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    Then & Now: Andrew Drevo

    Then & Now: Andrew Drevo

    Compiled By Dave Brandon

    (Photo Courtesy Columbia Daily Tribune)

    Andrew%20Drevo.jpgAndrew Drevo played for Nebraska from 2001-2004,

    and ended his career fifth on the all-time

    transfer-scoring list (737 points). Drevo, a Lincoln

    Christian native who came back home via Morningside

    College, averaged double digit scoring in both of

    his seasons at Nebraska, and played a prominent role

    in Nebraska's 2003-2004 NIT run.

    Drevo currently plays

    professional basketball in France, and recently took

    the time to join HHC for our weekly Sunday feature,

    "Then & Now."

    HHC: Andrew, thanks for joining us from across the ocean. How are things

    going over there?

    AD: No problem. Thanks for the

    invite. Things over here are good. My wife and I are

    living in the Northwest corner of France right along

    the coast. We are enjoying the scenery, the

    food, and the people here in France are actually

    extremely nice.

    HHC: How much French can you speak and

    write?

    AD: Well,

    not much. The only French I can speak is the basic

    greetings and a few other words you need to know

    just to get by. Mostly words for food since you need

    to know what you are buying when you go to the

    grocery store. I can't really write any

    French because some of the phrases I do know are

    spelled much differently than you would think since

    they pronounce words so differently in French.  

    HHC: Prove to us that you know a

    little - say something in French, and then tell us

    what you said.

    AD: Ok, let’s see…"Aller grand

    rouge!"...which means Go Big Red!....I think.

    HHC: (Laughs) One more privy question

    before we get to basketball. We know you’re married,

    but is what they say true about the French girls

    being blonde, blue eyed, beautiful, and sweet?

    AD: Not really, Sweden had more of

    those types of girls than here in France. France is

    much more multi-cultural that you would think. But I

    can tell you this...my wife has red hair, green

    eyes, is very beautiful, and extremely sweet!

    HHC: (Laughs) That's what we like to

    hear! All right, back to basketball now. You are a

    Lincoln kid, as you went to Lincoln Christian and

    played on some great teams there with players such

    as Tom Cockle. Growing up, were you a Nebraska

    basketball fan?

    AD: Actually, when I was growing up, I

    didn't really follow Nebraska basketball until I was

    in high school. And the thought that I would ever

    play there was the furthest thing from my mind. I

    was content with going to Morningside College and

    playing for a good Division Two program and really

    enjoyed my time there.  

    HHC: Who are your all-time favorite Nebraska basketball players, outside of

    yourself and your teammates, of course?

    AD: Well, not many people know this,

    but my father Dave Drevo played basketball at

    Nebraska in the early 70's for two years before he

    had to quit because of knee problems.  I believe he

    played from 1970-1972 for Joe Cipriano.  So, I would

    have to say that he was! Besides my father, I

    thought it was always fun to watch Tyronn Lue

    and Eric Piatkowski play.

    HHC: After graduating from Lincoln

    Christian, you ended up at Morningside College,

    where you played two seasons. Did Nebraska, or any

    other D-1 schools show any interest in you out of

    high school?

    AD: Not really. In high school I hurt

    my back during my junior year after the 4th game and

    had to miss the rest of the season. I think that

    kind of set me back as far as Division One schools

    hearing about me. I had a ton of Division Two offers

    and an offer to walk on at Pacific where Tom Cockle

    ended up going. Besides that, the only other

    Division One interest that I had was Creighton, but

    they wanted to wait until after my senior year

    before they would decide whether or not to offer,

    and I wanted to sign early so I just decided to

    sign with Morningside where my brother Matthew was

    currently playing.

    HHC: Walk us through how you ended up

    transferring to Nebraska. Did you have any clue that

    you'd end up playing in Lincoln again?

    AD: Well it's kind of a long story,

    but it all started during my second year at

    Morningside when the school president announced that

    starting my senior year, the whole athletic program

    at Morningside was going down to NAIA because of

    financial reasons. Well, I decided I was going to

    transfer to another school because I didn't want my

    last year of college ball to be a step down. When

    they released my from my scholarship, conference

    rival South Dakota offered me a scholarship to play

    for them, and when I told them no thanks, former

    Husker Andy Markowski, who was an assistant coach at

    South Dakota, called up the coaches at Nebraska and

    told them to give me a look. After that I decided I

    wanted to see if I could make it playing Division

    One ball and Coach Collier told me that I could walk

    on the first two seasons and would have a chance to

    earn a scholarship for my senior season. 

    HHC: Speaking of Collier, describe him in your own words.

    AD: I think the word that best

    describes Coach Collier as a man and as a coach is

    the word "integrity".  He does things the right way

    no matter how much pressure might be on him to

    compromise doing what is right. I think this is very

    important because it sets a great example for his

    players that there is a right way to do things and a

    wrong way, on and off the court. His example really

    encourages his players to choose what is right which

    will stick with them long after basketball is

    over. I also believe that he is an excellent teacher

    of the game. I know that just because I played

    for Coach Collier I have learned more about the game

    of basketball, which I know has helped me in my

    professional basketball career and beyond if I ever

    want to go into coaching. 

