Bryce Drew...

[HutchJones]

Hello Valpo Fans. Long-suffering Vanderbilt fan here.

So as I'm sure you are aware, we are in the middle of an historically bad season here at Vanderbilt.  Currently on an 8 game losing streak and a never before in history bad 0-7 in league play.  It will be a surprise if we win another game this year.

As I'm sure you know, Bryce had us all fired up about this year after signing a top 10 nationally rated recruiting class.  And we've had some bad luck with injuries to said class, but the natives are restless down here.  We've literally never seen a team with these kind of results and to be honest, the results are only a part of the problem. What is more disturbing to many is the appearance in some cases of a lack of effort from some of the players.

It was my understanding when we hired him that Bryce would not be an offensive strategic mastermind, but that his teams would play tough, hard-nosed D, and that he would instill great confidence in the players and inspire great effort from them on the court.  We saw this the last half of his first year, but it has been noticeably absent since.

I personally think there have been times when specific players needed to be benched for lack of effort.  These same players were also probably our most talented players, and for whatever reason, Bryce didn't do it. 

I was hoping to get some thoughts from the fan base that no doubt knows him better than anyone else.  Obviously, Bryce was very successful at Valpo as a coach.  What was he truly like?  What was his approach?  What kind of offense did he employ?  What kind of defense did you all play?  The thought is among some is that Bryce simply has to have more talented players than the opponent to really be successful.  Is that what he did at Valpo?  Were you all routinely out-recruiting other opponents in your league?  What did you think were his strengths and his weaknesses?

I'm really interested in your opinions, because I really, really like Bryce, and I so expected us him to succeed.  Instead, the program seems to be spiraling out of control to historic low points.  Thanks in advance for all your thoughts.

[vu72]

Thanks for your visit and welcome to the board.  I too live in Nashville and, although I have yet to see a Vandy game, do follow their results because I know Bryce and have also known his dad Homer for many years. 

I have posted some of the Vandy results recently in other threads as a means of slowing down the drum beat of some who appear ready to get rid of our coach!

As for Bryce, there is plenty of coaching talent what with Bryce having played in the NBA, having his dad close by and his brother a phone call away.  I also think his staff is talented as several were assistants at Valpo also.

Bryce can obviously recruit.  He always could.  He, his brother and dad are all strong Christian men and can instill a compelling sense of family to players and their families.  Their record of success, both personally and at the school where they coached, (Valpo and Baylor) also makes for a great sales pitch.  That bloom may be off the rose--and soon!

Having not followed the individual players for Vandy, I don't have any thoughts to add as to why the team is failing.  They are young, no doubt but effort is not about age.  Mistakes are about age but not effort.  It is a definite step up in competition league wise but basketball is basketball--as long as the talent is there at the next level.

I will say that Bryce does wear his faith on his sleeve and that worked well at a Lutheran school like Valpo in attracting Christian kids who perhaps felt out at place at bigger state schools. Valpo has a long track record of these type players starting other places and then coming to Valpo because of the smaller, Christian, family atmosphere provided here.  Is that an issue with the kids on your current roster?  Are players leaving?  If so, this may be part of the answer.  It may take more time to get the right players and when you do, Bryce can definitely coach.

Good luck!  I hope to get over to see a game soon. Would love to see Homer again!

[VU2010]

Yes - welcome aboard! Personally, I wouldn't say it's fair to chalk any of this up to wearing his Christian faith on his sleeve. No way. What's that have to do with it, if true?

On the contrary, many of us have spoken about another former Valpo player who some of us would love to see take over the realms at Valpo - Greg Tonagel. I watched Greg during his playing days at Valpo. Heck of a player. No - he isn't known for "the shot" like Bryce, but still a Valpo legend.

Ironically, the argument against him by some folks (not me) is that he cannot separate his Christian faith from his coaching. He's at Indiana Wesleyan, which you may not have heard of before?

So, what's ironic about this? The same folks say Bryce - on the contrary - WAS able to separate the two. I've never been in the locker room with him, so I really don't know one way or the other. But, I wouldn't chalk the losses up to that. No way.

You are correct - Bryce's MO is defense. Lock-down, relentless defense. But, that's not to say he isn't a strong offensive mind. Now, idk how that translates over to SEC play as he's now coaching against some of the greats of all time. But, the man's ability - at least when at Valpo - to make in-game adjustments and draw up plays during time outs truly gave us an advantage over coaches (in the Horizon) he had a higher basketball IQ than.

