Upcoming Event: Men's Basketball at Baylor on October 10, 2025 at 2 p.m. (MST)
M Basketball
2 p.m. (MST)
at Baylor
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Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Drews meet for GCU, Baylor teams to play, grow
10/12/2024 8:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
Brothers' teams share chapel, court in Fort Worth event
FORT WORTH, Texas – Homer Drew sat courtside Saturday at Athletic Performance Ranch with the perfect perspective of a College Basketball Hall of Famer and father of the two head coaches.
Bryce Drew and his Grand Canyon team took on his older brother, Scott Drew, and his ballyhooed Baylor team.
"This is an amazing game because I have a win no matter what happens, and I love seeing both sons coach," Homer said. "To see them together in the same gym and both of their teams playing is a special privilege. Thank God for the blessing that I am still here to see it."
With the help of AP Ranch founder Mike Dry wanting to honor the memory of Homer's wife and Bryce's and Scott's mother, Janet, the Lopes and Bears played a hurricane relief scrimmage in front of a select audience with the result kept a family secret.
Bryce and Scott worked the sidelines like locked-in mirror images in a regulation-length exhibition game that allowed the Lopes to test themselves against a Bears team that is ranked eighth in the AP preseason poll.
"Playing against a top-10 team in the country is a great experience for our players," Bryce said. "We (Bryce and Scott) definitely don't want to play a real game against each other, so it's much better this way that we can go eat together and still have a good time.
"Early games really accelerate preseason. Now we know we've got two weeks until our exhibition to work on things."
The teams first met Saturday morning in the expansive training facility of AP Ranch, a nonprofit organization that trains underserved youth with a well-rounded, Christian-based program that features athletics.
With Bryce, Scott and Homer standing together to the side, GCU assistant coach Casey Shaw led GCU's and Baylor's players and staffs in a chapel service before they moved across the property to play. Shaw, who is married to Bryce's and Scott's sister, Dana, centered his message around the 12th chapter of Hebrews. He implored he athletes to follow the passage about "fixing our eyes on Jesus" to avoid any perilous distractions around them.
"It was great for our basketball team to play against a well-coached, quality basketball team that won 30 games last year, so we knew we'd get better from basketball," Scott said. "On a personal note to be able to have chapel with GCU beforehand, my brother-in-law, Casey, did an unbelievable job. My dad was able to be here to watch it all. Both teams got better. Nobody got hurt. It was a great day.
"It's definitely a different feeling, And then when the ball is tipped, you just lock in on your team. It's great to do it in a scrimmage because nobody is upset after a scrimmage."
GCU senior power forward JaKobe Coles is familiar with the dynamic, having gone from playing Big 12 games against Scott's Bears teams for the past three years while at TCU to being part of Bryce's Lopes team as a key addition this season.
"I thought we did a really good job of representing GCU, and I'm really excited for the season," Coles said. "This was a great tune-up for us, for sure. It was great bonding.
"You can tell they (the Drews) both have a little of each other in them with the way they coach. They're both good at what they do, and that's why they have great teams."
In his 22nd season at the Baylor helm, Scott, 53, has built a national power with what is considered the greatest program transformation in college basketball history. After spending nine years as Homer's assistant coach at Valparaiso and his last season there as head coach, Scott inherited a Baylor program with sanctions that cut scholarships in half and banned nonconference games initially.
Baylor became a perennial power with a 2021 national championship and 12 NCAA tournament appearances and five Sweet 16 berths in the past 17 seasons. Only Baylor, Duke, Gonzaga and Kansas have been ranked No. 1 during four of the past eight seasons.
Scott's heart fills watching Bryce, 50, take GCU through its historic transformation, which has included its first three NCAA Division I tournament appearances in Bryce's four seasons of leading the Lopes.
"It's unprecedented," Scott said. "It's GCU history. The administration has been tremendous. The fan support is unbelievable. Everyone in the country knows that if you play GCU, you're in for 40 minutes of a hard-fought battle. People who didn't know that found it out last year in the NCAA tournament.
"I couldn't be more proud of him and pleased. I also appreciate the impact they're having, not only in wins and losses, but most of all in academics with getting degrees and spiritually growing with the people who will be in Heaven from their ministry and the example they set. It's a total program, rather than just a transactional relationship to come and win games."
