University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
2023-24 Men's Basketball Roster
Roster
Drew Pember
- Position:
- Forward
- Height:
- 6-11
- Class:
- Fifth Year
- Hometown:
- Knoxville, Tenn.
- Prev School:
- University of Tennessee / Bearden HS
Awards & Honors
- 2023-24 Lou Henson All-America Team
- 2023-24 NABC All-District First Team
- 2023-24 Big South All-Tournament Team
- 2023-24 Big South Player of the Year
- 2023-24 Big South Preseason Player of the Year
- 2022-23 Big South Male Athlete of the Year
- 2022-23 Big South Player of the Year
- 2022-23 Big South Tournament MVP
- 2023 Lou Henson National Player of the Year Finalist, 2023 Lou Henson All-America Team
- 2023 Lute Olson National Player of the Year Finalist
- 2023 USBWA All-District
- 2023 NABC All-District First Team
- 2022-23 Big South Preseason Player of the Year
- 10x Big South Player of the Week
- 2022 NABC All-District Second Team
- 2021-22, 2022-23 Big South Defensive Player of the Year
- 2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24 Big South First Team
- Hoops HD All-Conference and Defensive Player of the Year
2023-24 Season (Fifth Year) - Drew Pember concluded one of the most decorated careers in Bulldog Men’s Basketball history in 2023-24…Once again began the season as the Preseason Player of the Year…Named Big South Player of the Week twice…Recorded two triple-doubles, becoming just the third Bulldog in program history to do so, and the only individual in program history to record more than once…Led the Big South in overall scoring at 20.6 points and is just the eighth player in league history to average 20.0 points in back-to-back seasons…Is the only player in Big South history with 1900 points (1,902), 700 rebounds (795), and 200 blocked shots (236)...Pember is No. 16 in Big South history and No. 4 in program history in points, with 1,902 (jumping from No. 102 at the conclusion of the 2022-23 season)...Pember is No. 18 in Big South history and No. 5 in program history in rebounds, with 795…Pember is No. 3 in program history and No. 6 in Big South history in blocked shots, with 236…Finished the season No. 4 in the nation in free throws with 228 and No. 9 in attempts…Holds the record for most career free throws with 632 and most free throws attempted 748…Had a season-high of 36 points and six 3-pointers against Winthrop on Feb. 3…Had a season-high 16 rebounds against USC Upstate on Feb. 10…Had 10 double-digit rebound games, and scored double-digit points in all but two games…Became the first player in program history to earn an invitation to play in the NABC Reese’s All-Star Game…Became the second player in two years for Asheville to compete in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament…His postseason accolades include Big South Player of the Year, Big South All-Tournament Team, NABC All-District First Team honors and the Lou Henson All-America Team.
2022-23 Season (Senior) - Drew Pember had one of the best seasons in UNC Asheville history in 2022-23...Began the season as the Preseason Big South Player of the Year...Named the Big South Player of the Week five times...Recorded three 40-plus point outings...Including a school record 48 points vs. Presbyterian on January 25...48 points are the most in Division I this season...First Big South player to lead the league in scoring, rebounding and blocks in a season...Leads the country in free throws made & attempted...Named a finalist for both the Lute Olson (Top Player in Division I) and Lou Henson (Top Player in Mid-Majors) National Player of the Year awards...After the regular season, Pember was named the Big South’s Player and Defensive Player of the Year...Also was named the Big South Tournament MVP...He is the first player in conference history to be named Preseason Player of the Year, Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and Tournament MVP in the same season...He also was named to the 2023 Lou Henson All-America Team
2021-22 Season (Junior) - In his first season in a Bulldog uniform, Pember was a dominant player for Asheville...The Knoxville, Tenn. native was named the Big South's Defensive Player of the Year and was named to the League's First Team at season's end...Pember was just the third Bulldog to ever earn the Big South's Defensive Player of the Year Award...A 2021-22 NABC Second Team All-District selection as well, Pember led Asheville in scoring (488 points), scoring average (15.7 PPG), free throw percentage (86.3 %), rebounding (205), and blocks (93)...Pember finished the season ranking sixth nationally in blocks per game (3.0) and 10th in the country with 93 blocks...A three-time Big South Player of the Week selection, Pember topped the 20-point mark nine times in 2021-22 with seven of those outings coming against Big South foes...His best performance of the season came in an overtime win at Radford where he netted 41 points and added 11 rebounds.
2019-21 (At Tennessee) - Entered the NCAA Transfer Portal on March 26, 2021...As a sophomore, Pembe saw action in 10 games, including seven SEC contests, averaging 2.8 minutes per game...Scored his only two points of the season on a second-half dunk in the home win over South Carolina (2/17/21)...Dished off a career-high three assists in Tennessee's dominant victory over Tennessee Tech (12/18/20)...Saw his first action of the year in UT's home victory over Appalachian State (12/15/20)...As a freshman at Tennessee, Pember averaged 1.3 points and 1.0 rebounds in a reserve role for the Vols, appearing in 22 games in his freshman campaign...Scored two points and dished off an assist at Mississippi State (2/1/20)...Scored five points and grabbed two rebounds in UT's home win over South Carolina (1/11/20)...Knocked down his first career 3-pointer in the Wisconsin game (12/28/19)...Played a season-high 15 minutes in Tennessee's victory over Florida A&M (12/4/19)...Tallied eight points, five rebounds, two blocks and an assist in eight minutes off the bench against Alabama State (11/20/19)...Made his collegiate debut in Tennessee's 82-63 victory over Murray State (11/12/19), grabbing his first career rebound.
Prep Career - Graduated from Bearden High School in Knoxville, where he was coached by Jeremy Parrott...Was rated as the No. 7 overall prospect in his class in the state of Tennessee...As a senior helped lead Bearden to the Tennessee Class AAA Championship, defeating Memphis East in the final...Was named to the 2019 Class AAA All-Tournament Team for his efforts after averaging 13.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.7 blocks, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game...Leading the Bulldogs to an impressive 32-5 record and a top-50 national ranking in 2019, Pember also was named to the regular season All-District Team, the All-District Tournament Team and the All-Region Tournament Team...As a junior, he helped lead Bearden to the Class AAA state semifinals, where the Bulldogs fell to one of the nation’s top teams in Memphis East despite a 15-point, 10-rebound performance from Pember...2017-18 first-team All-District 4-AAA honoree averaged 10.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 blocks and 2.7 assists per game en route to helping Bearden post an impressive 38-2 record for the season...Played his AAU ball with the BMaze Elite program, run by former Tennessee point guard Bobby Maze (2008-10)...Son of Allison Nix and Donny Pember...His mother (volleyball) and father (basketball) were both student-athletes at nearby Carson-Newman University...Joined former Vols guard Jordan Bowden (2016-20) as the only Knox County natives signed to a Tennessee basketball scholarship as freshmen in the last 30 years...Academic Major: Business Management...Recipient of the Dane Bradshaw Endowed Athletic Scholarship and the The Richard Mark Foster Family Scholarship.
