By Dave Johnson
W&M Athletics
 
He had one of the more veteran lineups in Division I basketball last season, but William & Mary coach Dane Fischer knew this year would different. The rotation would include four freshmen who were unable to arrive on campus until late August.
 
Sure enough, going into a weekend series at Drexel, four of the Tribe's top eight scorers are freshmen — five if you count Thatcher Stone, a sophomore who played 18 minutes last season. Yuri Covington, Connor Kochera and Ben Wight are starters. Jake Milkereit comes off the bench.
 
Their footprint was all over last Saturday's 67-62 win over Delaware. Kochera had 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting, 3-of-5 from deep, and a career-high eight rebounds. Wight had 10 points and four boards in 19 minutes and held his own against Dylan Painter, the Blue Hens' 6-foot-10, 235-pound center.
 
Covington finished with nine points and two turnovers in 33 minutes. At 6-1, he also provided the highlight with a dunk over Painter. Milkereit added four points and four rebounds in 13 minutes.
 
In all, four rookies combined for 35 points and 20 rebounds. This despite still being in catch-up mode after missing summer workouts because of the pandemic.
 
"Everybody got here in August, and even then, with all the restrictions we had in place for COVID, it was a much slower start for these guys than typically," Fischer said. "Early on, it was individual workouts and small-group stuff. We didn't do anything as a team until we had been here about a month to a month and a half.
 
"So we missed the summer, which is pretty significant, and then the start to the school year was slower than normal. These guys missed quite a bit heading into the year, but they've obviously done a great job this season."
 
Covington and Wight could have used a normal summer to get acclimated. Covington has started all eight games at point guard and averaged 33 minutes in the season's first three games. He's electrifying getting to the rim, but his inexperience occasionally leads to mistakes.
 
In a Dec. 22 loss at Virginia, Covington had seven turnovers. Fischer sat him down and mentioned that in his college debut at Davidson, Stephen Curry had 13 turnovers. Since then, Covington has turned it over nine times in his last three games.
 
"He's had some games and flashes where we've seen what he's capable of, and he's had some games and flashes where you see there's still quite a bit to learn," Fischer said. "What I've loved best about him and all of our freshmen is they're not fazed by the mistakes they make. They learn from them."
 
Listed at 6-foot-9 and 205 pounds, Wight could have used summer workouts to add more strength. Already this CAA season, he's gone against Painter and Hofstra's Isaac Kante —who, respectively, outweigh him by 35 and 30 pounds. This weekend, he'll face Drexel's James Butler, who goes 242 pounds.
 
"He plays with incredible physical toughness," Fischer said of Wight. "He's got no problem battling a guy who's bigger, stronger and older. I'm really pleased with the way he plays the game."
 
Before the season, Fischer referred to the 6-5 Kochera as "a do-everything player." He's earned that label by averaging 10.1 points and, at least to some, a surprising 4.1 rebounds a game. In addition to his 12 points and eight boards against Delaware, he also took a key charge with 6:17 remaining.
 
Milkereit, who missed much of his senior year of high school with an injury, is coming off career-highs in scoring and rebounding vs. the Blue Hens.  
 
The Tribe broke a four-game losing streak with Saturday's win, and a major reason was the glass. W&M had a season-high 16 offensive rebounds, which it converted into 13 second-chance points.
 
In something of a bizarre stat, the Tribe is second among CAA teams in offensive rebounds at 11.8 per game but 10th on the defensive end at 23.8 per game.
 
W&M will play at Drexel (5-4, 0-2) on Saturday and Sunday with both games scheduled to tip at 1 p.m.
 
The Dragons lost twice last weekend at Charleston by a combined six points. Guard Camren Wynter (18.0 ppg) leads four scorers averaging in double figures. Butler is averaging a double-double at 14.2 points and 10.3 rebounds a game.
 
Fischer and Drexel coach Zach Spiker have known each other since their days as students at Ithaca (N.Y.) College. Fischer said Spiker was "very instrumental" in helping him get into coaching.