postseason tournament for the third time in the last five seasons (2008 NCAA, 2009 CIT), and second in the four-year tenure of head coach Mark Phelps. The March 14 first-round CIT win over North Dakota was Drake's first in the postseason since 1975.
• This year's 18 wins were the most in Mark Phelps' four-year tenure as head coach and tied for ninth-most in school history. Drake posted a winning record for the second time in Phelps' four years (17-16, 2008-09), making him the first Drake head coach in 50 years to post two winning seasons in his first four (Maury John, 2, 1958-62).
• Drake played 34 games in 2011-12, most in a season in school history (33 in 2007-08, '08-'09 and '09-10).
• With 62 career wins, Phelps has more wins than any Drake coach in his first four seasons (2nd: Maury John, 55, 1958-62). No Drake head coach since Maury John (.555 from 1958-62) has had a better winning percentage in his first four seasons than Phelps (.473).
• Drake's third-place finish (9-9, tied with four teams) in the Missouri Valley Conference was its second-highest in the MVC standings in the last 26 years. The 2007-08 Bulldogs won the conference title at 15-3, and the 1985-86 team tied for second at 10-6. This year's 9-9 MVC record was the best under head coach Mark Phelps, and is topped in the last 26 years only by the 15-3 mark of '07-'08, and matched by the 9-9 finishes of 2001-02, '94-'95 and '92-'93.
• Drake ranked No. 1 in the MVC in three-point field-goal pct. defense (.305) and third in steals (6.9).
• Drake was 16-2 when shooting a higher percentage than its opponent and 9-0 when shooting 50 percent or higher.
• The Bulldogs did not allow an opponent to shoot higher than 50 percent from the field for an 18-game stretch before Rice shot 53.1% in the season-ending CIT Tournament loss. Opponents in that stretch shot a combined 41.2 percent (408-991), including a figure of 39.6 percent over the last nine games (199-of-503). In addition, those nine opponents combined to shoot 49-of-217 (.226) from three-point range.
• That 18-game stretch followed a period in which Drake allowed six opponents over an 11-game span to top 50-percent shooting before tightening up on the defensive end.
• Drake finished the season with 213 three-pointers, fifth-most in a season in school history, exceeding last season's figure total of 203. Five of the top six seasons for three-pointers made have come in the last five years, four of them under head coach Mark Phelps (2^nd, 3^rd, 5^th, 6^th).

Three-Pointers Made--Season
1. 310, 2007-08 (840 att.)
2. 284, 2009-10 (746 att.)
3. 266, 2008-09 (765 att.)
4. 232, 2001-02 (595 att.)
5. 212, 2011-12 (585 att.)
6. 203, 2010-11 (573 att.)

PLAYER NOTES

• Drake featured two of the top four scorers in the Missouri Valley Conference, with Rayvonte Rice third at 16.8 points per game and Ben Simons fourth at 16.4. Drake was the first MVC team with two players to finish in the top four in scoring since 2003-04, and first with two players to average 16.0 or more points per game since '02-'03.
• Rice's 16.8-point scoring average was the best by a Bulldog in 11 seasons (Luke McDonald, 17.9, 2001-02). He scored 20 or more points eight times in 2011-12.
• Rice ranked No. 98 in the nation in scoring (16.8) and No. 40 in the nation in steals (1.9; No. 1 MVC). He averaged 2.3 steals per game in MVC-only games and tied his career high with five at Southern Illinois (1/18). He also had five at Creighton (1/3).
• Rice (555) broke Drake's single-season record for points scored by a sophomore (Melvin Mathis, 536, 1984-85) this season while recording the ninth-highest total overall. His 555 points this season are the most by a Bulldog since 1992-93 (Curt Smith, 591).
• Rice now has scored more points (983) in his freshman and sophomore seasons combined than any player in Drake men's basketball history, and stands seven points away from the school's top 25. Twenty-two Bulldogs have scored 1,000 or more points.
• Rice had 63 steals this season, seventh-most on the school's all-time list. He ranks 11^th on the career list after just two seasons (105).

