Bryce Drew GCU Assistants

[tiny707]

Who do like? Who do you think is going there?
       

[Chairback]

 

Ivan Vujic.....

[IndyValpo]

I doubt he will be able to get long time assistant Roger Powell who is at Gonzaga. Interestingly one of GCU's recruits for next season is the son of a different assistant at Gonzaga. I assume he will get a good recommendation from Powell.

[tiny707]

I thinking his brother in law may and Dad may be moving to Phoenix...

[VUGrad1314]

With all due respect for Bryce and all he has done and all he represents for the university who cares who his assistants will be? I wish him well but if he ever plays us I hope we beat his team by 30.

[wh]

 

Ivan Vujic.....

Well played. 

[tiny707]

Alec Peters? Lived in Phoenix for a year...

[GoldenCrusader87]

It was a totally different ball game when Bryce left Valpo for Vandy. Horizon - SEC meant a lot of things, including much more money to spend on staff.

Vandy - year off - GCU is very different. Idk GCU's financials but have a hard time believing he could lure some of his former assistants back financially. Powell? Either stays with the Zags or takes a HC position. Diebler - I don't see him leaving again as his heart is there. And rightfully so.

Some of the others? Maybe. GCU just isn't  of the same caliber academically. And it's more of a lateral move from Valpo. Sure their game day experience and facilities are 100% better than Valpo. Maybe even better than Vandy???

But just a different situation all around. That said, I can imagine Bryce knows a lot of b-ball minds. Many of whom wouldn't cross our radar. So I'm sure he'll be just fine in putting a staff together. I'd imagine this was a major part of his interview process.

[valpo64]

You can bet that any coach who applies for a job would have in mind who he would like to have as assistants.

[M]

Idk if he's already picked them out (not do I really care) but maybe he gives Alec's brother a spot.

[EddieCabot]

Idk if he's already picked them out (not do I really care) but maybe he gives Alec's brother a spot.

I was also thinking this.  I've heard from people around the program (Ickow and Oren) that he's a great basketball mind.  Currently an assistant at Division III Shenadoah.

[crusadermoe]

Strange to see Majerle leave.  He is such a prominent figure in Phoenix and would seem like a huge recruiting asset even if he wanted to slow down the travel.  Maybe there is a back story.  I guess the W-L wasn't that great. 

[VUGrad1314]

Consider the competition. A school of Grand Canyon's resources should have only had to worry about New Mexico State in that conference yet they struggled. Furthermore they had the advantage many in that conference don't have of buying opponents and instead of using that to play good mid majors Majerle beefed up his record on cupcakes leaving Grand Canyon unprepared for their tougher games. There are a number of good reasons for him to be fired. Hopefully Bryce Drew will take better advantage of what Grand Canyon can give him. If his recruiting at Vanderbilt is any indication (W\L record aside that team had a lot of talent) he will. Let's just see if he learned his lesson on talent accumulation vs actual team building this time. If he has, GCU will be formidable in short order and might find itself moving up the conference ladder or at least being the stabilizing force for the WAC that that conference desperately needs to be a co-anchor with New Mexico State. For the record, Cal Baptist has some real potential as well and I've heard good things about Dixie State. The WAC might be in better shape than we all think but Grand Canyon is a big part of making that stability a reality.

[bbtds]

https://gculopes.com/news/2020/3/23/mens-basketball-insider-drew-recruits-on-honesty.aspx

Drew's methodology worked as a Valparaiso associate head coach for his father, Homer, an acclaimed recruiter who brought the Crusaders to notoriety. When Drew became head coach at Valpo, his recruiting work produced four regular-season Horizon League champions in five years. That talent evalutation included targeting Alec Peters, who was not rated as a Washington (Ill.) High School player but became a NBA second-round pick and 2017-18 player for the Phoenix Suns.

