BOCA RATON, FL, (WTKR)- Drew Williamson played in the NIT semifinals in 2006 in an Old Dominion uniform, but he's never been on the stage he's about to take this weekend.
Williamson, an assistant coach at Florida Atlantic, helped guide the Owls to the Final Four with a memorable NCAA Tournament run. He and FAU will take on San Diego State in Houston on Saturday in the first national semifinal.
"We got home and our neighbors had put some congratulations signs out front," the former Monarch smiled. "This is unreal. The amount of text messages, phone calls, support, it makes it just unreal and I'm definitely grateful for the opportunity and I can't imagine Saturday night, sitting on that sideline in Houston."
While casual basketball fans may not be familiar with Florida Atlantic, the Owls have put themselves on the map and have not waited until the NCAA Tournament to shine. They're 35-3 on the season, went on a 20-game winning streak during the campaign and won both the Conference USA regular season and tournament titles.
"We've believed for a long time that this group was special," Williamson explained. "We went on a 20-game win streak, beat some pretty good teams early on in the year and we felt like we had the chemistry, the camaraderie and the togetherness to make a run."
The former ODU guard has been on Dusty May's staff at FAU since July of 2021. He spent eight years on staff at Virginia State prior to making the jump to Division I, an experience he thinks prepared him well for the current role he occupies. Williamson was the only full-time assistant coach for the Trojans, meaning he had to wear many hats.
"[I] basically had to do everything that a regular NCAA Division I, Division II program would have to do to make the program successful with less help," he pointed out. "From there you get to learn a lot of how to be efficient with your time, how to make sure all the buttons are pressed, all the I's are dotted and the T's are crossed."
Williamson got his start in coaching at his alma mater, serving as Old Dominion's director of basketball operations.
"I didn't know what I was getting into," the assistant coach said. "It showed me all the behind the scenes things that make a basketball program successful."
Now he prepares to step under the brightest lights in college basketball. Florida Atlantic's victories in this year's NCAA Tournament mark the first March Madness wins in program history and now the Owls have captured the nation. Williamson is embracing the experience and is determined to learn from it as well.
"Regardless of what you do in the future, you can always draw back on those experiences," he said. "Whatever game I play into or coach next in my future, I don't think it will get any bigger than the moment we're about to have Saturday and, hopefully, Monday if things go as planned."
From 2003-2007, Williamson patrolled the backcourt for the silver and blue. He led the Monarchs to two NCAA Tournament appearances and the final four of the NIT. The former guard still holds the program record with 130 consecutive games played.
Florida Atlantic and San Diego State tip off at 6:09 PM on Saturday, followed by Connecticut and Miami. You can catch the Final Four on WTKR.
