April 7, 2016
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By David Dawson
Greeted by a standing ovation and palpable feelings of excitement, Bryce Drew walked onto the floor at Memorial Gym and officially ushered in a new era for Vanderbilt basketball.
Named the ninth head coach in the program’s modern history, Drew was formally introduced to the Commodore community during a 35-minute press conference that was open to fans on Wednesday afternoon.
“This is a very special day for myself and my family,” said Drew. “It’s been an extremely exciting time these past few weeks, and to cap it off by being here today, in front of you, is the icing on the cake.”
Drew — who spent the previous five seasons as head coach at Valparaiso, his alma mater — said the Vanderbilt job was appealing to him for a large number of reasons.
“Vanderbilt has the full package,” said Drew. “You can compete at the highest level athletically, but also learn at the highest level academically. Just from being here a couple hours, I can feel the energy. Obviously this is a special place. My family and I are happy to be here.”
The Vanderbilt fans appear to be equally excited about his arrival, and they showed it on Wednesday. Not only did he receive a standing ovation when he walked in the gym, but he received another one when he was officially introduced by Chancellor Nick Zeppos.
The Commodore contingent — which included former SEC Player of the Year Matt Freije, along with the Vanderbilt cheerleaders and Mr. C — continued to buzz throughout Drew’s address.
The excitement level then spiked when Drew began talking about his expectations for the program: “As I look at our team here, obviously our goals will be to win games nationally,” he said. “No Vanderbilt team has ever made it to the Final Four and we would like to be that first Vanderbilt team.”
Drew continued to connect with the crowd by mentioning a few of Vanderbilt’s all-time greats, including Barry Goheen — which was only fitting.
Drew and Goheen are linked by a common thread: They both earned permanent places in NCAA Tournament lore by hitting last-second shots. Goheen hit two 3-pointers in the final seconds of regulation during an eventual overtime victory over Pittsburgh in 1987, and Drew hit a famous game-winner against Ole Miss in 1998.
“I first followed Vanderbilt basketball years ago (when) my dad was a legendary coach, and we watched Vanderbilt and a player named Barry Goheen,” said Drew. “He made a bunch of crazy last-second shots. That was my first introduction into Vanderbilt basketball.”
Drew said he had been contacted about other coaching positions during his time at Valparaiso, but none of them felt exactly right. Until Vanderbilt.
“There’s been a lot of different opportunities in the past that I’ve looked at to be the head basketball coach, but none of them brought the full package that Vanderbilt brings,” he said.
Drew emerged as Vanderbilt’s top choice from a long list of candidates who had expressed interest in the position after Kevin Stallings accepted the head coaching job at Pittsburgh to end his 17-year tenure at Vanderbilt.
“We picked the person who wanted to be here,” said Vanderbilt director of athletics David Williams. “We picked the person that is a winner, that has a pedigree with a coaching family tree that is enormous. We picked the person that understands this place. And we picked the person that, in the interview, as we sat there, said, ‘We will play in the National Championship game.’ ”