So, maybe the playing field is now evened out and he no longer has *that* edge over other coaches in the SEC. Shoot, depending on the game he could very likely be at a disadvantage. Not a knock on him - a nod to the coaches he's coaching against.

As for recruiting, yes - he had an edge over Horizon coaches. Without a doubt. Why? Personality? Yes. Charisma? Yes. Basketball IQ? Yes. But, even more ... he was able to sell a program that he bought into ... as a player out of high school who played at Valparaiso High School and then went onto play for his father at Valpo University. He could've went virtually anywhere he wanted.

But, he chose Valpo. His hometown. To play for his father. In an undersized, outdated gym (even at that time lol). And to add to the storybook ending ... while at little old Valpo ... made "the shot."

He was able to sell players on that dream. What every little boy dreams of as we count down the shot clock in our bedrooms ... 3 ... 2 .... 1 ... IT'S GOOD!!! (as we make a shot on our 4' plastic hoop).

Not to mention his dad was still around ... he went on to be a first round draft pick ... made a few million ... married the daughter of Little Ricky from I Love Lucy ... living the American Dream. Not to mention his brother Scott who served as the HC at Valpo for one year before taking over a program at Baylor that was a dumpster fire.

He was *that* guy. Valpo's golden boy. Shoot, Rick Barnes tried recruiting him to Clemson in 94!

Bryce - recently reported - he thought he was going to land Admiral Schofield to VALPO!!! How's that possible? Because of everything I just said. It was a package deal.

Those of us who grew up here with Bryce - and have held season tickets - we were so proud. Yes, we knew it was inevitable year after year that Bryce should leave. That he was being pursued. The NIT championship run was the icing on the cake. We had teams like Florida State come to little old Valparaiso!!!! And, we won! Wow. Truly amazing. 81-69.

Amazing. Absolutely amazing. And he was the face of the franchise!!!! A small part of us thought he'd stay forever ... not wanting the dream to be over.

The same year we traveled to Oregon and should've won. Bear Rhode Island at home. Saint Mary's came to town in the NIT tourney and we held them to 13 points in the second half before winning 60-44 after being down 2 at half. Are you kidding me?

Unreal. Shortly thereafter, Bryce went down to Vandy. He had offers every year and declined but said he'd only leave Valpo for somewhere very special where he could raise a family. And, that is Vandy ... in a city that's fantastic ... as you know!

Ever since, us Valpo fans - after the graduation of Alec Peters - have been searching for an identity. We've been lost. All we can do now is hope for another era like this. People like me think we *could* have something like that happen if we offered for Jake Diebler to come back home and take over the reigns. Who knows. It's over. Not to mention the staff Bryce had ... with a heck of an assistant in Roger Powell Jr. ... we were something. We hoped and prayed Powell would take over but alas he's in Vandy.

Every now and again, we'll pull out the old home run inbounds play and be reminded of Bryce and the glory days. Other than that, we're just getting by ... with a glimmer of hope in a better tomorrow.

So, idk if I answered any of your questions. But, I hope I captured for you the mystique of what Bryce meant to Valpo and why we were so successful under his leadership.

[usc4valpo]

I think one issue may be the types of players that play in the SEC, where I would bet require more pampering since they know they were highly recruited, play in an elite conference and have fans and friends telling them how great they are.

Other issue is that Vanderbilt is the Northwestern of the SEC - perhaps there are some academic standards these athletics have to endure. Not in recruiting likely, but in academic load once they are there. This is different from Duke where several players stay for a year or two and then leave.

Bryce is also a very ethical dude who wants to do things right and clean - which, and let's be honest -  is not an environment followed at most SEC schools.

I like what 2010 said, but Valpo needs to let go of the 1998 season and move on. It's similar to Bear fans always reminiscing about 1985.

[crusader05]

 I will say that I think one thing that was a slight handicap in the way he handled specific situations at Valpo might hinder him at Vandy.

