T-BALL Records & Awards

Baylor coach ready for Sweet 16 & a chance to share his faith

HOUSTON (BP)--Scott Drew, Baylor University's arm-waving, ever-smiling, ever-positive head basketball coach, has led his Bears to heights unimaginable, but he says he isn't able to do the miraculous or the mundane without his faith in Jesus Christ.

In an interview with Baptist Press on the eve of the NCAA South Regional this weekend at Houston's Reliant Stadium, Drew said his bold and sometimes public faith has helped to propel Baylor to its first-ever Sweet 16 appearance.

"I wouldn't be in this spot without Him," Drew said as his team prepares to take on St. Mary's Friday night, needing only two wins for a Final Four berth.

"With all the attention this week and last, I know I need to stay in the Scripture and stay humble. I just want to deflect the light on myself or individual players to Whom it belongs, that is God."

As the coach of the nationally ranked team at Baptist-affiliated Baylor in Waco, Texas, Drew knows he has some unique opportunities to impact people for Christ via the nation's sports media.

"The Spirit works differently with different people, but I feel comfortable talking about my faith in public and what Jesus Christ has done in my life.

"When I sit home and watch people like [quarterbacks] Tim Tebow or Colt McCoy or [coach] Tony Dungy being a good role model on TV, it inspires me. You pray for those people to be successful so they can inspire and motivate others."

To help accomplish his spiritual mission at Baylor, Drew joined with his pastor, Mark Wible at Highland Baptist Church in Waco, in a partnership of faith and fellowship.

"I'm just so glad for Scott that the person you see on the sidelines on the weekends is the exact same person I see during the week or at church on Sunday," Wible said.

"He is fired up for his faith and fired up to share it with others."

Drew took the Baylor job in 2003 in the most disastrous of circumstances after one player had killed another on the team, while the school and its former head coach had covered up a drug scandal and NCAA violations.

But when Wible met Drew for the first time and mentioned he would be interested in helping out as the team chaplain, Drew sat straight up in his office chair and proceeded to tell him about his spiritual game plan for his new team.

"He said he wanted a Bible study for the players, a Bible study for the coaches, a regular chance to talk and minister to his players, so finally I had to tell him, 'Coach, this is a volunteer position, I have a full-time job at my church."

But since those humble beginnings, where Baylor wasn't even allowed to play non-conference games as part of its NCAA penalty, Drew has worked to accomplish God's purpose in his life and his team.

"I always want to be open to what the Lord wants me to say and do in my life and how I spread His Word. I prayed about coming here and I felt led to come. When He says 'Go,' you go.

"I know that at a private Christian university, you have a chance to help players keep their spiritual goals along with their goals as a player and a person."

That was clearly proven March 6 when Baylor had its senior day celebration after its game with the University of Texas. Drew added his own touch to the ceremonies, telling the sellout crowd about some of his players going to a recent Baptist basketball camp and seeing 21 people accept Jesus Christ into their hearts. Then Drew led the crowd in a prayer for the seniors that God would bless their lives and touch others in whatever they did.

"We all face challenges daily and we all sin, that's why you have to be daily in the Word and daily in prayer," Drew said about his motivation to publicly share his faith with others.

"We are all around non-Christians and others who may not believe, but your actions will always speak louder than your words."

Wible saw that when Drew called during basketball recruiting season one year and some top players were coming for a visit.

"He just wanted me to come out and meet the players they were recruiting and see if I could meet and interact with them, to help them with any problems they might have," Wible said.

"We always pray about it, but God knows who is going to come here," Drew added.

Drew, who is married with two kids, grew up in a basketball family in Indiana where his dad, Homer, was the head coach at Valparaiso University, the country's largest Lutheran school.

Scott Drew said growing up he was exposed to a faith in Jesus Christ through watching his parents, but joked he was familiar with a lot of denominations because "as a coach, you saw a lot of different churches because you're always being run out of one town and into another."

After one year of succeeding his father as head coach at Valpo, he took the Baylor job in the direst of circumstances, after seeing a vision about what his hard work and others' help could accomplish for God's glory.

"First and foremost I prayed about it, then I talked to the people at Baylor about what we could accomplish with elite sports, academic excellence and being a positive role model.

"We have a chance to do that each and every day now, and we also have a chance to serve."

But despite the fact Baylor could earn its first Final Four berth in more than 60 years and shock the college basketball world this weekend, Wible already knows what kind of coach he will see.

"I will always remember when we lost to Texas two years ago by a single point at home, just a devastating loss, and the next morning I'm walking past the nursery at church and there was Scott, on his knees, playing with the kids as a volunteer worker. Name me one other coach in America who would do that after a gut-wrenching loss.

"Finally, I had to ask him, 'Scott, what are you doing here?' He said, 'I signed up for this and I got responsibilities.'"

