On Halloween, Larry Drew II spent the evening with his family. It was the party of the century, literally, as Drew’s great-grandfather turned 100 years old; everyone from Drew to Magic Johnson, his godfather, was in attendance.
The moment was surreal for Drew. Just two years ago, he wouldn’t have been able to attend.
“Words can’t even describe how happy I am to be here,” Drew said.
“Being able to see my great-grandfather turn 100 was unbelievable, and he’ll be at my first game. I also get to play my little brother this year, too. He is a freshman at California State University, Northridge. I never thought I’d get to play him in college ““ everything is just set up perfectly.”
The redshirt senior point guard, a Los Angeles native, transferred to UCLA amid a firestorm of controversy during his junior year at University of North Carolina.
Drew was struggling as the Tar Heels’ starting point guard, where he was averaging just over four points a game. North Carolina coach Roy Williams benched Drew in favor of then-freshman Kendall Marshall in mid-January 2011.
That was the tipping point for Drew, who left the team mid-season, garnering national criticism from the media, coaches and other players.
“People are going to talk regardless of what the truth is,” Drew said. “I wasn’t happy there, and I knew I needed a change. I was fortunate enough to have an opportunity to come back home. I’m very grateful that UCLA took me in, and it shows that they have a lot of confidence in my abilities.”
UCLA coach Ben Howland would not disagree. Howland recruited Drew ““ a McDonald’s All-American ““ out of high school, but lost out to North Carolina late in the recruiting process.
So when Howland saw the opportunity to bring Drew back home, it was a no-brainer for the ninth-year UCLA head coach.
“I wish we had him for more than a year, that’s my only regret,” Howland said. “Larry is a key for us this season. If there’s any one player we can’t afford to lose, it’s him.”
Drew is the only true point guard on UCLA’s roster, and his teammates are well aware of his importance to the squad.
“Larry will be a huge part of this team with his quickness and his decision making,” said sophomore guard Norman Powell.
“He’s probably the fastest guard in the Pac-12, if not the NCAA, so it’s great to have him, and he’ll be a big part of what we do this year.”
On the court, Drew is expected to start, and his responsibility will be enormous seeing that UCLA will look to break out in transition more this season.
Redshirt junior forward David Wear knows Drew as well as anyone, and he has complete faith that Drew is ready both physically and mentally for the job.
“I’ve played with Larry since high school, and I know that he’s going to do big things this season,” said Wear, who played with Drew at North Carolina for a season before transferring to UCLA along with his brother, Travis.
“He’s really happy to be playing at home; he’s confident, and he’s playing at a high level. I can’t be happier for Larry.”
The journey to this point in his life hasn’t been easy for Drew, but for him, the past is the past and all he can do is keep moving forward.
“Knowing what I know now, I probably would have done some things differently, but I’m grateful for how things turned out,” Drew said.
“Going through that adversity helped me get back in touch with who I am as a person and a basketball player. Being home and being comfortable has helped me grow so much, and I know it will translate to the court this season.”