Scott Drew explains turning down Kentucky to stay at Baylor: 'Waco is home'

If Scott Drew wanted to be Kentucky‘s head coach, he likely could be. The Wildcats were swinging for the fences after John Calipari left for Arkansas but were not able to land somebody with the resume of Drew. Big Blue Nation seems happy with the appointment of Mark Pope but has to be wondering ‘What if?’ when it comes to Drew.

Baylor is more than thrilled to keep Drew and for the first time, he explained the decision to stay with the program. He calls Waco “home” for his family, with his kids being raised in the city. Drew also relied heavily on his faith when going through the decision-making process.

“First and foremost, Waco is my home,” Drew said. “All three children born and raised here. Everyone loves it here. I know, spiritually, I’ve been able to grow over the last 20+ seasons at Baylor. One of the things, in life, you got to do what God wants you to do as you spiritually grow. The easy thing is always staying in Waco because that’s comfortable and that’s home and we love it here.

“If God calls us to go somewhere, sometimes that’s not easy. You want to do what God wants you to do and you want to be at the center of his will. Really, that’s what it was all about. Just seeking where he wanted us. We’re going to be obedient and go to that.”

When Drew arrived in Waco ahead of the 2003-2004 season, Baylor had just four appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Sure, there were two Final Fours on the resume but that was back when only eight teams qualified. For the most part, losing seasons were a regular occurrence for the program.

But the turnaround has been incredible, with the Bears now being a powerhouse in college basketball and at the forefront of the Big 12 discussion on a yearly basis. No moment has to be prouder than winning a national championship in 2021, losing just three games throughout the season.

Drew wanted to stick around and continue his legendary run with Baylor.

He did admit turning down Kentucky was a difficult decision and related the process to what players go through every offseason. Plenty of options are in front of guys when games end. Baylor’s culture is ultimately why Drew felt like he needed to remain.

“It’s nice because our players each and every year are faced with tough decisions,” Drew said. “Stay here, transfer, go pro. We have a culture — Joy, Jesus, others, yourself. If you have the right priorities in making decisions, I don’t think you can go wrong if you’re at the center of God’s will.”