The Day Scott Drew Almost Left Baylor for Kentucky
Scott Drew is not a coach one would associate with drama. The Baylor boss is about as low-key and as steady Eddie as they come. With Drew, you know what you’re going to get.
You’re going to get a good quote. You’re going to get a Ken Pom analytics drop. You’re going to get a Culture of JOY reference. You’re going to get a 20-plus win season. Rinse. Repeat.
On Thursday morning, Drew opted to remain at Baylor, in spite of what was clearly a flirtation with Kentucky. Multiple reports flooded in. Baylor basketball’s social media account posted this. It’s all the confirmation one needs.
But Wednesday was a day that will live in college basketball coaching carousel history. Drew was the center of the basketball universe and social media as its solar system.
In case you missed it, here’s the tick tock.
We actually start late Tuesday night with a report from a writer in Kentucky that I’m not familiar with named Keith Taylor of Kentucky Today. He tweeted that Drew already had a job offer. This was just a few hours after John Calipari officially left Kentucky, which allowed athletic director Keith Barnhart to start a coaching search. It should be noted that Drew and Barnhart are tight. It was not out of the realm of possibility that an offer had been made.
I waited several hours for a second report of a contract offer. I was unable to find one. So I bookmarked it and went to bed.
Wednesday morning, I woke up to Jon Rothstein’s report that Drew and Kentucky were planning to meet “in the near future.” That’s not exactly a contract offer. That’s also a little vague, depending on your definition of “in the near future.”
Then, there was this from Chris Beasmore, a TV producer in Kentucky.
This is college sports, so you KNOW what happens next. To the flight tracker, people!
But this is when things got absurd.
Before we go any further, remember — at this point, about noon central, Scott Drew is on a plane to Lexington. Or … is he?
No, hilariously, Drew was hanging out with a Baylor booster named Eric Shero at a Mi Casita in Waco munching on chips and salsa.
I’d like to live in a world where Shero said to Drew, “You know, we have the opportunity to do the funniest thing ever.”
For most of the morning Kentucky fans on social media were divided on Drew. Some were cool with the potential hire, some were very much not.
But, with it now clear Drew was not on a plane to Lexington, well, Kentucky fans went into full reporter mode and wanted to verify it.
This is how we figured out it was a Mi Casita. Kentucky fans figured out which Mexican restaurant it was and then called the Mi Casita on Hewitt. We know this because Matt Jones of Ky Sports Radio was getting messages from Kentucky fans who were telling him this was happening.
Apparently, one of them actually got a waitress to put Drew on the phone.
This all sounds like an urban legend, right? Like there’s no way any of this happened. Don’t worry. Darby Brown of KWTX in Waco was on it.
It gets better. Apparently Kentucky fans not only found the Mi Casita and got Drew on the phone, they started leaving five-star reviews for the restaurant on its web site with messages asking Drew to come to Kentucky.
Dusty Baker, a TV anchor in Louisville, has the screengrab.
In Waco, local TV reporter Shahji Adam of ABC 25 hit the Mi Casita in question and got an interview.
While some Kentucky fans were boosting Mi Casita’s Yelp score, others found themselves locked in social media combat with another Baylor booster. Now this is where it gets truly absurd.
Kentucky’s Barstool account posted this on Wednesday morning.
This is Chip and Joanna Gaines, for the unfamiliar (and we spent 10 minutes hazing our youngest staff member for not knowing, which was hilarious). The hosts of “Fixer-Upper” and the owners of Magnolia Homes in Waco, Texas, are big Baylor boosters as Chip played baseball for the Bears for a time. I’ve seen them at several basketball games over the years.
I’m sure the folks at Barstool Kentucky were just having some fun. One social media user apparently had about as little knowledge of Chip as our staffer.
So, Chip decided to enter the chat.
From there, Chip had some fun with some other Kentucky fans before, I assume, he had to install some shiplap somewhere.
But, we’re not done yet. So, Drew was in Waco. And Chip was chatting with Wildcats fans. Meanwhile, Drew’s family was in … Lexington? Seriously?
Yep. Here’s Darby Brown again.
Meanwhile, there was ACTUAL basketball business going on. Yves Missi declared for the NBA Draft. Caleb Lohner reportedly entered the transfer portal.
So what are we to take from all of this? First, the coaching carousel season beats any reality show. Second, Mi Casita is about to become a legendary institution in Waco. Third, Drew is a Baylor lifer now. If Kentucky can’t lure him and his family to coach their team, then no one can.
Sorry, Big Blue Nation. Good try, though. You came closer than most.
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.
