Parents' cancer battles give Valpo coach heavy dose of perspective
Drew knows there's more to life than winning a game, but a win Tuesday puts Crusaders in NCAA tournament
David Haugh's In the Wake of the News
March 6, 2012
VALPARAISO, Ind. — On a recruiting trip in nearby Merrillville last September, Valparaiso men's basketball coach Bryce Drew received the phone call he dreaded.Instantly the only blue-chip talent Drew was interested in finding involved oncologists. His mother, Janet, had been diagnosed with Stage 3 bladder cancer — three days after Drew's dad, Homer, had prostate cancer detected in its early stages.
David Haugh's In the Wake of the News
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"I got the news before I walked into the gym,'' Bryce recalled Monday from his office. "Immediately, it changes you.''Suddenly, getting to the office early in his first year on the job meant less than surprising his parents with breakfast at their house. Maniacally treating every Valparaiso practice or game like life-or-death would not be a mistake made by a rookie head coach currently reading the book, "Lead … For God's Sake.''"If we lose I'm still upset, but in the grand scheme of things there's more to life than winning or losing a basketball game,'' said Bryce, 37. "Since (September) I've just tried to enjoy every day around my parents and give the best for my team around them. The team has been a bit of a release for me.''Predicted in preseason to finish fifth in the Horizon League, the Crusaders won the regular-season title and will play Detroit on Tuesday night on the court named for Homer Drew with an NCAA berth at stake. Players recruited primarily by Homer, who retired last spring, responded to Bryce's meticulous planning off the floor and positive reinforcement on it."I do raise my voice, but it's encouragement with some valium,'' Bryce joked.Bryce carried over Homer's defensive system and added a few NBA-style designed offensive plays, but overall Valparaiso relies on an eight-man rotation of underclassmen that share the ball and exemplify "tremendous chemistry.'' As Bryce recalled, a preseason chapel session led by assistant coach Roger Powell, a starter on Illinois' 2005 Final Four team, established camaraderie the Crusaders relied on in several comeback wins."It brought everybody great unity,'' Drew said.Beating Detroit would bring Valparaiso its first NCAA tournament appearance since 2004 and, according to players, show the family who has symbolized the program for a quarter-century that they care."To make it back would be our way of saying thank you to Homer and the Drews,'' said junior forward Ryan Broekhoff, the Horizon player of the year. "It's in the back of everybody's mind.''In March 1998, Broekhoff was 7 and at home in Australia watching U.S. highlights of a buzzer-beating shot in the NCAA tournament "by a school I had never heard of.'' On a recruiting trip to Valparaiso 10 years later, Broekhoff recognized a giant mural of Bryce Drew hitting the last-second 3-pointer to beat Mississippi that made him Valpo's most favorite son since Orville Redenbacher."I saw that big picture and thought, 'Oh, so that was them,' '' Broekhoff said.Hitting that famous shot provided Drew the memory of a lifetime. Leading Valparaiso back to the NCAA tournament in his first year as coach, given the season's emotional swings, would produce another just as relevant to his life."That '98 moment stands by itself because it was so unique,'' said Scott Drew, Baylor's coach who would hope to avoid playing his brother's team until the Sweet 16. "But getting in this year definitely would be that type of moment for my family, knowing how tough it's been since that day.''That day of Janet's diagnosis was one of the toughest Homer Drew can remember."You hear cancer — it's like a knife in your back,'' Homer said. "Why? Then you realize there has to be a purpose for it, whatever it is.''Homer will go to the game Tuesday night but leave his wife to rest at home, where she has stayed for every game — except the special night she surprised Bryce by showing up to celebrate the conference clincher over Loyola.Janet Drew, 68, had her bladder replaced with a new one surgeons formed with tissue from her intestines. Two weeks of radiation treatment in Chicago that began Monday followed chemotherapy.Self-deprecating as ever at 67, Homer deflected talk about the couple's daily challenges by complimenting his daughter, Dana, and insisting he never would make anybody's All-Caregiver team. For Homer, laughter beats the alternative when discussing his wife's fight for her life."There's no doubt our faith has gotten us through this,'' Homer said. "Many nights I've said, 'Jesus, you promised you wouldn't give us too much. Well, it's 2 in the morning and this is getting pretty close to the edge for us now.' ''Now, like every March since 1998, the Drews still represent hope against the odds. Now, more than ever, the family still cheerfully believes in long shots.dhaugh@tribune.com
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