To find out more about the newest Texas Tech basketball commit, Drew Steffe, we spoke with Frisco Memorial head coach Quinton Gibson. Gibson has coached Steffe the last several seasons and the two have helped lead Memorial to a 23-3 overall record including 12-0 in district play so far this season.
How have you seen Steffe progress throughout the years you've had him?
"Super proud of my guy to actually go ahead and make his tough decision early. He's a real team guy. He's all about wins and this process was...he went through it, and I'm glad he picked who he picked. I think Texas Tech is gonna be a good fit for him.
When we opened up Memorial, this is the fourth year of Memorial, he wasn't here that first year because he was in middle school but he stayed in the gym. He was at every game, in the summer he was here, he would come after school and put shots up. So I've seen him mature as a player and the fun thing is to see him mature as a young man.
That's what we talk about in our program is growing young men and he's one of the defining guys in our program when we talk about that. He's a great guy in the classroom, he's a great guy in the cafeteria, he's a great guy in the hallways, he's a great guy in the locker room. He is about the team and Tech's getting one of the best not just shooters, but people, and that's more important to me and our program than anything else.
That basketball is gonna stop bouncing but your character is not and he's a high-character guy. Texas Tech is gonna love him, the fanbase is gonna love him like our fans do here. Our student section adores him, everybody in the locker room adores him, coaching staff we love him, so Tech's getting a good person but with that being said also a great basketball player."
Steffe had a bunch of offers. Why do you think he was so coveted by so many schools?
"He's a dang good basketball player and he's a dang good person. When you can combine those two along with the academics, along with the work ethic, along with the character that he has, there's no doubt or secret why everybody in the country really came in our gym to give a hard look at him."
What have you seen from the Texas Tech staff when they came to recruit Steffe?
"Oh we've met a lot of those guys, they've come here. They really showed interest and they really showed interest in him as a person and how they're gonna grow him as a person. That's what caught me with those guys.
They know he has the intangibles to go and play but they really talked to me and him and pops and they wanted to know what kind of person he was. Not just the basketball but what kind of person he was, what were they bringing in to Texas Tech. I've had good conversations with those guys and like I said, I think he made the best decision that he could possibly make."
You're 23-3, what do you have to do the rest of the year to keep up the success as a team?
"We just gotta keep doing what we're doing, playing together. The beauty of this team is they don't care about individual stats. They don't care about who gets the shine, they don't care about whose name is in the paper. They care about Memorial basketball winning and that's what they really pride themselves in. That's why they come to work, they're a great group of kids. They like hanging around each other, and they love winning together.
When you have that special mix of that talent that we have from Drew (Steffe), to our point guard Isaiah Foster, to our shooting guard Avery (Jackson), to our big Mason (Wujek), to our forward Leon (Horner), to even the guys on the bench, they all want to see each other succeed and they all want to just win. When you have that, we just gotta keep cultivating that we over me mantra that we started the school with and we want to chase greatness this year. We want to do something that nobody has done in Frisco ISD which is go down to San Antonio and go win a state championship."
