HoopDirt.com can now confirm reports that Valpo head coach Bryce Drew will become the next head coach at Vanderbilt.  He will replace Kevin Stallings who became the head coach at Pitt last week at the end of March.

This season, Drew led Valpo to a 30-7 record, and an appearance in the NIT championship game.  In five seasons as the head coach of his alma mater, Drew compiled a 124-47 record.  Drew, the career leader in points (2,142), three-point field goals (364) and assists (626) at Valpo, etched his name into the American consciousness in 1998 when he hit “The Shot” in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to beat Ole Miss.  The play, in which Drew caught a tip pass from teammate Bill Jenkins off a full-court feed from Jamie Sykes, won Drew an ESPY award and gave Valpo its first NCAA Tournament win in school history, propelling the Crusaders to the Sweet Sixteen.

Following his collegiate career, Drew again made school history when the Houston Rockets drafted him with the 16th pick in the 1998 NBA Draft, the first time a Crusader had been chosen in the first round.  Drew’s NBA career lasted six seasons with the Rockets, Chicago Bulls, and Charlotte and New Orleans Hornets, with his best season coming in 2000-2001 when he started 41 games for the Bulls, averaging 6.3 points and 3.9 assists per game.

The official announcement is expected shortly.