Okay, so today I wanna talk about something I messed around with recently: Bryce Drew. Yeah, that name probably rings a bell for anyone into college basketball.
It all started ’cause I was watching some old sports clips, you know, just cruising YouTube. And bam! The famous Bryce Drew buzzer-beater against Ole Miss in ’98 pops up. Got me thinking, “Damn, that was iconic.” Then my brain went into overdrive: Could I, like, recreate that somehow?
First thing I did was Google Bryce Drew, Valparaiso, the whole shebang. Needed to find out everything I could about that play. What was the inbound play called? Where were the players positioned? Stuff like that. Luckily, the internet’s got everything. Found some diagrams, play breakdowns, the works.
Next, I started sketching out some ideas. I’m no artist, trust me, but I needed to visualize it. I drew stick figures on a whiteboard, moving them around, trying to understand the timing and spacing. This took longer than I thought, honestly. It’s one thing to watch the play, it’s another to really get it.
Then, the fun part: I tried to simulate it! I grabbed my nephew (he’s got some basketball skills), went to the local park, and tried to run the play. We failed… a lot. The timing was off, the passes were bad, and my nephew kept laughing at me. But hey, gotta start somewhere, right?
We tweaked things, watched the clip again, and kept practicing. We simplified some of the movements to make it easier. The biggest challenge was getting the inbound pass right. That pass has to be perfect, or the whole thing falls apart.
After a few hours of practice, we actually started to get close! My nephew made a decent inbound pass, I managed to get the ball to the right spot, and he hit a (kinda) contested jumper. It wasn’t exactly like Bryce Drew’s shot, but it was close enough to make me feel like I accomplished something.
Was it perfect? Nah. But it was a blast trying to recreate that moment. It really gave me a new appreciation for how difficult that play was, and how clutch Bryce Drew was under pressure. Plus, I got some exercise and a good laugh. Maybe next time I’ll try to recreate another classic sports moment. Who knows?
Lessons Learned:
- The internet is your friend: Don’t be afraid to Google stuff.
- Visualizing helps: Sketch out your ideas, even if you’re not an artist.
- Practice makes (almost) perfect: Don’t give up after the first few failures.
- Have fun!: It’s just a game, after all.