Art Stricklin is a Dallas-based sports correspondent for Baptist Press.

Camp Dates Announced!

Dates for the South Titan Basketball Camp have been announced. Boys in grades 9-12 will meet for two weeks, June 8-11 and June 21-24, from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Boys in grades 6-8 will meet June 8-11 from 1:00 to 3:30 p.m., and boys in grades 3-5 will meet June 21-24 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm.

The aim of each camp, under the supervision of PL-South head coach Joel Hueser, is to teach and develop fundamental basketball skills, team play and motivation. Registration forms are available at Papillion-LaVista South High School or by clicking here.

Norfolk constantly shooting for a title

NORFOLK, Neb. — Pull open the thick gymnasium doors, fix your eyes on the lone figure inside and start counting.

One, two, three ...

Two weeks ago, more than 2,000 people packed this gym two hours before tipoff to see their Norfolk Panthers, the No. 1 team in the state. But tonight, it's quiet. Tonight the loudest sound is leather passing through nylon.

Four, five, six ...

Swish, swish, swish. Every three seconds.

He's 5-foot-10, 150 pounds, scrawny by Class A basketball standards. His white T-shirt is soaked in sweat.

Official team practice finished with shooting drills an hour ago. Jalen Bradley is still shooting. He won't go home until he makes 1,000 jump shots. Alone.

Seven, eight, nine ...

His shots drop through the net and into a machine called “the gun,” which fires balls back to him on the right wing, just inside the 3-point line. The sophomore catches and reloads.

One day he made 255 straight free throws. Another day he made 105 straight jumpers from 17 feet. Another day he made 43 straight 3s.

“I don't try to go for consecutive shots,” said Bradley, who this season made 51 percent of his 3s and 42 of 43 free throws. “I just kind of let it happen.”

10, 11, 12 ...

Today, Jalen Bradley and Norfolk descend on the Devaney Center, where at 2 p.m. they'll face Grand Island and try for the Panthers' first state tournament win in 23 years.

The Panthers are unique in Class A, not only because of where they come from, but how they got here.

Juggernauts hail almost exclusively from Omaha and Lincoln.

But no team in Omaha or Lincoln shoots like Norfolk: 51 percent from the field, 44 percent from 3-point range, 78 percent from the free-throw line. (The latter two numbers would lead Division I college basketball.)

“They're the best-shooting team in the state, no doubt about it,” Bellevue West coach Doug Woodard said.

“Forty-four percent as a team is unheard of, especially when you shoot as many 3s as they shoot. And 78 percent from the line? They have so many kids that shoot the ball so well.”

13, 14, 15 ...

Not every Panther shoots as well or as much as Bradley. But most nights, you'll find a few staying 15 to 30 minutes after practice. This team and this town share a passion for fundamentals.

And that's Norfolk's edge.

Class A consists of 29 teams, but only six are outside the Omaha metro area and Lincoln. Towns like Fremont and North Platte and Columbus try to keep up. It's getting harder all the time.

From 1987 to 2002, “outstate” Class A teams collectively won 28 state tournament games. Grand Island won the state title in 2002. Since then, outstate teams have won just two games and no titles.

The biggest reason: Those schools are shrinking. Norfolk, 27th in Class A enrollment, has one boy for every two at Creighton Prep, one for every three at Omaha Central.

Yet over the past eight seasons, only five Class A teams have more wins than Norfolk. This year, no one does.

16, 17, 18 ...

Bradley's rituals resemble those performed by another sophomore 16 years ago, Ben Ries. He's now Norfolk's coach.

Ries is one of Nebraska's best-ever high school shooters — he made 88 percent of his career free throws — and one of five prep players since 1980 to garner first- or second-team All-Nebraska honors three straight years.

After he graduated in 1996, Norfolk hit a rough patch. One year, the Panthers went 1-19. Then Ries returned in 2002, the youngest head coach in Class A. He was 24.

He focused his reconstruction on one principle: Build from the bottom.

In Omaha, elementary and middle school kids rarely interact with high school coaches. A fourth-grader living at 60th and Center Streets might plan to go to South High. But by seventh grade, he's headed to Burke. By ninth grade, it's Central.

Often, a high school coach hasn't even met a player until he shows up freshman year.

But in Norfolk, a kid who attends an elementary school will probably go to Norfolk High. So Ries reaches out as soon as possible.

Most coaches run camps in the summer; Ries also orchestrates them in the fall, five Saturdays, first through eighth grade. His high school players instruct and rub elbows with 220 kids.

More unusual: Ries' staff directs club teams, sixth through eighth grade. Bradley's dad, a high school assistant, attends every club practice, where he leads fundamental drills the first hour.

Junior high kids learn the same techniques and concepts the high school varsity utilizes.

The goal is continuity.

