Doubling up

Kevin Drew is a top lacrosse prospect. But the chance to play basketball lured him to Syracuse

By: Michael Bonner

Posted: 10/27/08

Nineteen national championships were tugging at Kevin Drew. Two lacrosse powerhouses flaunted their credentials.

Syracuse boasted its 10 titles, while the team SU had beat in May to capture its 10th championship, Johns Hopkins, enticed Drew with its nine titles.

Drew decided to don the Orange instead of the Blue Jays' blue, but it had nothing to do with Syracuse's championship edge.

"I decided to come up here when I heard (I could play) basketball," Drew said. "It was kind of like a no-brainer."

On one hand, he's a Top 10 lacrosse recruit, the next in a seemingly endless line of can't-miss prospects to join the Orange's nationally heralded lacrosse program. On the other hand, he's a walk-on guard on the SU basketball team, trying to prove himself on the same team he spent his childhood
watching.

It's a situation Drew didn't foresee. When he first visited Syracuse, he thought college basketball was not an option.
Basketball was his first love - he'd been playing since he was in the third grade. He got his first taste of lacrosse when he was in fifth grade.

Originally, no schools offered the 6-foot-2 guard/midfielder the opportunity to play both sports. He had no shortage of lacrosse suitors. After all, Inside Lacrosse magazine rated Drew the No. 9 lacrosse recruit in the country. The midfielder from John Jay-Cross River High School (N.Y.) participated in the 2008 U.S. Under-19 team tryouts.

It looked like Drew would go solely the lacrosse rout. Then men's basketball head coach Jim Boeheim heard about Drew's trip to Syracuse.

Drew's father, Bill, played basketball for the Orangemen from 1977-78. His first year on the team was also Boeheim's first year as Syracuse head coach. In his two years with the team, Bill averaged five points in 38 appearances.

"I knew his dad. I knew his dad for a long time," Boeheim said. "I liked Kevin as a player and thought he could help us. It won't take away from lacrosse."

Since his father had played for Syracuse, Drew always had a high interest in the team. The chance to play for the basketball team he grew up watching was too much to resist.

"I've been coming to all the games," Drew said. "I know all the players' names and all that stuff. And actually coming here and meeting all them and playing with them, it's an awesome experience."

Drew spent his first few months at SU with the lacrosse team during the Orange's fall practice schedule. He's since started practicing with the basketball team. So far, there haven't been any problems with the two sports overlapping.

No official lacrosse schedule has been released, but last year Syracuse's first lacrosse game was Feb. 17. According to this year's basketball schedule, that date would precede the last five Big East games, the conference tournament in New York and, if all goes well, a trip to the NCAA tournament.

Drew said no decisive plans have been made as to what he'll do during this overlap. The choice may not be up to him. Boeheim and lacrosse head coach John Desko, whose offices are about 20 feet away, will most likely make the decision when the time comes.

"(Boeheim) thought he would be good for the basketball team," Desko said. "But like lacrosse, he needed to improve some of his basketball skills, but athletically he could do it and time will tell. And if nothing else, he was going to help the team by pushing other players and compete in practice. It's kind of a win-win for both of us."

Drew, Desko and Boeheim all agreed his freshman year will primarily focus on seeing if he can cope with the unique schedule more so than playing time.

Playing lacrosse and basketball isn't a unique feat at Syracuse. Charlie Lockwood pulled double-duty in the 1993-94 season.
Like Drew, Lockwood was a standout in lacrosse. He assisted on the game-winning goal in Syracuse's 1993 lacrosse national championship. While Lockwood was at SU, the Orangemen went 50-9 in lacrosse.

Meanwhile, Lockwood walked onto the basketball team his senior year, playing 17 minutes that season.

"We've had lacrosse players," Boeheim said. "They said it helps their conditioning and helps them get ready for the lacrosse season."

It seems to be the same situation for Drew. He said this year he's focused more on getting on the field for the lacrosse team.
For basketball, he just wants to help the team as much as he can, primarily serving as an extra defender for the starters to go up against in practice.

Drew said the two sports utilize some of the same skills. The defensive pressure Drew brings in basketball practice can be somewhat attributed to his lacrosse defensive skills.

"Basketball and lacrosse offense are kind of like a motion offense," Drew said. "You keep on moving through. When this guy goes there you've got to be here. It's kind of the same concept. … Actually in lacrosse when you go a man down you play a 2-3 zone, stuff like that. The offensive and defensive concepts are kind of similar in every way."

Even with the similarities, balancing lacrosse in the fall and spring with basketball in the winter will be an arduous task.

Syracuse junior guard Andy Rautins played basketball and lacrosse at nearby Jamesville-DeWitt High School. Already knowing the demands basketball has, the guard can't picture himself in Drew's shoes.

"Oh, I couldn't imagine it," Rautins said. "Especially at a Division I school. The workload is just so much, but it will be good for him to keep him in shape throughout the offseason."

This season, it seems Drew's role on the basketball team will be relegated to the bench. Even if he doesn't see the hardwood this year, just having the opportunity to play both sports is something Drew is savoring.

"It's kind of like, 'Oh you go to college and you have to pick one now and you can't play the other one,'" Drew said. "But now I get to play both and keep going. It should be fun."

mibonner@syr.edu