Then & Now: Andrew Drevo

Then & Now: Andrew Drevo

Compiled By Dave Brandon

(Photo Courtesy Columbia Daily Tribune)

Andrew 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">