All week in rehearsals for Friday’s NCAA Midwest Regional opener, Mississippi coach Rob Evans has been trying to simulate the unique role played by Valparaiso point guard Bryce Drew.
“Bryce can shoot from anywhere,” said Ansu Sesay, Mississippi’s 6-foot-9 forward who was Southeastern Conference player of the year. Sesay should know. He played with Drew last summer on the U.S. team that took the gold medal at the World University Games.
But until practices this week, Sesay didn’t know the extent of Drew’s role in the Valparaiso offense. “They’ll run every play through him,” Sesay said. “The whole team will screen for him. We’re not used to that.”
Evans believes that Bryce’s father, Valparaiso coach Homer Drew, knows best in fashioning this designer offense. “If I had a player like him, I’d use him the same way,” the Mississippi coach said. “They have a tremendous scheme. Bryce is a very good shooter, but he’s also a very intelligent basketball player who makes great decisions.
“They have two wide bodies (7-foot, 252-pound Antanas Vilcinskas and 6-11, 270-pound Zoran Viskovic). If you double Bryce, he will find the open man.”
Unfortunately for Valparaiso, Drew’s style may be cramped by an injury to his right hamstring in a victory over Buffalo in the Mid-Continent Conference tournament semifinals. An MRI revealed no tear, but deep swelling. “It has been sore ever since, so I haven’t practiced this week,” Drew said. “I’m hoping to be ready to play.”
In Friday’s second game, Texas Christian coach Billy Tubbs will send out the nation’s highest scoring team against Florida State. The Seminoles are coached by Steve Robinson, who came from Tulsa to take the job vacated when Pat Kennedy left for DePaul.
“After playing under another coach for three years, we didn’t know what to expect,” Florida State senior forward LaMarr Greer said. “Our coach (Robinson) is great.”
Friday night’s games pit Rhode Island against Murray State and top-seeded Kansas against Prairie View A&M. Rhode Island’s first-year coach, Jim Harrick, won the 1995 NCAA tournament at UCLA before being forced out because of NCAA rules violations before the 1996-97 season. Murray State’s coach is Mark Gottfried, a longtime assistant on Harrick’s UCLA staff.
