Homer's Legacy

Homer Drew leaves behind a long and successful career in coaching at Valparaiso University.  Few coaches stay at one school as long as Drew has, few coaches last in the profession for as long as Drew has, and even fewer coaches have won as many games as Drew has.  What legacy will Homer Drew leave as he hands over the reigns to the Crusaders to his son Bryce?  Consistency and championships (VU hasn't won one of these in a while, but their past successes warrant it).  

Let me blow your mind with some statistics real quick.  Homer led the Crusaders to at least 20 wins 10 times, including a span of 8 times in nine years.  Coach Drew helped guide VU to the NCAA tournament a total of 7 different times, including a run of 5 consecutive years.  Homer has coached at the collegiate level for 34 seasons; spending time at Bethel College, IUSB, and Valparaiso.  Coach Drew has won a Coach of the Year award on 9 different occassions!  Valparaiso is one of just a few schools (Kentucky, UNC, UMass) to ever win both their conference round robin and conference tournament at least five years in a row.  Drew will finish 41st on the all time winningest coaches list with 640 career victories.  Coach Drew also had the honor of having his home court named after him.

Drew led teams aren't only successful on the basketball court.  They make numerous appearances in the Valparaiso community every year.  From visiting schools, daycare centers, helping the police with crowd control at Popcorn Festival, hosting basketball clinics for the YMCA, attending fundraisers for the Boys and Girls Clubs, and they have served meals to the hungry at St. Teresa's Cafe Manna.  Coach Drew hasn't just coached these young men in the game basketball, but he has helped them become better people as well.  He has turned the basketball players from a team into a family.  Current Crusader point guard Erik Buggs on how to succeed at Valpo, "We are all about having a family atmosphere at Valpo and that makes it hard to let others down. We all expect the best effort out of each other, so giving all the effort that you can give is all that we ask for here."

During Homer's coaching career at Valparaiso he has helped 32 players move on and play at the professional ranks. There are two games in VU history during Coach Drew's tenure that you could point at as putting Valparaiso on the map in the college basketball world.  The first was in 1988.  Valparaiso welcomed Notre Dame to the ARC, and in front of a packed house went on to defeat the Irish 71-68 in OT in a game now known as "The Miracle on Union Street".  Notre Dame would enter the NCAA tournament that season as a #10 seed.  Valparaiso would again take down ND in 1993, this time in South Bend, 80-66.  The other game you may have heard of happened in 1998 in the NCAA tournament.  In a first round match-up against #4 Mississippi, the #13 Crusaders found themselves trailing by 2 points with 2.5 seconds left on the clock.  The rest is history:
Valparaiso announcer Todd Ickow was court side for the radio broadcast, almost directly behind Drew on press row as he made the call:  They gotta go the length of the court, with 2.5 left...Sykes long pass...Bill Jenkins...Drew's three for the win....GOOD!!! GOOD!!! VALPO WINS! VALPO WINS! VALPO WINS! BRYCE DREW! HITS A THREE! AND THE CRUSADERS HAVE MOVED INTO THE SECOND ROUND! BRYCE DREW HIT A THREE-POINTER TO WIN THIS GAME, 70-69! THE KID...PERFORMS ANOTHER MIRACLE!

Relive "The Shot" here.

Passing the torch

The Drew story at Valpo is not over.  As Homer steps aside his son Bryce will take over the helm.  This is another post for another day.  Thank you Homer for all the work you've for Valparaiso University and the Valparaiso Community!