In the last 4 years, the Winona State University men’s basketball team has had one consistent player. This dedicated Warrior is none other than Connor Drew, a fourth year from Huxley, Iowa.
This year, Drew played in all 33 conference games for the Warriors. He was one of the key players of the team and a leading point scorer.
Drew has had a passion for basketball since his childhood. He picked up the ball at the young age of four and began playing for his school’s basketball team at the age of six.
His high-school career was nothing short of glorious. In his time, his team made it to the state championships in all three years he was in play. In his senior year, they were one of the finalists.
It was also in high school that Drew formed those first team connections, noting multiple special moments with friends and teammates. Unfortunately, none of his high school teammates followed him to college. He mentioned that he still misses them.
Leaving his hometown behind, Drew was recruited to Winona State in 2021. In his first season, he started in 26 out of 26 games. He scored 231 points with an 83% successful hit rate from the free throw line and had 31 of 95 shots from behind the arc.
This determination and skill on the court was consistent throughout his career. In his second year, he once again was a starter in all 27 games that the Warriors played. He scored 319 points with an average of 11.8 points per match. In his most recent year, he successfully hit 50 free throws as well.
In his third year, Connor’s performance was more focused on defense than offense in comparison to the previous year. He again scored 319 points throughout the entire season but also had 25 steals, which is his Winona State career high.
After this season, Drew faced a large shift in his teammates. He had a lot of new faces on the team in his last year of college, and everyone looked to him for guidance as one of the highly skilled members, and older members of the team.
“Connor is a four-year starter for us. He is everything you want in a student athlete,” Warrior head coach, Todd Eisner, said.
Connor did not disappoint his fans. He played 33 out of 33 games for Winona State with a whopping total of 1035 minutes on the court. He scored his career-high of 461 points with an average of 14 points per game.
He also scored 93 free throws out of 120 attempted. It is almost double his score from the last two seasons individually. He also scored 63 three-pointers, which is another career high for Drew.
“Connor has been amazing for our team, not only as a player, but also as a leader,” fellow Warrior Luke Haertle said.
To keep him motivated, Drew noted that he has always received support from his parents and his sister. He mentioned that his parents would frequently take him to basketball games for further exposure despite having to drive for longer distances. They have also been a massive help to him financially. He also mentioned that his girlfriend was a big support for him throughout his college life, both on the court and not.
Drew is to receive a degree in business administration, with a minor in marketing. With his degree, he’d prefer a related job directly out of college. However, there is also a good chance that he may come back to join the coaching staff at Winona State.
Drew indicates that he sees an excellent future on the horizon for the Winona State men’s basketball team. After all, it is just this last season that the Warriors qualified for nationals after 11 years. Despite the loss of this cherished player, he has much confidence in the team without him and hopes that the Warriors will continue to qualify (and perhaps obtain that much desired win) every year from now on.