"This might turn into the best hire of the offseason," ESP National Recruiting Director Paul Bancardi tweeted upon Drew's hiring at GCU. "Bryce Drew is an excellent coach, evaluator & recruiter. hard to find a nicer person."



https://gculopes.com/news/2020/3/20/mens-basketball-heart-surgery-focused-drews-faith.aspx

By: Paul Coro

Story LinksSecond in a series on new GCU head coach Bryce Drew, featuring "The Shot," his faith and recruiting.

Bryce Drew did not choose to attend church when he was a boy. That was just what the family did.

His parents, Homer and Janet, led the family's faith and their three children happily followed.

But Drew chose his walk upon being diagnosed with tachycardia, a type of arrhythmia with accelerated heartbeat, in eighth grade.

That spring, college basketball star Hank Gathers, also was afflicted with tachycardia, collapsed and died during a Loyola Marymount game. The Drews were fearful of heart procedures that were new at the time and elected for Drew to take medication.

The medicine left Drew constantly fatigued, even as the rapid pulse rate and shortness of breath continued into his high school freshman year in Valparaiso, Indiana, where his father was a College Basketball Hall of Fame coach.

"All I wanted to do was play college basketball," the new Grand Canyon men's basketball head coach said.
Drew family
     
With Drew's heartbeat topping out at 250 beats per minute, the Valparaiso High freshman underwent the first of three surgeries over a span of eight months.

"The biggest impact was when I was laying on the operating table having a heart surgery," Drew said. "The doctor said I could come out and have a pacemaker and not be able to play sports competitively again. I also could not have even come out because it was such a new procedure."

On the operating table, his mother gave him a Bible verse, Psalm 46:10, which reads, "Be still and know that I am God."

"I remember saying that verse to myself and thinking, 'I really don't have any control of this. I don't know what's going to happen with my life,' " Drew said. "Pretty much at that point is when I gave my life to Christ. I believe in this and this is my faith. That was the starting point. It's a journey with ups and downs. That's the great thing about God. He's a redeeming God and can give you grace."

Drew returned several months later for another surgery. With multiple arrhythmias, the strongest one only shows. After a Tuesday surgery, he was playing 3-on-3 backyard basketball when another arrhythmia surfaced in his atrium, but at a less threatening pace of 150 beats per minute.

Since that third and final surgery, he has needed to visit his heart surgeon once.

Drew went on to a legendary playing career for his father's team at Valparaiso, became a two-time Mid-Continent Conference Player of the Year, made the All-America third team and played six NBA seasons after being a first-round draft pick.

"When I'd go to play in the gym or go to work out, there was a thankfulness to be able to do those things," Drew said. "Before, you go play and you think everybody gets to do it. There was a lot more gratitude in my life and thankfulness to be able to do the things that I could do after that."

Drew became involved in Fellowship of Christian Athletes and an abstinence club during his collegiate playing career and later played for Athletes in Action, an international ministry through games.

He looked up to former NBA All-Star Mark Price for his openness with faith and followed suit, putting God at the center of the teams he coached at faith-based universities Valparaiso and Vanderbilt. His teams prayed before practices and held chapel before games, often offering his favorite Bible verse, Colossians 3:23, to help his players endure the highs and low of a season.

"Do your work for God, not for me."

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.



The Drews (Scott, Homer, Bryce)




https://gculopes.com/news/2020/3/19/mens-basketball-insider-drew-relives-the-shot.aspx

By: Paul Coro

Story LinksFirst in a series on new GCU head coach Bryce Drew, featuring "The Shot," his faith and recruiting.

Bryce Drew has lived nearly as many days since "The Shot" as before it but the perpetuity of his buzzer-beating NCAA tournament game-winner never stops blowing up his phone every March.

The new Grand Canyon head coach takes helm of the Lopes in hopes of guiding them to their Big Dance, a March Madness that is synonymous with the "The Shot" that Drew made for a Valparaiso upset win in March of 1998.

For the 22nd year, Drew relishes reliving the iconic moment along with the rest of the college basketball world.

Bryce and Homer Crew"It was such a blessing to have it all unfold how it did," Drew said. "It's such a fond memory that if I can use it as a platform to inspire/encourage others, I'm excited about that."

