Majerus & Drew Headed for the Hall

Editor: The following are portions of press releases from nabc.org, slubillikens.com and valpoathletics.com.

(Kansas City, MO) – Six decorated former players and three influential former head coaches have been selected to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2019. The honorees will officially be enshrined on Nov. 24 in Kansas City at the 2019 National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Induction Celebration presented by Nike.

Indiana’s Calbert Cheaney, Duke’s Shane Battier, Purdue’s Terry Dischinger, Providence’s Ernie DiGregorio, UNLV’s Larry Johnsonand Stanford’s Todd Lichti join former coaches Homer Drew, Lute Olsonand the late Rick Majerus to form the Class of 2019.

The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame is located inside the College Basketball Experience (CBE), a world-class experiential entertainment facility adjacent to Kansas City’s Sprint Center. The Hall of Fame’s 14th induction celebration will precede the 2019 Hall of Fame Classic powered by ShotTracker, which will showcase Missouri, Oklahoma, Butler and Stanford competing Nov. 25-26 at Sprint Center.

SLU’s Rick Majerus

Majerus posted a 95-69 record at SLU and guided the Billikens to the NCAA Tournament in his final season in 2012, which was SLU’s first NCAA appearance in 12 years. The Billikens would go on to make two additional NCAA Tournament appearances with Majerus’ core group of players.

Majerus won 517 games in a 25-year career that included stints at Marquette, Ball State, Utah and Saint Louis. He reached the postseason 17 times, and his 12 NCAA Tournament appearances included a spot in the 1998 national championship game with Utah.

During his time at SLU, Majerus had eight players earn Academic All-Conference honors, the most by any Atlantic 10 Conference program during that span.

It was Majerus’ final season as a head coach – 2011-12 – that saw the fruits of his labor pay off. Armed with a veteran squad, SLU jumped out to a 6-0 record. The nation took notice, and the Billikens achieved a top-25 ranking after their fast start.

SLU would go on to capture a first-round bye and the No. 2 seed at the Atlantic 10 Conference Tournament after going 12-4 in the competitive league slate. The end result was an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, giving SLU its first at-large appearance since 1998.

Majerus led the No. 9-seed Billikens to a 61-54 victory against Memphis in the first round in Columbus, Ohio. The Billikens bowed out of the tournament after a hard-fought 65-61 loss against No. 1 seed Michigan State, which would be Majerus’ final game.

Majerus was unable to coach the Billikens in 2012-13. It was announced in August 2012 that he would take a leave of absence for the season while dealing with a heart condition. In November 2012, it was announced he would not return to the University. Majerus passed away on December 1, 2012.

Valpo’s Homer Drew

Drew was a fixture on the Valpo sidelines for more than two decades, leading Valpo to 371 victories and nine postseason appearances while at the helm of the men’s basketball program.

Drew ended his career, which also included stints at Bethel (Ind.) and IU-South Bend, with 640 career victories over 34 seasons overall, which ranked sixth among active Division I coaches at the time of his retirement.  The nine postseason appearances included seven trips to the NCAA Tournament, highlighted by Valpo’s run to the Sweet 16 in 1998.

A four-time Mid-Continent Conference Coach of the Year, Drew led the Brown and Gold to eight regular season conference championships, eight conference tournament titles, and 10 20-win seasons.

Drew was presented in 1999 with the Lumen Christi Medal, Valparaiso University’s highest honor, in recognition of a lay person’s distinguished service to church and society. He also was honored as one of the 150 most influential people in Valparaiso University history as part of Valpo’s 150^th anniversary celebration in 2009.

Drew received the Naismith Good Sportsmanship Award in 1998 and was presented with the Mid-Continent Conference’s Commissioner’s Award of Merit in 2002. In 2010, the playing floor in the arena of Athletics-Recreation Center was named in his honor.

Drew is the third former Valpo coach to earn a spot in the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. George Keogan (1919-1921) was selected as part of the Hall of Fame’s inaugural class in 2006, while Gene Bartow (1964-1970) was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009.

Editor: Feature photo courtesy of slubillikens.com.