Drew II has hoops genes

UNC freshman is son of former NBA player

CHAPEL HILL -- With only 16 first-class seats available on a recent chartered flight, North Carolina's 17 players were asked to vote on which Tar Heel would be banished to coach.

Larry Drew II -- the shortest of the freshmen -- wasn't too surprised when he was picked.

"It was all in fun,'' said the 6-foot-1 point guard, who ended up getting a line of seats to himself in the back. "I don't mind it, because I know next year, it won't be me in that row."

With the top six scorers back from last year's Final Four team, most of what Drew II does this season is in preparation for next, when UNC will likely be without 10 of its current players -- including starting point guard Ty Lawson and senior guard Bobby Frasor.

Entering tonight's home game against the College of Charleston, Drew II is averaging 2.1 points, 2.7 assists and 11.8 minutes in relief of Lawson, who has been teaching him the intricacies of coach Roy Williams' system.

Lawson's best advice so far, according to Drew II: "Listen to coach, do what you're supposed to do, try to limit your mistakes."

Those words echo what he heard from his dad and namesake Larry Drew, who played in the NBA for 10 seasons and is an assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks.

"I tell him every time we talk, 'When you're out there, you have to be you. You're playing in a very established program that has a system, and you have to incorporate your game within the system,' " said Drew Sr., who communicates with his son daily. "... He's still going through the adjustment, but he's a very receptive kid ... and he's learning."

Drew II said that having a dad with so much professional experience is "like having my own personal coach." And when Drew Sr. can't make it to games, he records them, watches and takes notes.

"I see a lot of me in him," said Drew Sr., who starred at Missouri and averaged 11.4 points and 5.2 assists in 714 NBA games. "From the talent standpoint, I think he is more talented than I was a freshman in college."

They're still pretty well matched, too. Drew II, who spent plenty of time dribbling around cones under his dad's practiced eye while growing up in Encino, Calif., first beat his namesake one-on-one when he was 14. But Drew Sr. said he was the victor the last time they matched up, about a year ago.

The pair spent plenty of time discussing Drew II's college options.

"We knew that Ty could leave early, and [Larry] could be thrown into the fire and have to learn quickly ... or that Ty could stay, and [Larry] could learn from a veteran point guard,'' Drew Sr. said. "We felt like either situation was a good situation."

Still, Drew II said he had some anxious moments last summer not knowing which Tar Heels would be left when he arrived on campus. He said he wasn't surprised all of the underclassmen opted to put off the NBA for another year and is particularly happy that Lawson chose to return. Trying to guard the speedy junior in practice has improved his defense.

"Last year, [the Tar Heels] were like No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, No. 4 in the nation the whole year, and having the whole team back -- to come in here as a freshman guard, I have to come in here and lead these guys, impose my will on them?" Drew said. "It's kind of like I've got the keys to the Lamborghini or something like that, and I'm just learning how to drive it."

He figures the test drives will help in the long run, when he's one of the only veterans on the court. Drew II also expects it may help guarantee him a first-class seat on those future chartered flights.

"Everything I do this year, I'm preparing to do next year,'' he said. "So if I make a mistake in the game, the same mistakes, I get pretty hard on myself. Because I do realize next year, there's a good chance that I might be one of the only guards here [next season]. So I do need to learn the team, I do need to be the leader."