Bryce Drew and his Grand Canyon team took on his older brother, Scott Drew, and his ballyhooed Baylor team.
"This is an amazing game because I have a win no matter what happens, and I love seeing both sons coach," Homer said. "To see them together in the same gym and both of their teams playing is a special privilege. Thank God for the blessing that I am still here to see it."With the help of AP Ranch founder Mike Dry wanting to honor the memory of Homer's wife and Bryce's and Scott's mother, Janet, the Lopes and Bears played a hurricane relief scrimmage in front of a select audience with the result kept a family secret.
Bryce and Scott worked the sidelines like locked-in mirror images in a regulation-length exhibition game that allowed the Lopes to test themselves against a Bears team that is ranked eighth in the AP preseason poll.
"Playing against a top-10 team in the country is a great experience for our players," Bryce said. "We (Bryce and Scott) definitely don't want to play a real game against each other, so it's much better this way that we can go eat together and still have a good time."Early games really accelerate preseason. Now we know we've got two weeks until our exhibition to work on things."
The teams first met Saturday morning in the expansive training facility of AP Ranch, a nonprofit organization that trains underserved youth with a well-rounded, Christian-based program that features athletics.
With Bryce, Scott and Homer standing together to the side, GCU assistant coach Casey Shaw led GCU's and Baylor's players and staffs in a chapel service before they moved across the property to play. Shaw, who is married to Bryce's and Scott's sister, Dana, centered his message around the 12th chapter of Hebrews. He implored he athletes to follow the passage about "fixing our eyes on Jesus" to avoid any perilous distractions around them.
"It was great for our basketball team to play against a well-coached, quality basketball team that won 30 games last year, so we knew we'd get better from basketball," Scott said. "On a personal note to be able to have chapel with GCU beforehand, my brother-in-law, Casey, did an unbelievable job. My dad was able to be here to watch it all. Both teams got better. Nobody got hurt. It was a great day."It's definitely a different feeling, And then when the ball is tipped, you just lock in on your team. It's great to do it in a scrimmage because nobody is upset after a scrimmage."
GCU senior power forward JaKobe Coles is familiar with the dynamic, having gone from playing Big 12 games against Scott's Bears teams for the past three years while at TCU to being part of Bryce's Lopes team as a key addition this season.
"I thought we did a really good job of representing GCU, and I'm really excited for the season," Coles said. "This was a great tune-up for us, for sure. It was great bonding."You can tell they (the Drews) both have a little of each other in them with the way they coach. They're both good at what they do, and that's why they have great teams."
In his 22nd season at the Baylor helm, Scott, 53, has built a national power with what is considered the greatest program transformation in college basketball history. After spending nine years as Homer's assistant coach at Valparaiso and his last season there as head coach, Scott inherited a Baylor program with sanctions that cut scholarships in half and banned nonconference games initially.
Baylor became a perennial power with a 2021 national championship and 12 NCAA tournament appearances and five Sweet 16 berths in the past 17 seasons. Only Baylor, Duke, Gonzaga and Kansas have been ranked No. 1 during four of the past eight seasons.
Scott's heart fills watching Bryce, 50, take GCU through its historic transformation, which has included its first three NCAA Division I tournament appearances in Bryce's four seasons of leading the Lopes.
"It's unprecedented," Scott said. "It's GCU history. The administration has been tremendous. The fan support is unbelievable. Everyone in the country knows that if you play GCU, you're in for 40 minutes of a hard-fought battle. People who didn't know that found it out last year in the NCAA tournament.
"I couldn't be more proud of him and pleased. I also appreciate the impact they're having, not only in wins and losses, but most of all in academics with getting degrees and spiritually growing with the people who will be in Heaven from their ministry and the example they set. It's a total program, rather than just a transactional relationship to come and win games."
How it went down Saturday against the Bears at AP Ranch. 🎥🎬 pic.twitter.com/xMoLh5nbgA
— Grand Canyon Men's Basketball (@GCU_MBB) October 13, 2024
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's BasketballMakaih Williams | Media Availability | 9.3.25
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Dusty Stromer | Media Availability | 9.3.25
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Kaleb Smith | Media Availability | 9.3.25
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