Jasper Enid Drake

Coach Drake was an incredibly positive influence and mentor to hundreds of young men-certainly including me!
He instilled a competitive and disciplined approach, not only to basketball, but to life- and I have used those lessons for 50 years!
Thank you Coach for your strength and guidance to so many!!
God Bless,
Don Whitaker

In the 1970-71 school year the basketball players stayed in the house on the front of campus by the women's dorm. Playing the game the night before I sprained my ankle. I never knew Coach Drake to visit the house but once or twice and he was a man that didn't give you a bunch of rules to follow. Getting up for breakfast and attending your classes were two of them. On the mourning after my injury Coach Drake shows up in my room at about 8:00 ever so gently puts his hand on my ankle and asks me don't you have an 8:00 class? My roommate Butch English and I both got up dressed as quickly as possible and left. I do not think Butch even had a class that morning, but we had to leave! I do now know that a sprained ankle is not a reason to miss class.
I feel blessed for the lessons learned and time spent with Coach Drake. A life well lived!

On a conditioning run prior to my freshman season @ Lou U...I encountered Coach Drake at the finish. Feeling good about my 4th place finish, I was shocked when Coach Drake mentioned impressive it was and said if you jade that much at the end you must have run very hard in the middle. I never came in after anybody else after his words.

That´s the thing I appreciate the most about Coach Drake....he never wouldn´t us to accept anything less than our absolute best. Every time...!!

God bless you j Enid Drake. And thank you