John Edward Drew (September 30, 1954 – April 10, 2022) was an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. A

small forward The small forward (SF), also known as the three or swingman, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Small forwards are typically shorter, quicker, and leaner than power forwards and centers but taller, larger, and stronger ...

from

Gardner–Webb University Gardner–Webb University (Gardner–Webb, GWU, or GW) is a private Baptist university in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (Southern Baptist Convention). It was founded as Boili ...

, he played eleven seasons in the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

(NBA). Drew was a two-time

NBA All-Star The National Basketball Association (NBA) All-Star Game is an annual exhibition basketball game. It is the main event of the NBA All-Star Weekend. Originally, the All-Star Game featured a conference-based format, featuring a team composed of a ...

, and was the first player banned under the

substance abuse Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...

policy instituted by league commissioner

David Stern David Joel Stern (September 22, 1942 – January 1, 2020) was an American lawyer and business executive who was the commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1984 to 2014. Stern oversaw NBA basketball's growth into one of t ...

Early life

Drew was born in Vredenburgh, Alabama, on September 30, 1954. He attended J.F. Shields High School in

Beatrice, Alabama Beatrice is a town in Monroe County, Alabama, United States. It incorporated in 1901. At the 2020 census the population was 204, down from 301 in 2010 and 412 in 2000. Geography Beatrice is located in northern Monroe County at (31.733178, -87. ...

. He led the school to a state championship in 1972. He set the

Alabama High School Athletic Association The Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA), based in Montgomery, is the governing body for interscholastic athletics and activities programs for public schools in Alabama. The AHSAA is a member National Federation of State High School ...

career scoring average record with 41.0 points per game.

College career

After graduating from high school, Drew played basketball at

. He averaged 24.4 points during his

freshman A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ara ...

year, before improving to 25.9 points and 13

rebounds 'Rebound' is a term used in sports to describe the ball (or puck or other object of play) becoming available for possession by either opponent after an attempt to put the ball or puck into the goal has been unsuccessful. Rebounds are generally ...

as a

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. In ...

. He was selected in the second round of the

1974 NBA draft The 1974 NBA draft was the 28th annual draft of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The draft was held on May 28, 1974, before the 1974–75 season. In this draft, 18 NBA teams took turns selecting amateur U.S. college basketball players ...

by the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

. He would later be joined by

Artis Gilmore Artis Gilmore (born September 21, 1949) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). Gilmore was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basket ...

and

Eddie Lee Wilkins Eddie Lee Wilkins (born May 7, 1962) is an American former basketball player. A 6'10" forward/ center from Gardner-Webb University, Wilkins played in six NBA seasons for the New York Knicks and the Philadelphia 76ers. Early life Wilkins gradua ...

as the only alumni of Gardner–Webb University to play in the NBA.

Professional career

Atlanta Hawks (1974–1982)

Drew made his NBA debut on October 18, 1974, scoring 32 points to go along with 12 rebounds and three assists against the

Chicago Bulls The Chicago Bulls are an American professional basketball team based in Chicago. The Bulls compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded on January 1 ...

. He quickly made an impact with the Hawks, averaging 18.5 points per game, 10.7 rebounds per game, and leading the NBA in offensive rebounding (357) during his rookie season. He was named to the

NBA All-Rookie Team The NBA All-Rookie Team is an annual National Basketball Association (NBA) honor given since the 1962–63 NBA season to the top rookies during the regular season. Voting is conducted by the NBA head coaches who are not allowed to vote for playe ...

. From 1974 to 1982, Drew starred for the Hawks, with whom he was a two-time All-Star (

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

and 1980), averaging more than 20 points per game on five occasions (1976–79 and 1981). He averaged 21.6 points in his second season, when he was named an all-star for the first time. The next season in 1976–77, he averaged almost 25 point per game. In 1976 and 1977, he ranked in the top 10 in points and points per game in the NBA. With

Jason Kidd Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Regarded as one of the greatest point guards a ...

, Drew holds the NBA record for most turnovers in a regular season game (14). Drew set that mark with the Hawks in a March 1, 1978 game against New Jersey. However, he recorded 12.4 turnover percentage in the league that season, finishing eighteenth in the NBA. He then bettered that mark to 11.2 the following year, the twelfth-lowest in the league.

Utah Jazz (1982–1984)

Drew was traded along with

Freeman Williams Freeman Williams Jr. (May 15, 1956 – April 19, 2022) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Portland State Vikings, where he was a two-time All-Americ ...

and cash to the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference, Northwest Division. Since the 1991–92 season, ...

on September 2, 1982, in exchange for

Dominique Wilkins Jacques Dominique Wilkins (born January 12, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player who primarily played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Wilkins was a nine-time NBA All-Star, a seven-time All ...

. Drew went on to play three seasons (1982–1985) with the franchise. He won the Player of the Week award on March 6, 1983. He was waived in the middle of the 1984–85 season after relapsing. He finished with NBA career with 15,291 points and averages of 20.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game.

Wyoming Wildcatters (1984–1986)

Drew played in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA) (originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association) was a men's professional basketball mi ...

(CBA) in hopes of returning to the NBA. He spent the next two years with the Wyoming Wildcatters, becoming an All-Star in the CBA.

Drug addiction

Drew battled cocaine

addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use oft ...

during his professional basketball career. He missed 38 games during the 1982–83 season as he spent eight weeks in

drug rehab Drug rehabilitation is the process of medical or psychotherapeutic treatment for dependency on psychoactive substances such as alcohol, prescription drugs, and street drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, heroin or amphetamines. The general intent ...

