12/5/2024 11:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro
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Lopes' rise built on bedrock of belief over coach's 5 seasons
By: Paul Coro
Before the Grand Canyon men's basketball team became a March Madness regular, there was a March match made in purple heaven.
The Lopes selected Bryce Drew to be their coach on March 17, 2020.
A year later, on March 17, GCU was preparing for its first NCAA Division I tournament appearance.
And on March 17 this year, the Lopes heard that their third NCAA tournament berth in four years would start against Saint Mary's, a game that GCU won for its first Division I tourney triumph. Bryce Drew
It was a four-year whirlwind of program progress that made 2020 Drew seem prophetic for how he explained the Lopes were the right fit for him. Drew said his optimism was based in GCU's faith component and its commitment to forging a next-level basketball program … in that order.
Just as his father, Homer, did with a College Basketball Hall of Fame career at Valparaiso and his brother, Scott, continues to do as the Baylor coach who turned his team into a powerhouse, Drew made faith the foundation of his GCU construction.
He could do so without sacrificing ambition on the basketball side because GCU is a rarity in how fervently it puts its Christian mission at the forefront and how passionately it pursues being a nationally elite basketball program.
"I feel very blessed to be at a place where we can be at the highest level athletically, but we can also be able to pray with our student-athletes and have the freedom to do that," Drew said.
That is the model that the Drew children saw from their father. Homer Drew
As much as it meant to learn Xs and Os as Homer guided Valparaiso to seven NCAA tournaments between 1996 and 2004, Bryce also saw, with point guard vision, how he weaved practice prayer and game-day chapel into the program and how he developed relationships and young men.
There are 364 Division I men's basketball programs, but there is a short list of coaches who lead programs to rare heights while following the Most High.
Upticks in talent and execution were essential for a Bryce Drew era at GCU that began with a COVID-restricted season and added Name, Image and Likeness changes, a more open NCAA transfer portal and conference realignment.
"It's the support and the community here," said his sister, Dana Drew Shaw, who is the GCU vice president of government relations and whose son, Caleb, plays for Bryce and her husband, assistant coach Casey Shaw. "We grew up in the gym. I roller-skated around the gym when my dad was having practice. We were always a part of something that was bigger than my dad and his team, but the whole university and community. What Bryce knew growing up was replicated here at GCU."
Since Bryce took the helm, GCU has gone 99-34 with 30 of those wins coming last season when the Lopes reached the NCAA D-I tournament second round for the first time.
The wall behind his desk cites the pillars to building that success. Sections of images represent faith, family, focus and fans.
"It started with President (Brian) Mueller's vision for the program, Mr. (Jerry) Colangelo's wisdom and involvement and the leadership of (Vice President of Athletics) Jamie Boggs," Bryce said.
"It's been four years like no others. The great thing is, I don't think our university ever broke stride. It kept growing, moving forward and adapting. We never had to take a step back, even during these changing times."
Bryce became a March Madness legend when he made "The Shot" for Homer's 1998 Valparaiso team, which reached the Sweet 16, and he became an NBA first-round draft pick with a six-year career and 17 All-Star teammates.
But before then, he was a teenager lying on an operating table for the first of three heart surgeries to address a heartbeat that spiked to 250 beats per minute.
"Be still and know that I am God," read the Psalm 46:10 passage that the high school sophomore received before surgery from his mother, Janet, who died in June. His family is tightknit, with Bryce, Dana and Homer living in the same Phoenix neighborhood.
Bryce gave his life to Christ that surgery day, resumed heart health and adopted another favorite verse, Colossians 3:23, "Do your work for God not for me."
That mindset is embedded into his coaching and the GCU team, which often wears shirts that read "J.O.Y." for "Jesus. Others. Yourself."
"Basketball is his ministry, and he uses it well," said Gabe McGlothan, a G League rookie who spent the past four years playing at GCU for Drew. "Players found out how to be a man here. The impact he's had on my teammates' lives is great to see. The main mission with GCU is 'Find Your Purpose.' Coach Drew helps do that with things other than basketball.
"He can do great things in basketball, and those things are correlated. There's no mistake that he helps raise men while finding success on the court with them."
With GCU entering a grander stage in Bryce's time, Lope Nation is more optimistic than ever for this season.
Once the Lopes finished last season with the sixth-best winning percentage (.857) in the nation, Bryce and his staff showed their recruiting chops with relentless effort to fortify an experienced returning nucleus with established transfers and touted freshmen. GCU brought back five of last season's top six players, who Bryce has pushing the bar higher again.
"Every year, I feel like I get better as a coach," Bryce said. "I learn from our assistant coaches. I learn from experiences in games from other coaches. I definitely have a lot of room to grow to be a better leader and coach. Being around the leaders on this campus makes me feel like I can continue to grow."
Since Bryce took the helm, GCU has gone 99-34 with 30 of those wins coming last season when the Lopes reached the NCAA D-I tournament second round for the first time.
Bryce became a March Madness legend when he made "The Shot" for Homer's 1998 Valparaiso team, which reached the Sweet 16, and he became an NBA first-round draft pick with a six-year career and 17 All-Star teammates.
"Basketball is his ministry, and he uses it well," said Gabe McGlothan, a G League rookie who spent the past four years playing at GCU for Drew. "Players found out how to be a man here. The impact he's had on my teammates' lives is great to see. The main mission with GCU is 'Find Your Purpose.' Coach Drew helps do that with things other than basketball.