    HHC: After redshirting in 2001-2002, you began your playing career at

    Nebraska in 2002-2003, averaging 13.9 PPG and 7.3

    RPG, both bests on the team. These achievements

    earned you a spot on the Big 12 All-Newcomer Team.

    How were you able to step right in and contribute at

    such a high level?

    AD: I

    think my redshirt season was one of the best things

    that has happened to me as a player. I was able to

    concentrate on lifting weights to get stronger, and

    also was able to take time to learn Coach Collier's

    system, as well as just adjusting to a new school

    and new life back in Lincoln. Already having two

    years of experience in one of the best Division Two

    conferences in the country was another thing that I

    think made the transition so successful.

    HHC: In your senior season of

    2002-2003, you finished with 10.8 PPG and 4.3 RPG,

    while helping to lead the Huskers to the third-round

    of the NIT Tournament. Talk about the fondest

    memories from your senior year?

    AD: There were so many great memories

    from that season that I will never forget.  So man,

    this is a tough one, but I'm going to say my fondest

    memory was beating Creighton at the Qwest Center in

    the NIT. 

    The other memory that I

    will always have is our trip to play Hawaii when we

    lost in the NIT. I will say this - if your season

    and career has to come to an end, it might as well

    end in Hawaii! We stayed an extra day and just had

    fun hanging out as a team in such an awesome place!

    HHC: What was it like going into

    Creighton's house and knocking them off during that

    NIT run?

    AD: Wow,

    I don't really know how to explain how good that

    felt! We had so many faithful Husker fans at the

    game and just to be able to win it for them and to

    hear so many Husker fans cheering in that place

    after we won was just awesome. Especially for us

    seniors it was special, because that could have been

    our last game. It was just nice to be able to

    finally beat those guys. And to do it in the Quest

    Center on there home floor were they are so

    tough was something I will never forget.

    HHC: And, what did it mean to you getting to play in your hometown, in front

    of your family and friends for those two years?

    AD:  Anyone out there that grew up in

    Nebraska understands that every kid from here dreams

    of someday being a Husker, and for me to grow up

    here and to now say that I am a Husker is something

    that I never thought would happen. It was so nice to

    be able to have so many friends and family come to

    all of my games. When I was at Morningside, my

    parents tried to make it to almost all of our games

    to see my brother and I play, so it was nice that

    for my last two seasons, they only had to drive

    across town and not across the country.

    HHC: Finally, tell us how last season went for you in Sweden. Did you have a

    big culture shock?

    AD: Last season was really great. I

    couldn't have pictured my first year of professional

    ball in Europe going any better, as far as my

    overall experience. I averaged 21 points and 9

    rebounds per game and my team won the Swedish

    Championship. It was a fun team to play on, and all

    of the guys got along really well. My wife and I

    also really enjoyed the Swedish way of life. 

    The culture there is not

    "shockingly" different because everyone there speaks

    English, and they have American TV and movies so the

    transition was pretty smooth. The only big

    difference is how expensive everything is there. You

    have to pay about 8 dollars to get a Whopper at

    Burger King. And gas prices were about 5 dollars per

    gallon. Also we had to pay 35 dollars for a large

    Pizza Hut pizza. Ouch!

    HHC: No kidding, that’s our whole

    diet! (Laughs) Do you run into any former Huskers or

    Big 12 players in the league you play in?

    AD:  I haven't run into any other

    former Huskers in France but there are some former

    Big 12 players and players I played against in

    college. Kenny Gregory and Nick Bradford from

    Kansas, and Michael Bauer from Minnesota are in

    France this year, and last year Ryan Robertson from

    Kansas and Hollis Price from Oklahoma played in

    France. And actually, the point guard on my team

    this year is Turner Battle, who played at

    Buffalo with current Husker B.J. Walker. Small

    world.

    HHC: What led you to France this year from Sweden, and where are you at, so

    we can all follow you?

    AD: We are living in Brest, France in

    the far Northwest corner of the country. We really

    loved being in Sweden last year but the league here

    in France is one of the best in Europe, so the

    chance to play in such a competitive league was

    probably the biggest factor. You can follow how my

    team is doing by going to the French league website

    which is: www.lnb.fr 

    HHC: Andrew, thanks a lot for taking the time to join us. Are you cool with

    taking e-mails from the fans if we set you up an

    account at

    [email protected] and tell you how

    to check it?

    AD: That would be great. I would love

    to answer any questions or just talk Husker Hoops

    with fellow Husker fans. 

    HHC: Anything else you'd like to add?

    AD: I'd just like to say thank you to

    all of the people out there who have supported

    Husker Hoops throughout the years. It means a lot to

    the players knowing that all there hard work is

    being appreciated. And thank you Dave for what you

    are doing for Husker Hoops with this website. Keep

    up the good work!<script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">




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