“When I talk about ‘our program,' I mean the whole thing,” Ries said. “I mean Norfolk basketball, grades 1 through 12.”

The blueprint requires significant time and energy. But the payoff is consequential.

The sooner kids and parents identify with the basketball team, the more they care. It's no coincidence that Norfolk crowds, home and away, were consistently the largest in Class A this year.

Six years ago, Brady Lollman and Nathan Marsh executed Ries' drills at club team practices.

Dribble, pass, screen and cut.

Now they are Norfolk's two best players. Lollman hits 83 percent at the line, 43 percent from 3. Marsh, a big lefty, hits 58 percent from the floor.

Why so efficient? Repetition.

When the Panthers get a lead in the final minutes, they're tough to beat. They handle pressure, milk clock and hit free throws.

“They're one of the smartest teams I've seen in many years,” Bellevue West's Woodard said.

But will it be enough this week? Since winning Class A in 1987, Norfolk has lost six straight state tournament games.

To win it again, Norfolk must knock off city schools, including either Creighton Prep or Omaha Bryan in Friday's semifinals.

Metro teams don't expect much when they see Norfolk, Lollman said. Not much size or quickness on the Panthers' roster. And no player has dunked in a game in Ries' eight years.

“We'll play anybody in HORSE,” Ries said.

Ries' first few years, players often challenged him to a game. Coach never lost — not once.

Then one day he dueled a hot-shot seventh-grader. Ries buried a jumper, Bradley answered. On and on for about half an hour.

Finally, Ries spun the ball on his finger, bumped it off his head and into the hoop. A Pistol Pete shot, Bradley said. “I never practiced that one.”

H-O-R-S-E.

Ries exhaled, then retired.

“I remember telling myself I'd never play him again,” he said.

Five years ago, another shooting great, Kyle Korver, came to Norfolk and shared his wisdom.

Jalen Bradley listened, and every day since June 9, 2005, he's kept a running count of the jump shots he's made.

On this Monday night, he'll go home and write: 509,500.

But even Jalen misses. After he drains 19 straight from the right wing, the ball comes off his hand a hair too hard. It hits iron — and rattles out.

He doesn't flinch. The gun spits out another ball. Catch, release, leather hits nylon.

A new streak begins.

Beranek biding his time at Nebraska

LINCOLN — Drake Beranek doesn't get to suit up for Nebraska men's basketball games this season. Or sit on the bench. Or travel.

But the transfer from the University of Nebraska at Kearney was required to take part in Wednesday's 5 a.m. practice after a loss to Colorado, and in Friday's 5:30 a.m. practice before the Huskers left for Saturday's regular-season finale at Oklahoma State.

Sound unfair?

Just try to get a complaint out of the senior from Ravenna, Neb., who says he is living a dream since forgoing a scholarship at UNK last summer to walk on with no promises at Nebraska.

“I heard a pretty good quote the other day — life is about minimizing regret,'' Beranek said Friday. “So far, this has been a good decision in minimizing regret.

“It was a tough decision. But things are good, and I hope they continue on into next season.''

Beranek sparkled in Division II basketball for three seasons at UNK. The 6-foot-4, 185-pounder was a three-time all-conference pick and two-time all-region. Last year, he was 11th nationally in scoring at 21.9 points.

Still, the lifelong Nebraska fan wondered how he might do as a Husker, so he got in touch with coach Doc Sadler.

“I didn't know anything about Drake when he showed up,'' Sadler said Friday. “Since he has been here, I've been nothing but impressed.

“He's probably the best thing that has happened to us all year.''

Sadler said Beranek's enthusiasm and ability have helped in practice during a long season at Nebraska (14-16, 2-13).

“He has worked extremely hard,'' Sadler said. “And with not many seniors next year, I'm not for sure he won't be a leader.

“Drake is a lot like Paul Velander. Not to put any pressure on him, but people seem to follow guys like that.''

Velander, a walk-on guard the previous five years, earned the Huskers' most valuable player award in 2008-09 for his 3-point shooting, his dirty work on defense, his smarts and his sunny disposition. He is still on campus taking graduate courses.

“I made a point to meet Paul Velander,'' Beranek said. “I have some buddies who are big Nebraska basketball followers, and I'd hear from them, ‘Man, Paul is stroking the 3 and taking all these charges.'

“That's something I hope I can bring to the team next year. I don't want to say I'm going to be Paul Velander Jr. But I wanted to meet him so I could see how he took those charges and where he got open 3s.''

Husker coaches say Beranek has more than held his own in practice this season.

“I've learned a lot from seeing how hard everybody works,'' Beranek said. “I had heard rumors about, ‘Hey, Doc's a crazy man in practice.'

“We had some pretty intense practices at Kearney, but this is a couple of notches up. That 5 a.m. practice Wednesday was tough, but it was needed. We got some toughness, and everybody responded well.''