NASHVILLE, Tenn. — On Tuesday, and then again Saturday, Drew Weikert found himself in the starting lineup for the Vanderbilt basketball team for the first time in his career.
Those moments were extra rewarding for Weikert whose constant and consistent hard work since his arrival on campus in 2019 hasn’t gone unnoticed for those inside the program. But the senior admitted he had to take a step back to register what was happening last week.
“If you told me I would be starting games in the SEC after three years, I would never believe it,” Weikert said after Monday morning’s practice. “Really just been sticking with it and putting my mind to things and proving that I belong out here is what sticks out to me.”
A 6-foot, 170-pound guard, Weikert had appeared in 10 career games before entering the starting lineup last week and played a total of 44 minutes. And never before had he stepped on the court as a scholarship athlete.
That changed Dec. 24 when, during a team dinner in Hawai’i, Weikert perked up when Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse mentioned Weikert’s name. At first Weikert thought the third-year head coach was making an example of something Weikert had being doing wrong.
Moments later, however, he was being mobbed and congratulated by teammates after he was awarded a full scholarship.
“I was shocked,” Weikert said. “I didn’t really see it coming, but it’s really just a blessing to show off my hard work the past three years here.”
“A guy that I feel like really represents who we are and what we do.”
⚓️ At our team dinner last night, @jerrystackhouse announced that @drewweikert10 is our newest scholarship student-athlete.
Congrats, Drew‼️#AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/1hsAEPlPkF
— Vanderbilt Men’s Basketball (@VandyMBB) December 25, 2021
A graduate of Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville, Weikert began his college career at Centre College in Kentucky where he appeared in just two games. He headed back home and enrolled at Vanderbilt where he thought he would study biology or chemistry and maybe follow in the footsteps of his father, surgeon Dr. Doug Weikert.
The younger Weikert, now a three-time SEC Academic Honor Roll member, pivoted to become a double major in psychology and medicine, health and society instead. He has applied to a dozen law schools and hopes to find a career in corporate or healthcare law.
All after nearly three years of unheralded work for the Commodores.
“The life of a walk-on is not easy. It’s always behind the scenes and doing the little things that nobody really sees,” Weikert said. “I have had that realization that maybe I should focus on school more, focus on seeing my friends in college, but my family and coach ‘Stack’ really kept me in it always seeing the light behind the darkness, just kept my head up and focusing on playing.
“It’s what I always wanted to do and I finally got my chance.”
In Saturday’s game at Florida, Weikert played a career-high 17 minutes. He hit a jumper, grabbed two rebounds and collected a steal.
Vanderbilt will continue to rely on Weikert’s poise, experience and leadership as it heads toward the second half of the 2021-22 season. And he will continue to put in the work necessary day-in and day-out for the betterment of the Commodores because that all he has ever done.
Before looking forward, though, Weikert was asked to look back and sum up the winding road of his Vandy career, Weikert grinned and said, “perseverance.”
Rematch with the Gamecocks
Vanderbilt will get its first rematch of the 2021-22 season at 6 p.m. CT Wednesday when it faces South Carolina.
The Commodores (10-8, 2-4 SEC) faced the Gamecocks on Jan. 8 and dropped a 72-70 heartbreaker. They had possession with 6.3 seconds remaining in regulation, but couldn’t get a final shot up.
South Carolina shot 54.9 percent – and 73.5 percent from inside the 3-point arc – in that victory in Memorial Gymnasium.
“For us, it’s still about defending a good offense,” Stackhouse said. “They’re good when they’re able to create turnovers, get out in transition – they’re really tough to guard.
“I think if we can get them in our half-court defense, get our half-court defense set up then that’s our best chance against South Carolina to get a win.”
South Carolina lost three straight after that result against Vandy before beating Georgia 83-66 at home Saturday.
• Vanderbilt junior Scotty Pippen Jr. (1,166) is 38th on Vanderbilt’s all-time scoring list. Billy Joe Adcock (1,190) is 37th.
• Pippen ranks second in the SEC in scoring at 18.1 points per game, is seventh nationally with 124 free throw attempts and 15th nationally with 89 free throws made.
• Vandy is 32-30 all-time against South Carolina and 12-15 as the road team.
• The Commodores’ last win in Columbia, South Carolina, was Jan. 19, 2013.
• The Commodores are now 7-1 this season when leading at halftime, 6-0 when scoring 75 or more points and 9-1 when shooting at least 40 percent from the field.
• Trey Thomas has played in 43 straight games for the Commodores.
• Jordan Wright has started 33 straight games for Vanderbilt.
— Chad Bishop covers Vanderbilt for VUCommodores.com.
Follow him @MrChadBishop.
