Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Utah on November 25, 2025 , Win , 68, to, 58
M Basketball
vs Utah
W 68-58
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Insider: Big Dance doubles Drew dad's delight
3/16/2021 12:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro, Lopes Insider Blog
Hall of Fame coach has sons leading GCU, Baylor to NCAAs in home state
So many accomplished basketball coaches sprout a coaching tree, with staffers who branch out to become head coaches.
Homer Drew just needs his family tree.
Homer, the College Basketball Hall of Fame member with 640 career wins and Valparaiso fame, now is the ultimate coaching consultant for his hoop history-making sons.
Bryce Drew is leading Grand Canyon to its first Big Dance appearance, a Saturday game as the No. 15 seed against No. 2 seed Iowa. Scott Drew led Baylor to its first Big 12 championship and a No. 1 seed to play Friday against No. 16 seed Hartford.
This is the third time that both sons have coached in the NCAA tournament but Homer and his wife, Janet, had to bounce between Jacksonville, Florida, and Columbus, Ohio, in 2015 to catch both first-round games and Salt Lake City, Utah, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2017. This time, the entire tournament is staged in the Drews' home state with both Drew games in Indianapolis.
Amid all the increased game preparation, interviews and tournament responsibilities, Bryce and Scott still have the usual late-night talks with Homer.
"It's nothing new or different," said Homer, who moved to Phoenix when Bryce took the GCU job a year ago Wednesday. "One of the things that I've been blessed with is that for years the three of us will get on a three-way at 11 or 12 at night and talk about their teams.
"That has brought warmth to Dad's heart that they have a passion for what I had a passion for. That wasn't planned or pushed. It just happened. All dads just want the kids to find something they enjoy doing. We've had a lot of wonderful talks at 11 or 12 at nighttime so I feel very blessed in that."
In a normal attendance year, GCU's NCAA tournament appearance would have drawn droves of Lopes-adopted Hoosiers beyond the throng of Indianapolis-bound Havocs. There are deep ties with the Drews and the GCU staff, including assistant coach Ed Schilling and director of player development Ryne Lightfoot.
Homer and Janet lived in Indiana for 44 years with Homer coaching colleges for 35 of them. Homer made Valparaiso a college basketball commodity with seven NCAA tournament appearances between 1996 and 2004, including a Sweet 16 run that began with "The Shot" that Bryce made to beat 10th-ranked Mississippi in 1998.
Twenty-three years to the day that plays perennially on March Madness reels, Bryce was cutting down the WAC Tournament championship net for GCU on Saturday in Las Vegas.
"God's timing is even better," Homer said.
He knows what this first NCAA tournament step can do for a mid-major program trying to establish its brand nationally.
"No. 1, you get a tremendous amount of publicity," Homer said. "You have people who have not heard of Grand Canyon University and say, 'Wow, I'd like to learn more about it,' when they see the type of people who are involved. After we made the Sweet 16 at Valpo, we had so many more students wanting to know more about Valparaiso and the same will happen here. This is free publicity.
"And it really helps you in recruiting because now people know about Grand Canyon University and the program they are building. Plus, they've seen you make the NCAA tournament and that's the goal of kids who want to get better."
Homer also knows NCAA tournament upsets well. His 1998 Valparaiso team, with Bryce playing and Scott as an assistant coach, was a No. 13 seed when it upset fourth-seeded Mississippi and knocked out Florida State in the second round.
If it happened for GCU and Baylor won, it would be the first time the Drew sons each won their first-round NCAA tournament games.
"What an appropriate time to think back to David and Goliath," Homer said of GCU facing Iowa, which is ranked eighth in the nation. "Iowa has been solid all year long. They've got a big brute (Luka Garza) who is going to be in the NBA. They've got shooters. What impresses me is the speed and how they get up and down in the country. They are one of the top offensive teams in the nation. You're going against an elite program so we have to play at our very, very best and that means taking care of the ball so we don't give them easy runouts and we need to be very conscious on the boards to keep their big guys from putbacks.
"The great thing is we have Ash (Asbjørn Midtgaard), Ale (Alessandro Lever) and Gabe (McGlothan), who have really played very well against big people. The early schedule when we played against Colorado, Nevada will help us. We've got the size to battle inside, but the biggest thing is whether we can defend, slow them up and control the tempo. It's going to be a huge challenge."
