Bryce Drew's first trip to the NCAA tournament as a head coach didn't go as smoothly as his last trip to the NCAA tournament as a player. Still, know this: The 38-year-old icon of this event has a bright future in this profession regardless of what Valparaiso's 65-54 loss to Michigan State in the Round of 64 on Thursday might have suggested, and it's going to be interesting to see how long his alma mater can keep him.
Drew is now 48-20 overall with a 27-7 record in the Horizon League through two years.
He has two conference championships to his credit.
Mississippi State interviewed him after last season, and his name has already been connected to the opening at Northwestern this month -- though that job will almost certainly fall to Duke associate head coach Chris Collins. Either way, the young, smart and famous (from his playing days) son of Homer and brother of Scott has clearly established himself as a worthy successor to his father. He'll get an offer at some point that's too good to turn down and leave the small Indiana school that he helped make famous 15 years ago because that's just how this business works.
But, for now, Valpo is lucky to have him.
He has already shown he's so much more than that one shot.
