Trey Draper: A True Student-Athlete

Leonard "Trey" Draper is a 5-10, 170lb. walk-on freshman guard for the University of Memphis. He graduated from Mitchell High School, in Memphis, where he played both basketball and baseball. Trey Draper truly exemplifies the ideal student-athlete. During his time at Mitchell, he served on the Leadership Council, on the Student Council and as a peer mediator. He chose these roles for a variety of reasons: he had leadership instilled in him at an early age, his guidance counselor thought it would be to his and other students benefit, and he simply enjoyed being involved.

Although Draper spent his junior and senior years as a starter and team captain for his basketball team, most people thought he was better at baseball. As a baseball player, he started and was team captain all four years. Once he made the jump to the collegiate level, however, he decided to stick with hoops stating that he "loved basketball too much to let it go."

It shouldn't come as any surprise that Draper loves basketball. His grandfather, the first Leonard Draper, was good friends with Larry Finch. He stated that his parents told him he was attending games before he was born, and that several basketball players, including "Andre Turner, Penny Hardaway, David Vaughn, Elliot Perry, and many more" held him as a child.

But this isn't his only connection to the program. He is also friends with Tiger freshman point guard, Joe Jackson. Draper called him, "one of my best friends." When asked whether his relationship with either Jackson or his grandfather influenced his decision to attend the University of Memphis, he admitted that they wanted him to become a Tiger, but "at the end of the day, it was my decision."

Draper referred to the moment when he drew the loudest applause of the night after hitting a three point attempt against LeMoyne Owen as "a dream come true." He then noted that the support from his team is what meant the most to him.

He also had a message for the fans, "I just want to let the Tiger fans know I am excited to be here, and my teammates and I are working hard everyday to bring a National Championship back to Memphis."