Homer Drew’s March Madness: Flights to Spokane, Memphis for sons' NCAA Tournament games
Homer Drew is racking up his air miles to make sure he can watch his sons coach in the NCAA tournament this weekend.
After watching his son Bryce lead Grand Canyon to a 75-66 upset win over No. 5 seed St. Mary’s late in Friday night's opening round of March Madness, Baylor coach Scott Drew said his dad is making the trip from Spokane, Washington, in time for Baylor’s game against Clemson on Sunday.
“He's probably somewhere over Oklahoma right now,” Baylor coach Scott Drew said. “I think he gets in tonight about 9 p.m. I told him he should just stay in Spokane because, as we all know, it's three-day travel to get here. Anyway, he wanted to be here. So he'll be here tonight. So excited to see him. I'm sure he'll have his notes for me when he arrives.”
No. 3 seeded Baylor will play No. 6 seed Clemson in Sunday’s second-round game at FedExForum in the Memphis NCAA Regional. Tip-off is scheduled for 5:10 p.m. (CT).
The basketball roots in the Drew family run deep.
Homer Drew was the coach at Valparaiso when his son, Bryce, hit the game-winning shot to give Valparaiso an upset win over Ole Miss in the 1998 NCAA tournament.
Both Scott and Bryce have coached at Valparaiso. Scott left Valparaiso after the 2002-03 season to coach Baylor.
Bryce left for Vanderbilt after the 2015-26 season and coached the Commodores before being fired after going 0-18 in SEC play in 2018-19. This is Bryce Drew’s third season at Grand Canyon.
As Scott prepares for Baylor’s game against Clemson in the second round of the NCAA tournament, he’s going to try and keep a clear head, even though he knows his dad will be in the stands both cheering him on and still giving him pointers.
“Honestly, I try to keep out all the voices in my head during the game,” Scott said. “A lot of times people are yelling things I don't want to hear.”
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Grand Canyon will tip off against No. 4 seed Alabama about an hour after Baylor's game starts.
"Him and I are both always locked in with our own teams," Scott said. "I'll be honest, it's too emotional. The last thing I would want to know is how they're doing because if they're up I'm worried, if they're down I'm upset."
It’s still a fun family dynamic when it comes to basketball and what Scott and his brother Bryce have learned from their dad Homer about what it takes to be a college coach.
“ I learned under my dad,” Scott added. “My brother learned under my dad. And how he did things is basically - everyone's different. And one of the best things he taught us was always adjust to what you do to the personnel and the players you have.”
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Homer Drew: March Madness is flights to Spokane, Memphis for sons' games