Steals--Season
1. 75, Curt Smith, 1992-93
2. 72, William Celestine, 1993-94
3. 70, Lonnie Randolph, 2003-04
4. 68, Matt Woodley, 1998-99
5. 66, Dan Knuckey, 1995-96
6. 65, Matt Woodley, 1999-2000
7. 63, Rayvonte Rice, 2011-12

• Simons led the MVC and ranked 54th in the NCAA in three-point field goals per game (2.6), while ranking No. 23 among NCAA DI players in three-point field goal percentage (42.5%).
• Simons finished the season with 77 three-pointers, seventh on the school's single-season list, and 156 for his career, sixth-most all-time.

Most Three-Pointers--Season
1. 91, Luke McDonald, 2001-02
2. 86, Josh Young, 2007-08
3. 86, Luke McDonald, 2000-01
4. 83, Eric Berger, 1988-89
5. 83, Klayton Korver, 2007-08
6. 80, B.J. Windhorst, 1994-95
7. 77, Ben Simons, 2011-12

 Most Three-Pointers--Career
1. 255, Josh Young, 2006-10
2. 241, Luke McDonald, 2001-03
3. 241, Klayton Korver, 2003-08
4. 178, Armand LeVasseur, 1996-2000
5. 169, Matt Woodley, 1997-2000
6. 156, Ben Simons, 2008-11

• Simons topped the 20-point mark nine times this season, including a career-high of 29 points vs. Wichita State (1/28/12), which matched the best output by a Bulldog since Josh Young scored 34 points vs. Morehead State on Nov. 19, 2008. Rice scored 29 earlier this year vs. Central Arkansas (12/21/11) and Ryan Wedel scored 29 vs. Evansville Feb. 23, 2011.
• Simons, a co-captain, ranked second in the MVC in free-throw shooting (.849; 62-73). He had made 21 consecutive free throws and 27-of-28 from the stripe over an 11-game span between Dec 28 and Feb. 1, before missing his first attempt vs. Southern Illinois (2/22/12), in his first game back after missing five games with mononucleosis. Simons ranks No. 1 among active MVC players in career free-throw percentage (.860).
• Redshirt-freshman Jeremy Jeffers finished with the sixth-most points scored by a freshman in school history (243).

Points Scored By A Drake Freshman
1. 428-Rayvonte Rice, 2010-11 (31 games)
2. 412-Luke McDonald, 2000-01 (28 games)
3. 306-Melvin Mathis, 1982-83 (26 games)
4. 255-Joey Gaw, 1997-98 (26 games)
5. 251-Lynnrick Rogers (26 games)
6. 243-Jeremy Jeffers (34 games)

• Jeffers' 32 three-pointers also were sixth-most in a season by a Drake freshman, and his three-point shooting percentage of .432 was second-best among the top six.
• Junior Jordan Clarke ranked seventh in the MVC in rebounds with a team-leading average of 7.0 and sixth in steals (1.4). Clarke had 34 rebounds in a three-game stretch in mid-February (11.3 rpg) and averaged 11.0 rebounds per game (44) in the four postseason games Drake played in the MVC Tournament and CIT.
• Clarke posted four double-doubles on the season, the first four of his career.
• Clarke tied career highs for both steals (4) and blocked shots (2) vs. North Dakota (3/14/12) in the first round of the CIT, to go with his 14 rebounds, second-most in his career.
• Junior Aaron Hawley made 17 three pointers in six-game stretch (2.8) while starting in place of Ben Simons (mono). Three times he made a career-high four three-pointers in that six-game span (vs. Missouri State, 2/4; at Illinois State, 2/8 & at New Mexico State, 2/18).
• Senior Kraidon Woods ranked fourth in the MVC in blocked shots (1.3; 39) and third in conference-only games (1.6; 28). His 64 career blocks rank seventh among active Valley players at the end of the season. Woods tied his career high with four blocks and set a career high with four steals vs. Wichita State (1/28/12).
• Woods' .652 career field-goal percentage ranked second among active players in the Missouri Valley Conference with at least 10 attempts (88-135).

MISCELLANEOUS

• The Missouri Valley Conference ranked No. 8 in the RPI rankings entering the NCAA Tournament, with two teams in the top 25 and a combined 15 Top 50 wins, including two by Drake-over No. 12 Wichita State and No. 33 Iowa State. The MVC's 15 Top 50 wins are third-most of any conference. Six of the Bulldogs' losses came at the hands of Wichita State, No. 24 Creighton (three times) and No. 73 Northern Iowa (twice). Drake is No. 134.