Scottie Pippen, Jr., the son of NBA legend Scottie Pippen, will be attending Vanderbilt University next season to play under head coach Bryce Drew.
Pippen, Jr. is the leading scorer for Sierra Canyon High School in Los Angeles. After several college programs courted him, he made his final decision to head to Vanderbilt, located in the heart of Nashville, Tennessee.
Washington State, Colorado State, UC Santa Barbara, Hofstra, and San Francisco were also interested in the 6-foot-1 point guard from Chatsworth, California.
Chip Off the Old Scottie
Pippen’s father played alongside Michael Jordan on the Chicago Bulls, where they won six NBA championships. The elder Pippen was a seven-time All-Star and named to the NBA’s Top 50 All-Time Team.
On his Twitter feed, Pippen, Jr. posted, “I would like (to) thank God for blessing me to be able to play the game that I love. I would also like to thank everyone who has ever supported me. A huge thank you to my parents and the rest of my family for always supporting me and helping me be the best that I could be. I would like to thank my coaches, trainers and people around me who have pushed me to the next level and helped me reach me where I am today. I want to thank all of the coaches who took time and recruited me. With that being said, I would like to announce my commitment to VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY #AnchorDown.”
Pippen, Jr. played his high school ball in the shadows of Hollywood. Some of his teammates had fathers who played in the NBA including Derek Fischer and Kenyon Martin.
Hotspot Tennessee
While the college basketball season is in full swing, many of the top high school players in the country are committing to schools for next season. Duke recently signed Vernon Carey, Jr., who will be heading to Durham for a proverbial one-and-done season.
The state of Tennessee is becoming a hotbed for college basketball. Penny Hardaway outhustled James Calipari at Kentucky and landed several top recruits. Hardaway convinced the top player in the country, James Wiseman, to stay home and play for Memphis.
Bryce Drew stepped up his recruiting game at Vanderbilt. Drew landed a four-star recruit with shoot guard Austin Crowley from West Point, Mississippi. He also recruited Dylan Disu, an outstanding forward from Pflugerville, Texas.
Drew Tree
Bryce Drew is a former Indiana high school hoops legend. He was named Mr. Basketball in 1994, which is the biggest honor bestowed upon a high school basketball player in the state of Indiana.
Drew is the son of a head coach, Homer Drew. Bryce played for his father at Valparaiso. He hit a game-winner shot during the 1998 March Madness tournament that people are still talking about twenty years later.
Bryce’s brother Scott also coached at Valparaiso for a couple of season. Scott Drew is currently the head coach at Baylor, where he has been since 2003.
The Houston Rockets drafted Bryce Drew in the first round of the 1998 NBA Draft. He played sporadically over seven seasons before joining the coaching ranks. Bryce succeeded his father at Valparaiso in 2006. In five seasons, Valpo amassed a 124-49 record and 71.7 percent winning percentage.
Drew accepted the Vanderbilt gig in 2016. He went 31-36 in his first two seasons in the SEC. This season, Vandy is 9-6 but 0-3 in conference play.