After watching their head coach leave to take the same position at Pitt, Vanderbilt has hired Bryce Drew to lead its men’s basketball program the school announced officially today.
Drew spent the past five seasons at Valparaiso where he accumulated a 124-49 record, including two NCAA Tournament berths. While his success with the Crusaders as a coach caught the eyes of high-major programs ever, most people are familiar with him due to his long-lasting legacy as a player for Valpo and the shot he hit in 1998 to beat four-seed Ole Miss.
Drew, whose brother Scott coaches at Baylor, will attempt to turn around a stagnant Vanderbilt program, one that seemed ready to part ways with Kevin Stallings, who did the job for them. The Commodores haven’t been to a Sweet 16 since 2007 and not a single Elite Eight since 1965. It has also been since 1993 that Vandy won an SEC crown, despite multiple down cycles for conference heavyweight, Kentucky.
Vanderbilt is a better job than many believe within the conference and getting a fresh face, one that is young, energetic, and as capable of strategy as Drew is, should help them take advantage of a conference that has a wide open space just below UK in the pecking order.
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