NEW YORK -- His brother Bryce will always be remembered for his NCAA Tournament heroics, but Scott Drew has quickly made a name for himself as the savior of Baylor basketball over the last six years.
Since taking over a troubled program in the wake of numerous NCAA violations surrounding one teammate's murder of another -- with a coach trying to cover it up, no less -- Drew has restored order where it was once thought impossible to.
He now finds his team playing for the National Invitation Tournament title against Penn State (26-11, 10-8 Big Ten) at 7 tonight at Madison Square Garden, one season after its first NCAA tournament appearance in 20 years.
"Adversity and tough times builds character," Drew said. "That was something that was difficult for all of us. It was even more difficult when we started playing games."
Drew likened the Bears' comeback over the years to waiting until February to open a Christmas present because they were so far behind every other team.
That was never more evident than in 2006, when Baylor (24-14, 5-11 Big 12) was only permitted to play its conference schedule as punishment for its prior transgressions.
Ed DeChellis can relate to Baylor's situation, albeit on a smaller scale.
Also in his sixth year, the Penn State coach knows all about the struggles of resurrecting a success-starved program, having suffered through a 16-42 record in his first two seasons at the helm.
"Scott has done an unbelievable job. He has done great," DeChellis said. "The program went through a lot and he has been able to put it back together again. He has done a remarkable job with the team and the program.
"I am very happy for him and what he has been able to accomplish."
Now, each coach is seeing his perseverance finally pay off, with a chance to celebrate on basketball's grandest stage awaiting tonight's winner.
And as former college coach and current television analyst Fran Fraschilla told the gathering media earlier in the week while introducing the Baylor coach, Scott's performance is even more remarkable than his brother's.
"When we brought in this group of seniors now, we knew that they had the character and they had the potential and the ability to be playing in Final Fours and having a chance to do these kind of things," Drew said. "Credit them for putting in the hard work getting better, improving, but it's really a tight team and you need that to be successful."
