On Thursday, Valparaiso University named a new basketball coach. On one hand, a small school in the Horizon League changed basketball coaches. On the other hand, the end of an era happened. When I first heard the news, one word came to my mind: “Graduation”.
I’ve been following Bryce Drew since I was seven years old, when Valparaiso High School basketball was the talk of the town. He, Tim Bishop and others created such a buzz in Valpo that I even remember the newspaper printed an edition that featured trading cards of the Vikings. They were huge.
He then went to Valpo University to play with his dad and brought the excitement and winning ways to the ARC. It was the “place to be”. Guys like Jamie Sykes, Tony Vilcinskas, and the Jenkins Twins were practically celebrities around town. Of course "The Shot" happened and suddenly the school (and the town, really) were put on the map.
It is literally impossible for me to capture his influence in basketball’s role in my life (and everyone my age in Valpo) better than what my buddy Justin Pahl wrote for SBNation last year. If you haven’t read that, do it. Seriously.
Anyway, after this year’s successful season and run in the NIT, it was inevitable that Bryce would leave. That’s the way college basketball works; the big fish eat the little fish. Rinse and repeat.
Vanderbilt isn’t Duke, it isn’t North Carolina, and it isn’t Kentucky. But it is the SEC and to those who know college basketball know that is isn’t the Horizon League. He’s with the big boys now.
Congrats on graduating, Bryce. We’re all rootin’ for ya. It’s time for the Links of the Week.
Talk about a transition: Am I the only one who thinks Hardcore Henry looks good? [Rolling Stone]
A couple of years back, the NBA instituted an anti-flopping policy to combat a rise in players falling on purpose in order to draw a foul on the other team. They began fining players who had repeated violations and this season zero have been fined. I guess taking money away from people turns out to be a great incentive! [SI.com]
GQ went deep this week on the insane economy behind club appearance fees, which is a world I never understood. C-list celebrities get upwards of $25,000 just to show up, take a couple photos with Ciroc, and then leave? There are way too many commas with zeros after them in this story. [GQ]
Joel McHale will star in a movie about Chevy Chase? Didn’t they work together on Community and hate each other? [Dark Horizons]
The big story in the NBA this week was the resignation letter from Sam Hinkie, former General Manager of the Philadelphia 76ers. By all accounts, Hinkie is a smart, analytical thinker and someone who convinced his bosses *before he got the job* that he’d gut the team, be terrible on purpose for a few years in order to draft better players, and then try their best to get a superstar through the draft. That was the plan. What happened? He gutted the team, was terrible on purpose, and drafted some good players. Now it gets confusing: The ownership then brought in an industry veteran to make the team marginally better (now the 76ers have the 2nd worst record in the game instead of the first, hurting their draft status), then that guy hired his son to be Hinkie's boss because... I don't know. Seems fair? Anyway, Hinkie wrote a rambling 13-page resignation letter that would be best enjoyed after consuming peyote. [Deadspin]
We are all Fat Vincent. [Mashable]
Lots of NBA today. Did you know the New Jersey Nets were almost the New Jersey Swamp Dragons? An Oral History from Zach Lowe: [ESPN]
Someone re-cut parts of The Hangover to spoof a Hitchcock movie, because, you know, the internet is a fun place where people play. [YouTube]
Harvard Business Review has a nice little article that takes a look at millennials in the workplace. They conclude that, according to surveys, millennials are remarkably similar to older generations when it comes to priorities in the workplace. I conclude that, actually, millennials lie on surveys. [Harvard Business Review]
Another reason to love the Chicago Cubs: Anthony Rizzo is getting his own cereal and donating the proceeds to cancer research. Love that guy. [MLB.com]
Diane Coffee has been stuck in my head all dang week, so here you go. Have a great weekend.