Homer Drew just needs his family tree.
Homer, the College Basketball Hall of Fame member with 640 career wins and Valparaiso fame, now is the ultimate coaching consultant for his hoop history-making sons.Bryce Drew is leading Grand Canyon to its first Big Dance appearance, a Saturday game as the No. 15 seed against No. 2 seed Iowa. Scott Drew led Baylor to its first Big 12 championship and a No. 1 seed to play Friday against No. 16 seed Hartford.
This is the third time that both sons have coached in the NCAA tournament but Homer and his wife, Janet, had to bounce between Jacksonville, Florida, and Columbus, Ohio, in 2015 to catch both first-round games and Salt Lake City, Utah, and Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2017. This time, the entire tournament is staged in the Drews' home state with both Drew games in Indianapolis.
Amid all the increased game preparation, interviews and tournament responsibilities, Bryce and Scott still have the usual late-night talks with Homer.
"It's nothing new or different," said Homer, who moved to Phoenix when Bryce took the GCU job a year ago Wednesday. "One of the things that I've been blessed with is that for years the three of us will get on a three-way at 11 or 12 at night and talk about their teams.
"That has brought warmth to Dad's heart that they have a passion for what I had a passion for. That wasn't planned or pushed. It just happened. All dads just want the kids to find something they enjoy doing. We've had a lot of wonderful talks at 11 or 12 at nighttime so I feel very blessed in that."
In a normal attendance year, GCU's NCAA tournament appearance would have drawn droves of Lopes-adopted Hoosiers beyond the throng of Indianapolis-bound Havocs. There are deep ties with the Drews and the GCU staff, including assistant coach Ed Schilling and director of player development Ryne Lightfoot.
Homer and Janet lived in Indiana for 44 years with Homer coaching colleges for 35 of them. Homer made Valparaiso a college basketball commodity with seven NCAA tournament appearances between 1996 and 2004, including a Sweet 16 run that began with "The Shot" that Bryce made to beat 10th-ranked Mississippi in 1998.Twenty-three years to the day that plays perennially on March Madness reels, Bryce was cutting down the WAC Tournament championship net for GCU on Saturday in Las Vegas.
"God's timing is even better," Homer said.
He knows what this first NCAA tournament step can do for a mid-major program trying to establish its brand nationally.
"No. 1, you get a tremendous amount of publicity," Homer said. "You have people who have not heard of Grand Canyon University and say, 'Wow, I'd like to learn more about it,' when they see the type of people who are involved. After we made the Sweet 16 at Valpo, we had so many more students wanting to know more about Valparaiso and the same will happen here. This is free publicity.
"And it really helps you in recruiting because now people know about Grand Canyon University and the program they are building. Plus, they've seen you make the NCAA tournament and that's the goal of kids who want to get better."
Homer also knows NCAA tournament upsets well. His 1998 Valparaiso team, with Bryce playing and Scott as an assistant coach, was a No. 13 seed when it upset fourth-seeded Mississippi and knocked out Florida State in the second round.If it happened for GCU and Baylor won, it would be the first time the Drew sons each won their first-round NCAA tournament games.
"What an appropriate time to think back to David and Goliath," Homer said of GCU facing Iowa, which is ranked eighth in the nation. "Iowa has been solid all year long. They've got a big brute (Luka Garza) who is going to be in the NBA. They've got shooters. What impresses me is the speed and how they get up and down in the country. They are one of the top offensive teams in the nation. You're going against an elite program so we have to play at our very, very best and that means taking care of the ball so we don't give them easy runouts and we need to be very conscious on the boards to keep their big guys from putbacks.
"The great thing is we have Ash (Asbjørn Midtgaard), Ale (Alessandro Lever) and Gabe (McGlothan), who have really played very well against big people. The early schedule when we played against Colorado, Nevada will help us. We've got the size to battle inside, but the biggest thing is whether we can defend, slow them up and control the tempo. It's going to be a huge challenge."
Bryce Drew at GCU & Scott Drew at Baylor back in the NCAA Tournament together, and it's a homecoming for one of the most well-regarded hoops families in the Hoosier State. Hall of Fame dad Homer Drew, who now lives in Arizona, just hopes he and his wife are getting tickets. pic.twitter.com/Kt99iiP2WK
— Nick King (@NickKingSports) March 16, 2021
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