Lindner, Drew Honored with VU Jersey Retirement

Of the hundreds of young men who have played basketball for Valparaiso University, none had his number retired until Wednesday night.

Arguably the two greatest players in Crusaders history, Bruce Lindner and Bryce Drew had their exceptional careers acknowledged as the university retired jersey No. 24, the first number ever retired by Valparaiso. Lindner wore the number in the late 1960s, 24 years before Drew donned it in the mid-1990s.

Lindner holds the single-season scoring record at Valparaiso, 725 points during his senior campaign in 1969-70. He holds the program record for points in a single game with 51 and averaged a school-record 19.5 points per game in his career.

What I did individually was probably pretty outstanding,” Lindner said in a phone interview on Tuesday afternoon. “Back then, there weren’t very many people scoring 30 points, let alone 40 or 50. Compared to other players at that time, my numbers probably would stand out.”

Two and a half decades later, Drew put Valparaiso on the national radar when he hit “The Shot” to beat Ole Miss in the 1998 NCCA Tournament. He holds school records in career points (2,142), career assists (626) and 3-pointers made in a career (364). Drew became the first Crusader ever taken in the first round when the Houston Rockets selected him 18th overall in the 1998 NBA Draft. Drew played in the NBA for six seasons and is now the head men’s basketball coach at Valparaiso.

It’s a great blessing,” Drew said during his post-game press conference. “I love this university. My dad (Homer) coached here for a long time and I loved playing here.

I was very focused on the game so I didn’t get to enjoy it too much, but I’m sure I’ll be able to enjoy it even more as I think back on it.”

Valparaiso won the game 75-60 over Horizon League-leading Green Bay. The Crusaders are now 13-10 on the season and 5-3 in conference play.

Both Lindner and Drew are local products. Lindner’s 25.6 points per game career average are still a school record at Portage High School and Drew was named both Indiana Mr. Basketball and the Gatorade Indiana Player of the Year after his senior year at Valparaiso High School.

Lindner said he never felt more pressure due to being a local kid, but he did think it meant more to the fans to root for home-grown players.

Pressure is probably not the right word,” Lindner said at a post-ceremony press conference. “But you obviously felt an attachment and a desire to deliver your best performance if local people were coming to watch. I never felt any pressure to do more than I could.

Both Lindner and Drew were very complimentary towards each other while accepting the jersey retirement honor in a pre-game ceremony. Both said he admired the other’s career, and Lindner said he would have been perfectly content to be in the crowd at the Athletics-Recreation Center and watch if the university had decided to honor only Drew while retiring the No. 24 jersey.

I think the thing that really stands out to me,” Lindner said, “is being inducted with Bryce Drew. Bryce is the epitome of the basketball player in the past 40 years here at this university. His tenacity – the number of conference championships, the number of MVPs in the conference championships – he literally put the team on his back. He was a complete player. He was a great shooter and an even better passer. I loved watching him play, and to be considered in his class is just an honor in itself.

To be recognized by the athletic department, for them to say ‘We want to include you,’ it was a thrill. I could easily have sat in the bleachers and watched them retire No. 24 and say it belonged to Bryce Drew and been happy. But they wanted to include me and I said, ‘If that’s what you want to do, I’m more than happy to accept the honor.’ It’s humbling.

{valpo}Click here{/valpo}{portage}Click here{/portage} to see more photos from the ceremony!