Specifically that he was "too nice" and avoided some tough conversations. I actually can see that play out in how he left Valpo. Where he avoided the conversation with his players and let the media break the news to them and then didn't answer their phone calls. It also showed up in how he handled Vashil getting his extra  year and then needing to lose a scholarship where he dragged the decision out and tried to kinda convince Nick D to transfer (which enraged Alec Peters) as a way out.

His team may have bigger egos and need more wrangling than Valpo players ever did and he may not quite have the skills to do it. I've also heard he is a micro manager which we ironically at Valpo could be seeing an issue with as Lottich may not have gotten the full level of mentoring he should have under Drew. He seems to look for asst coaches who can recruit first and want to handle the play stuff himself.

Also, his star power is probably pretty diminished at Vandy compared to Valpo where his reputation and experience may have meant more.

[tiny707]

I would say relax. He will turn it around. He has a very young team and unfortunately a key injury.

[HutchJones]

Thanks so much for the responses thus far.  I look forward to more.  Quickly, I do not think the issues we're encountering have anything to do with his faith.  If anything, his faith seems to be a net positive. Recruits have mentioned it as a definite factor in their decision to attend Vanderbilt.  I would actually say that Bryce either at the direction of someone or on his own accord has dialed back his wearing his faith on his sleeve.  I remember reading comments from Valpo fans and I believe even Paul Oren that we were going to get sick of hearing him saying "how blessed" he was or we were because he was going to say it so much.  I've yet to hear him actually say it in any press conference interview.

So far the biggest disappointment to me has been that it just doesn't seem like he's gotten buy-in or respect from the team on a consistent basis.  He seemingly got it year one.  Then last year it was a question mark as it seemed that they just didn't seem committed and bought in.  And then this year, it just seems pretty clear that a certain segment of the team is not bought into what he's selling - at least not with any consistency.

Likewise, he is frustrating some people because he is just so dang positive, and he's not really owning up to some of the deficiencies.  Or at the least, he's not offering standard coach speak.  To many, he dwelled too much and too long on the Garland injury.  Yes, he responded to questions about it as he had too, but he also continued to bring it up unsolicited in post-game comments.  "Well we designed the team with Garland, and now he's gone."  I think everyone was fine with that for a hot minute, but there was also an expectation of him to help the team move past it with a kind of "next man up" approach. "Hey, yes it's unfortunate, but that's the reality of the situation.  We have to move on, and we're going to make the most of it."  Then he's made a lot of how young we are, which again people are fine with hearing about a little bit, but also expect a certain amount of "hey we're young, but these guys need to grow up fast, and we're going to help them do it."  We lost to Kentucky team by 35 when our team looked completely uninspired and hapless (15 TOs in the first half), and he opens his press conference with "Hey, when a team like Kentucky who has such a strong inside game shoots it as well as they did, any team in the country is going to have a hard time beating them."  Again, he's not saying anything that isn't true, but there is an expectation from the fans for him to take some responsibility and to stop doing what people are perceiving as making excuses.  Particularly when we looked so bad in our loss to them. 

Anyhow, just offering a little bit of how things are being perceived here by the fanbase - not necessarily me - but some factions.  Everyone agrees that he is a fantastic guy.  We want him to succeed, but a narrative is starting to form that he is in over his head.

Again - really appreciate your thoughts and opinions.  I remain very hopeful for the future of our program under Bryce.

[VU2010]

So fascinating to hear those examples. Why? Because Our head coach, Matt Lottich, only ever served as an assistant for Bryce. No other coaching experience. And, he says the same things. A lot of the whole trust the process and we're young thing last year. And now, a lot of the injury talk. The last post game press conference he literally thanked the press for not bringing up how short handed we were but then brought it up haha.

Just interesting to hear the parallels.

[bbtds]

Everyone agrees that he is a fantastic guy.  We want him to succeed, but a narrative is starting to form that he is in over his head.

There are times that some of our fans had those thoughts about Bryce. I would say that Bryce is so driven that he will find a way to be successful.

[Valpo89]

Likewise, he is frustrating some people because he is just so dang positive, and he's not really owning up to some of the deficiencies.

Welcome to the world of a Drew press conference.
Bryce, as Homer did before him, will never say anything critical of a player or the team in the press conference.
In other words, he will avoid the truth.
It's very frustrating, especially as a reporter.
Come on, these are big-time Division I athletes. They should be able to handle the truth.
It's time to toughen up. But yes, the same BS is happening with Lottich now.

