Meet Bryce Drew
Experience: Third year
College: Valparaiso, ’98
Career record: 48-20 (.706)
2013-14 Season Outlook
-The Crusaders finished the 2012-13 season with a record of 26-8 (13-3 Horizon League), winning both the Horizon League Regular Season and Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championship.
-In the Horizon League preseason poll, the Crusaders are predicted to finish sixth in the nine-team League.
Career Background
-Named head coach in May of 2011. Previously served as the Crusaders assistant coach (2005-06) and associate head coach (2006-11).
-Drew guided the Crusaders to their second straight Horizon League Regular Season Championship during the 2012-2013 season while also led Valpo to its first-ever Horizon League Championship crown.
-Won a school-record 26 games during the 2012-13 season, including a program record 16 victories at the Athletics-Recreation Center (ARC).
-During his rookie season at the helm in 2011-12, Drew led Valpo to 22 victories, including a 14-4 mark in Horizon League play to capture Horizon League Regular Season Championship.
-Guided the Crusaders to the Postseason NIT during the 2011-12 season.
-Drew was honored as the Horizon League Coach of the Year for his efforts on the bench for the 2011-12 season.
Since taking over the program in May 2011, Valparaiso has won back-to-back Horizon League Regular Season Championships while also also notching the 2013 Horizon League Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship. How would you rate your first two years at the helm of Valparaiso?
It’s been a great blessing to win two championships; I should probably retire right now. It’s hard to maintain. But it’s been very enjoyable to coach. I loved playing the game when I was a player, I think it’s even more rewarding as a coach to pass on knowledge, pass on life skills to players and see them use it during their time in college.
Six players are gone from last year's squad, including All-League performers Ryan Broekhoff and Kevin Van Wijk. What are your expectations of this year’s squad?
As a coach you always want to see guys improve and get better and see the team come together. We’re in the process right now of trying to blend in some of our returning players with a lot of new players. A lot of our returning players will play different roles this year. An interesting stat is we have four seniors on paper on our roster but they actually have only three years of playing experience at Valpo. So everyone on our team is fairly new to the program. I just want to make sure our team keeps rolling in the right direction.
Last season, Valparaiso won on a wild-buzzer beater game at the ARC against Green Bay in the Horizon League Men’s Basketball Semifinals and later went on to beat Wright State in the Championship. How special was it to win your first Horizon League Men’s Basketball Championship on your home floor?
It was extremely special. It was a great blessing to have our families there. The enthusiasm and excitement in the arena and how loud it was is something I will never forget and as a player I’m sure some of them will never forget it.
Is a player like Ryan Broekhoff someone you can replace, or is he a once in a decade type of player?
One thing as a coach I try to do is to try not to compare players with other players. There is really no two players alike. Ryan was a very special player for us, he did so many things well and so many things a coach couldn’t teach. He just naturally did it.
The squad is predicted to finish in sixth in this year’s Horizon League Preseason poll. What kind of incentive is that for this year’s team, or are polls something you don’t pay much attention to?
Oh we look at it! As a coach, my big thing is getting the best out of our team. Last year, we were picked first, this year we’re picked sixth. Whether we were picked ninth, I’m more concerned with the post season rankings rather than the preseason rankings.
How often do you communicate with your father Homer who coached at Valparaiso from 1988-2002; 2003-11 and your brother Scott who has been the head coach at Baylor since 2003?
They are great sounding boards, my brother and I will talk about different ideas, what’s working and what’s not working. It’s great to have sounding boards; my dad won over 600 games [640-428 career record] and coached many different teams and things that happen in a basketball program. So I have those two to call on as resources.
You’re one of the, if not the most, decorated player in Valparaiso athletics history. You’re father Homer was a very successful coach in his tenure at Valparaiso. Was the head coach position at Valparaiso a position you always wanted?
The more I thought about it, I didn’t know what else I could do then coach. When I was still playing in the NBA about my third year in, it really hit me that coaching was what I wanted to do when I was done playing. So I really tried to absorb things, coaching, scouting reports, meeting with players. I had a few more years in the NBA and one year in Europe and I got some good training on thinking more as a coach.
You were a highly decorated high school player when your father was the coach at Valparaiso. Did you think of going anywhere else to play collegiately, or was Valparaiso the school you wanted to attend all along?
I definitely looked at a few other schools and visited some other schools and I think when it came down to it, having my dad and my brother [Scott] who was also the assistant coach, having them there had a big impact. The next impact was I went to high school in that community and really had a good connection with the whole community.
What are your expectations for the Horizon League this year? Six of the nine teams last year posted an over .500 overall record last year. Do you see the League being as strong top to bottom again?
It’s very, very difficult. I believe the League is much stronger this year than it was last year with all the experience returning, several teams are returning practically every player on their roster. There’s a lot of experience in our League and experience is tough to replace. Experience is something you can’t give a team, it’s something that they have to earn and go through. For our team we’re going to have guys closing out games that have never closed out games in a Valpo uniform.
Off the court, what are your some of your hobbies?
I’m very family oriented; I go to Church on Sunday’s, I like to hang out with my family. We love to go to Chicago and shop and eat. I also like to fish; my dad and brother try to go bass fishing every year.