Drew was playing his senior season at Valparaiso, which was coached by his father, Hall of Fame legend Homer, and had his older brother, now-Baylor head coach Scott, as an assistant coach.

The Crusaders reached the NCAA tournament during Drew's sophomore and junior seasons and lost in the first round each time but he was one of six seniors who envisioned more for the 1997-98 team. With Drew suffering an early-season leg injury, Valparaiso hobbled to a 9-8 record but won its next 11 games and captured the Mid-Continent (now Summit) Conference Tournament title and a NCAA bid.

Valparaiso earned a No. 13 seed and was matched up with Midwest Regional No. 4 seed, Mississippi, which was ranked 10th nationally with a 22-5 record. The Crusaders had a rough preparation week with a blizzard hitting campus and Drew sitting out practices for a hamstring injury but they liked the 11 a.m. tip time in Oklahoma City, figuring they were more accustomed to odd start times.

Drew was in hot tub at 6 a.m. on game day to loosen the hamstring, not knowing he would need one last sprint and jump in the game's 40th minute.

"The Shot" would not have been as dramatic if Drew had made it with five seconds remaining. With Mississippi leading 69-67, Drew missed a wide-open 3 from the left wing and Valparaiso had to foul SEC Player of the Year Anyu Sesay with 4.1 seconds to go.

Drew walked toward the other free-throw line deep in thought.

"One point of view could've been I just missed the last shot of my career, a wide-open shot, that could've won us the game, but there was a really a peace about the next play," Drew said. "The whole thing was a blur from that point on to until I got up off the floor after we were celebrating the victory."

Fortunately, the next few moments have been replayed thousands of times for his recollection, including one YouTube video with 348,000 views.

Sesay, a 74% free throw shooter, missed the first free throw and Valparaiso called time out to set up a play. That play went out the window when Sesay also missed the second free throw with the rebound caroming out of bounds (arguably off a Crusader) to change the amount of time and inbound point for Valpo.

Out of time outs, some Crusaders players began yelling out "Pacer," a play borrowed from the Indiana Pacers that Valpo practiced often and used once in a game ... without the ball getting to the shooter.

Jamie Sykes was the baseline corner inbounder at 5 feet 11 but with a big arm as an outfielder who was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 11th round in 1997. He pump-faked the defender into the air and then threw a three-quarter court pass to Bill Jenkins, a former volleyball standout with a 40-inch vertical leap.

Jenkins outleaped two Rebels, caught and delivered a touch pass in the air to Drew, who had darted toward the inbounder to get a step ahead of his defender streaking down the right sideline. Drew caught and fired a leaning 23-foot shot that he and his father, standing behind him with arms folded, thought was going to land short.

"A miracle! An absolute miracle!" CBS play-by-play announcer Ted Robinson screamed upon Drew making the shot at the buzzer for a 70-69 upset win.

Drew turned and dived onto the floor at the 3-point line, where the player dogpile ensued.

"Thank you Jesus!" Drew screamed from beneath it.

The team returned to its accommodations at an Oklahoma City Holiday Inn and marveled that its highlights were on ESPN throughout the night, not knowing "The Shot" would be replayed for basketball eternity.

"I didn't even know I dived on the floor until I saw the video," Drew said this week. "It's pretty amazing. It just shows that you go from being a goat to a hero in four seconds. If they make the free throws and we lose, the lasting impression for my college career is a missed wide-open 3-pointer. Oh my goodness, for all the hours that I practiced that shot too."

The game was the last one at Mississippi for Rob Evans, who became Arizona State's coach. Valparaiso used the momentum of its first NCAA tournament victory to win again in the second round, defeating Florida State in overtime to become America's Cinderella Sweet 16 team. The joyride ended with Drew scoring 18 in a 74-68 loss to Rhode Island.

Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.