[valpotx]

I always felt that Bryce was a fantastic recruiter, but not a very good coach in key points of every game.  However, because his recruits were better than the rest of the conference we played in, we would still win games when we would have a bone-headed play call or random wasted timeouts .  Good overall coach, but not the offensive mastermind that you were thinking that you would get.

[HutchJones]

Help!

[SanityLost17]

My opinion....

I think he fell for the classic "I need to recruit espn100 players" because I am in the SEC now.  Instead of recruiting players that will play well in his system and do what he wants. 

Our Valpo teams when he was here would KILL this years Vandy team.    Just a thought.  Recruit under the radar guys that are coachable and will listen.  Don't fall for the trap!

-- He needs to be more like Wisconsin.   Find Players that fit the system. 

[HutchJones]

Instead of recruiting players that will play well in his system and do what he wants.

What's his system?

[NativeCheesehead]

He should just run Pacer on every play.

[VULB#62]

Instead of recruiting players that will play well in his system and do what he wants.

What's his system?

Lunch  box players that go through walls to win. They will turn the ball over on more occasions that you'd like,  but then get back on D and make people pay. They will play as one. Despite him being less than crazy on the sideline, his players played with emotion — be ause they were talented scrappers. I think Sanity hit the nail on the head. He has to find the smart, less than 5 stars who will play with a chip on their shoulders. Those kids are his wheelhouse.

[SanityLost17]

Bryce was a borderline set play genius when he was here.  We had an absurd amount of set plays the guys had to memorize.   He called them in the right situation and they executed.  Again, bunch of strong defenders who could run a well timed set play because they were smart.  Nobody ever accused us of being the most athletic.  Some of our best players were cast offs from other programs.  We won a lot of low scoring games.   

[oklahomamick]

Who is Bryce?

[Valpo Joe]

You mean Bruce!!  Counting his $$$ in the Music City  And setting records for consecutive L at Vandy  Oh well we have ML who coached a masterpiece tonight 

[GoldenCrusader87]

Well, after listening to Paul's rant ... I guess I *should* feel embarrassed and down right inept because I'm in that whole "maybe Bryce will come back" fan club. Sorry but if it happened - and crazier things have happened - no Valpo fans who were here for the Drew days could tell me that the ARC wouldn't be buzzing again. You can't tell me he wouldn't be getting every drop out of these players. Maybe I'm stuck in the "glory days" and thinking too much of "the shot" ... idk ... but I still feel that way ... despite being called out on USH.

[oklahomamick]

I'm not thinking of Bryce the player. 

I'm thinking of Bryce the coach holding the paper with all the different set pieces. 

I'm thinking of Bryce that got Peters and Ryan open shots. 

The Bryce that recruited better players than the rest of the league despite having worse facilities.

But he's not coming back.  It's time to move on.  Lottich will win the league next year and we will forget about Bruce, I mean Bryce. 

[VU2014]

The pitchforks are out for Bryce down in Nashville.

https://twitter.com/AdamSparks/status/1103510667364106246
https://twitter.com/AdamSparks/status/1103510234017005568
https://twitter.com/joerexrode/status/1103506092015996929
https://twitter.com/AdamSparks/status/1103501484623302658

[vu72]

I watched the game and they are a real mess.  Their five star played like a two star.  They were down by 4 at half and Bryce was joking with the sideline commentator and then they lose by 36?

Serious issues.  I like the comparison to Homer, who also had, shall we say, a slow start.  But this isn't Valpo, it's Vanderbilt.  The place was half empty on senior night.  The natives are restless.

[EddieCabot]

I watched the game and they are a real mess.  Their five star played like a two star.  They were down by 4 at half and Bryce was joking with the sideline commentator and then they lose by 36?

Serious issues.  I like the comparison to Homer, who also had, shall we say, a slow start.  But this isn't Valpo, it's Vanderbilt.  The place was half empty on senior night.  The natives are restless.

Scrambling for his job.  They basically ran Stallings off for averaging 20 wins over his last 5 seasons.  Since taking over, Bryce has won 19, 12 and now 9.  That's a bad trend, no matter what the circumstances might be.

[NativeCheesehead]

I can see the 30 for 30 now:

"What if I told you one man's decision to leave his alma mater would wreck two Vu's at the same time?"