. He was the runner-up that season in voting for the NBA Comeback Player of the Year Award behind

Paul Westphal Paul Douglas Westphal (November 30, 1950 – January 2, 2021) was an American basketball player, head coach, and commentator. Westphal played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1972 to 1984. Playing the guard position, he won an ...

of the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the National Basketball Associat ...

. He relapsed during the 1984–85 season and was waived by the Jazz, then was arrested in May 1985 for passing bad checks. The third-degree felony charge was reduced in a

plea bargain A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or ''nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendant ...

to a suspended jail sentence, and Drew was ordered to enter a drug rehabilitation program. The

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

expressed interest in signing him in December, but were prohibited from doing so by the league due to his past infractions. In January 1986, Drew became the first player to be banned by NBA commissioner

for multiple violations of the league's

policy. He was not on an NBA roster at the time, but the league considered his most recent rehab stint to be his third violation under the league's drug policy. He could not seek reinstatement until the 1987–88 season. Drew opined that the policy "will keep guys from coming forward and admitting they still have a problem." In late 1986, he was arrested in Atlanta twice in less than three months, first on October 2 for selling cocaine to an

undercover agent To go "undercover" (that is, to go on an undercover operation) is to avoid detection by the object of one's observation, and especially to disguise one's own identity (or use an assumed identity) for the purposes of gaining the trust of an ind ...

and then on December 17 for cocaine possession and purchasing the drug from an undercover agent.

Later life

After several years out of the public eye, Drew resurfaced in 2002, when he told the ''

Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'' that he had a grip on his addiction, without going into further details. He worked as a taxi driver in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

during his later years. Drew died on April 10, 2022, in Houston. He was 67, and suffered from Stage IV

bone cancer A bone tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue in bone, traditionally classified as noncancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant). Cancerous bone tumors usually originate from a cancer in another part of the body such as from lung, breast, thyro ...

prior to his death.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

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Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, 78 , , – , , 29.3 , , .428 , , – , , .713 , , 10.7 , , 1.8 , , 1.5 , , 0.5 , , 18.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 77 , , – , , 30.5 , , .502 , , – , , .744 , , 8.6 , , 1.9 , , 1.8 , , 0.4 , , 21.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 74 , , – , , 36.3 , , .487 , , – , , .714 , , 9.1 , , 1.8 , , 1.4 , , 0.4 , , 24.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 70 , , – , , 31.5 , , .480 , , – , , .760 , , 7.3 , , 2.0 , , 1.7 , , 0.4 , , 23.2 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 79 , , – , , 30.5 , , .473 , , – , , .731 , , 6.6 , , 1.5 , , 1.6 , , 0.2 , , 22.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 80 , , – , , 28.8 , , .453 , , .000 , , .757 , , 5.9 , , 1.3 , , 1.1 , , 0.3 , , 19.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 67 , , – , , 31.0 , , .456 , , .000 , , .787 , , 5.7 , , 1.2 , , 1.5 , , 0.2 , , 21.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 70 , , 51 , , 29.1 , , .486 , , .333 , , .741 , , 5.4 , , 1.4 , , 0.9 , , 0.0 , , 18.5 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

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, 81 , , 4 , , 22.2 , , .479 , , .273 , , .778 , , 4.2 , , 1.7 , , 1.1 , , 0.0 , , 17.7 , - , style="text-align:left;", , style="text-align:left;",

, 19 , , 16 , , 24.4 , , .412 , , .000 , , .770 , , 4.3 , , 1.8 , , 1.2 , , 0.1 , , 16.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 739 , , 104 , , 29.5 , , .470 , , .175 , , .748 , , 6.9 , , 1.7 , , 1.4 , , 0.3 , , 20.7 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", All-Star , 2 , , 1 , , 12.0 , , .143 , , – , , .800 , , 3.0 , , 0.0 , , 1.0 , , 0.0 , , 3.0

Playoffs

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1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 � ...

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1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

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, 9, , –, , 30.6, , .420, , –, , .761, , 6.7, , 0.8, , 1.0, , 0.4, , 16.1 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1980 , style="text-align:left;”,

, 5, , –, , 30.0, , .381, , –, , .714, , 6.0, , 0.8, , 1.4, , 0.0, , 14.6 , - , style="text-align:left;", 1982 , style="text-align:left;”,

, 2, , –, , 29.5, , .364, , –, , .583, , 5.0, , 0.5, , 0.0, , 0.0, , 11.5 , - , style="text-align:left;",

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

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, 11, , –, , 15.6, , .506, , –, , .788, , 2.3, , 0.8, , 0.4, , 0.0, , 10.2 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 29 , , – , , 25.3 , , .431 , , – , , .725 , , 4.8 , , 0.8 , , 0.7 , , 0.2 , , 14.0 Source:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Drew, John 1954 births 2022 deaths 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople African-American basketball players American men's basketball players Atlanta Hawks draft picks Atlanta Hawks players Basketball players from Alabama Deaths from bone cancer Deaths from cancer in Texas Doping cases in basketball Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs men's basketball players National Basketball Association All-Stars National Basketball Association players banned for drug offenses Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) People from Monroe County, Alabama Shooting guards Small forwards Utah Jazz players Virginia Squires draft picks Wyoming Wildcatters players

Early life

College career

Professional career

Atlanta Hawks (1974–1982)

Utah Jazz (1982–1984)

Wyoming Wildcatters (1984–1986)

Drug addiction

Later life

NBA career statistics

Regular season

Playoffs

See also

References

External links