Drew was a two year star at the small college of Gardner-Webb. One of only four players to have ever made the NBA from the small college; the others being Artis Gilmore, Eddie Lee Wilkins, and George Adams. Drew averaged 25 points a game in both his seasons at Gardner-Webb and was selected in the second round by the Atlanta Hawks. Drew made an immediate impact on a team struggling to find it’s identity. The previous season the Hawks had traded star Pete Maravich to New Orleans and had lost Walt Bellamy in the expansion draft. In his rookie season Drew averaged a double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds. In his second season Drew’s points got up to 22 a game and he was named to his first all-star game. The following season Drew averaged a career high 24 points a game. In his third season the Hawks finally made the playoffs only to be swept in 2 games. In 79-80 Drew’s points per game average dropped below 20 a game but he was selected to his second all-star team that year. Drew averaged 20 or more points for the Hawks 6 times.

Following the 1982 season Drew was traded to the Utah Jazz for the draft rights to Dominique Wilkins. Drew would become a key reserve for the Jazz and in his first full season with the team 21 points a game. But he did so in only 44 games because he entered drug rehab for the first time.

The Jazz were possibly one of the worst situations for a player with substance abuse issues to be in. A few years earlier Terry Furlow had died after he wrecked his car while he was high, and there was rumors that several other player and team officials abused cocaine.

Drew came back the following season and had another great year coming of the bench. He averaged 18 points a game and was named the NBA’s Comeback Player of the year; a predecessor to the Most Improved Player award. That season Drew seen his greatest playoff success as the Jazz made the second round of the NBA playoffs.

Everything would come to a crashing end for Drew in the 84-85 season. First Drew had an altercation with Jazz rookie John Stockton and than it was found out that he was abusing Cocaine again. Drew was suspended the remainder of the season and in 1986 commissioner David Stern banned Drew for life. It was one of the strictest punishments ever handed down by the NBA.

Drew many times publicly opposed the ban and thought about even taking it to court, but he never did anything and vanished off the NBA radar for many years. The last report about Drew came from former NBA superstar Charles Barkley who had seen Drew in Houston, Texas. Barkley reported that Drew currently is driving a taxi cab in the Houston area.

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