Biographical details | |
---|---|
Born | St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | September 29, 1944
Playing career | |
1962–1966 | William Jewell |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1971–1972 | Washington State (assistant) |
1972–1976 | LSU (assistant) |
1976–1987 | Bethel (IN) |
1987–1988 | Indiana–South Bend |
1988–2002 | Valparaiso |
2003–2011 | Valparaiso |
Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
2011–2015 | Valparaiso (associate AD) |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 640–428 |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
8 Mid-Con regular season (1995–1999, 2001, 2002, 2004) 8 Mid-Con tournament (1995–2000, 2002, 2004) | |
Awards | |
4× Mid-Con Coach of the Year (1994–1996, 2002) Coach Wooden "Keys to Life" Award (2012) | |
College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2019 |
Homer Walter Drew Jr. (born September 29, 1944) is an American former college basketball coach and administrator who coached at Washington State, LSU, Bethel College, Indiana-South Bend, and Valparaiso. He retired from college basketball in 2011 with 640 career wins, which ranked him sixth amongst all Division I coaches at the time of his retirement. Drew was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019.
Drew made 10 National Tournament appearances and seven NCAA tournament appearances in his career.
Drew put Valparaiso and its men's basketball program on the map over the course of his 22 years at the helm of the Crusaders with his “Building a Tradition” philosophy, which reached new heights in 1998 as Valparaiso advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history. He amassed 371 coaching victories with the Crusaders, eight conference regular-season titles, eight conference tournament titles, nine postseason appearances, three postseason victories, faced the number one team in the nation in six of his last seven years as head coach, while also sending 32 players to the pros and 80 players into teaching or coaching.
Drew's sons, Scott Drew and Bryce Drew, have both been coaches at the Division I level. Scott is the coach of the Baylor Bears men's basketball team, where he has served as head coach since 2003, while Bryce is the head coach at Grand Canyon University. Both Scott and Bryce were also head coaches at Valparaiso, with Scott leading the Crusader program in 2002–03 and Bryce from 2011 to 2016.