[bbtds]

I thought with many of you having more time than you might usually have you would want to see GCU's game against New Mexico State on February 27, only about a month ago, at the Grand Canyon U facility. It truly is an inside look at the enthusiasm of the GCU students.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GKvOKSQv97o&list=PLDUZ_-ier1ZFbhmjDQjFtVg0R-LuGwrRy&index=33&t=0s



The video is over three hours long and not only features a pre-game show but a PRE-pre-game show which helps feature why GCU students back their team so well.

GCU lost the game by 14 and were down by over 20+ much of the game.

As you can see from this video this is a very ripe program for Bryce to take over and to me it seems like almost a perfect hire.

[IndyValpo]

Impressive group of coaches:
Jamal Walker last 8 years at Illinois
Ed Schilling UCLA, Indiana, Wright St (HC)
Casey Shaw Vandy

[usc4valpo]

Seems like GCU has far better financial backing and support for basketball than Valpo.

[IndyValpo]

Seems like GCU has far better financial backing and support for basketball than Valpo.

GCU just added 4 more positions:
Director of Player Personnel (former Bethel HC)
Director of Recruiting
Director of Video Operations
Strength and Conditioning

They are serious...

[vu84v2]

Seems like GCU has far better financial backing and support for basketball than Valpo.

GCU just added 4 more positions:
Director of Player Personnel (former Bethel HC)
Director of Recruiting
Director of Video Operations
Strength and Conditioning

They are serious...

They might be serious, but they are not a legitimate university. Most academic programs lack any meaningful accreditation. Much easier to apply funds when you don't have to worry about spending what is necessary to offer meaningful academic programs. Rampant history of fraud by the leaders of GCE and GCU - as documented by the U.S. Dept of Education.

[bbtds]

Bryce has probably got his greatest gift since going to GCU. Bobby Hurley at Arizona State will play the Lopes at Grand Canyon University Arena.

IU won't come to Valpo for Newman or any player from the Region but ASU knows it should stay in the Phoenix area despite having to play in GCU's arena. Obviously with social distancing it won't be the same but it will be a chance for Bryce and GCU to make a real mark.

https://www.dukebasketballreport.com/platform/amp/2020/6/13/21289953/bobby-hurley-gives-grand-canyon-its-shot-at-asu-sun-devils-blue-devils-duke-basketball

[usc4valpo]

vu84v2 - regarding true academic standards, does it really apply to any Men's Division I basketball program?

[vu84v2]

vu84v2 - regarding true academic standards, does it really apply to any Men's Division I basketball program?

usc4valpo - I am not exactly sure what you mean, but my point is that GCU itself is a fraudulent university with fraudulent leadership and thus should not be allowed in Division 1 or even the NCAA. Just one of the many instances that justify my point is that their "leadership" (who are the same people who run GCE) tried to declare GCU a nonprofit by splitting GCU off from GCE and requiring them the buy all services from GCE at a price set by GCE. Let's be clear - Brian Mueller is the President of Grand Canyon University AND the company that supplies most of its services. Their CFO was forced to resign due to stock options violations at Apollo (University of Phoenix) earlier in his career. From a corporate structure standpoint, they are far more like Enron than a university.

Beyond that, GCU has virtually no tenured, tenure-track or clinical (full time teaching-focused) professors. Their teaching model is akin to the totally fraudulent Trump University - not every other school in Division 1.

And on a different note, I would argue that a majority of D1 basketball players take on meaningful academic work. That is certainly true at Marquette (I have had basketball players in my classes) and is true at Valparaiso. You might be looking at one-and-done high profile players, but they are not indicative of the general population.

[NativeCheesehead]

Fraudulent a school as it may be, for any of us wondering how good Bryce could have made Vu if he had facilities, student support, and a huge budget, we're about to find out.

[vu84v2]

It's a lot easier to have a huge budget when you don't put money into academics.

[vu72]

vu84v2 - regarding true academic standards, does it really apply to any Men's Division I basketball program?

Have you looked at the majors of Valpo's team?  Sure, we have some Sports Management majors but also guys like John Kiser (Mechanical Engineering) and Emil and Luke, also Engineering majors and a few guys in the Business School.  Think back to Vashil, geez, he graduated with two Masters degrees!