Former walk-ons elevate Drake in national rankings

~ The Bulldogs are22-1 and ranked 14th in the nation.

DES MOINES, Iowa -- There's a reason former walk-ons Jonathan Cox and Adam Emmenecker landed at Drake. The Bulldogs were the only Division I team that wanted them.

How fitting, then, that one of college basketball's most unlikely stories would include two such unlikely stars.

Cox, a junior forward, and Emmenecker, a senior point guard, have become indispensable to 14th-ranked Drake, owner of the nation's second-longest winning streak. No two players have meant as much to Drake (22-1, 13-0 MVC) as Cox, the Missouri Valley Conference's leader in rebounding and 3-point shooting percentage, and Emmenecker, the league's assists leader.

Their work ethic has rubbed off on the rest of the Bulldogs, a team of overachievers with a knack for winning.

Drake's Adam Emmenecker, left, looks to grab a loose ball over Creighton's Casey Harriman (32) during the second half of this college basketball game, in this Jan. 30, 2008 file photo, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, file)

Twenty-one straight, to be exact.

"I think it shows there's not a whole lot of difference between guys who aren't getting any scholarship offers and guys that can be all-conference players. It's how hard you can work," said first-year Drake coach Keno Davis, a former assistant at Southeast Missouri State. "I think it's helped us during the streak, where they came from. They haven't gotten their heads too big because they weren't the highest-profile guys coming out of high school."

Cox and Emmenecker fit in perfectly on a team full of kids who, until this season, flew largely under the radar.

Sophomore guard Josh Young led the state of Oklahoma in scoring as a junior and senior at tiny Lawton Christian High. Major schools passed on the 6-foot-1 guard, and he's now the Valley's leading scorer at 16 points per game. Senior guard Leonard Houston spent three years in a reserve role and never averaged more than 4.5 points a game. As a first-year starter, he's third in the Valley at 14.7 points a night.

Senior forward Klayton Korver won't be remembered like his brother Kyle, a two-time Valley Player of the Year at Creighton. But he's carved out a solid career despite chronic knee problems, recently passing 1,000 career points.

Those three had a leg up on Cox and Emmenecker, though. At least they had scholarships.

In 2004, Cox tuned out naysayers who pegged him as Division II material and walked on at Drake, which hadn't finished above .500 since 1987. He finally earned a scholarship before the 2006-07 season and has developed into one of the nation's most versatile big men, shooting 50 percent from 3-point range.

Emmenecker epitomizes the type of student-athlete sought at Drake, a private school with just over 3,000 undergraduates that prides itself on academics. He has more majors (four) than career 3s (zero).

A bit player his first three seasons, Emmenecker didn't earn his scholarship until the day before Drake's season opener in November. He's become arguably Drake's MVP, consistently feeding the Bulldogs' stable of shooters while keeping its fast-paced offense under control.

Teammates point to the leadership and toughness of Cox and Emmenecker as major factors in Drake's success. Emmenecker is averaging more rebounds per game, 4.4, than any point guard in the league. Cox has become the consummate inside-out player who can bang down low, an important trait for a team that starts just one player, the 6-foot-8 Cox, over 6-foot-5.

"Those two definitely are driven," sophomore guard Josh Young said. "They stepped into some big roles, and we all look up to them and the way they worked in the offseason."

The Bulldogs haven't won a game by more than 10 points since the middle of January, but they've shown a remarkable ability to make the plays that ultimately swing the outcome in their favor.

Drake is 5-0 when trailing on the road at halftime and has won at Bradley, Creighton and Illinois State.

Many see today's game at Southern Illinois as the next pothole.

"We've been taking each game saying there's nothing for us to lose. We've playing the underdog role for a while," Davis said. "If we're in the game in the last 3-4 minutes, I like our chances."