How a childhood friendship turned into a historic game for UNC Asheville's Drew Pember

A friendship that began on a church playground in seventh grade is paying big dividends for the UNC Asheville men’s basketball team.

Junior guard Trent Stephney and junior forward Drew Pember met on a basketball court at Cedar Hills Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee, almost 10 years ago. An instant friendship was formed.

“We were on separate teams and guarded each other but there was just an instant connection,” Pember said. “And we’ve been best friends ever since.”

Stephney, who had just moved from Indiana, remembers an interesting guy.

“I had just moved to Knoxville and found a basketball game going on at church and suddenly I met this corny dude,” Stephney said. “Drew was really funny and we quickly hit it off and became best friends. It’s a friendship that’s taken us through middle school, high school and now college.”

The duo would eventually play on the same team at Bearden High, where they would lead the school to a state championship in 2019. Both were key players on the title team with Stephney scoring 22 points in the state final.

Trent Stephney emerges as leader at UNC Asheville

Upon graduation from Bearden, the two took different paths. Stephney signed with UNC Asheville to try to help rebuild a program that had gone 4-27 in coach Mike Morrell’s first season. Pember would stay home to continue his career at SEC power Tennessee.

“We knew what a great program Bearden was. My former assistant coach Kyle Perry had recruited a talented player from there a few years earlier when he was at USC Upstate. His name was Ty Green and he went on to have a great career at Upstate,” said Morrell. “Kyle told me about Trent, and I don’t think Trent had a lot of offers.

“But we really liked him from the start. We knew he was a winner and I just thought he’d be the perfect guy to help build our program,” Morrell said. “Trent has a super personality and just knows the game really well. He’s a versatile player who has all the intangibles that help you win.”

Stephney wasn’t a starter as a freshman but was a key player off the bench for the Bulldogs, who became one of the most improved teams in the country going from 4-27 to 15-16. Stephney didn’t score much, averaging 2.9 points per game, but he was 14th in the Big South in steals with a 1.2 average.

Stephney moved into the starting lineup as a sophomore and has been there since. He averaged 9.5 points as a sophomore and was second in assists (62) and steals (28).

“Trent is our captain and is our leader on this year’s team,” said Morrell. “He just finds a way to get the job done when he’s on and off the floor. He’s a winner.”

How Drew Pember found UNC Asheville

Things didn't go as smoothly for Pember at Tennessee. He was stuck behind a future NBA frontline both his years with the Volunteers. He played in 22 games as a freshman and only 10 as a sophomore. At the end of his sophomore year, he decided to enter the transfer portal.

“I didn’t get a chance to play much at Tennessee during my time and I just wanted a chance to play more,”Pember said. “I decided to put my name in the portal to see what would happen.”

Stephney had an idea about what should happen.

“We stayed in touch with each other even when we were at different schools and even then, I was telling him he needed to come play with me at Asheville,” Stephney said. “And when he decided to transfer, I told him he needed to come here and for us to play together again.”

Pember, a 6-foot-10 forward, has enjoyed a sensational start to his Bulldogs career. The junior has been named Big South Player of the Week three timesand is Asheville’s leading scorer (15.0 points per game), rebounder (6.4), free throw shooter (87.5%) and blocked shots (69 in 19 games).

Pember enters Thursday’s nationally televised home game against Big South foe Gardner-Webb on a roll. He scored 41 points in a 78-74 overtime win at Radford that snapped a frustrating three-game losing steak for Asheville during which it had it chances in the final minutes to win each time.

Morrell concedes that he didn’t have too much to do with Pember’s enrollment at UNC Asheville.

Recruiting Pember

“Trent Stephney was our lead recruiter on getting Drew to come here,” Morrell said. “As a coaching staff, we didn’t have to do too much because Trent was working hard to make it happen.”

Trent didn’t have to try too hard.

“Trent really wanted me to come to Asheville and I really wanted to play with Trent again. And the system that Coach Morrell employs at Asheville is perfect for me,” Pember said. “The system just suits my game very well and I’m able to score from both inside and outside.”

Stephney agrees.

“I just thought the way we play and the way Coach Morrell puts his players in places where they can succeed would just work well for Drew,” said Stephney. “He can play the four or the three and can score anywhere on the court.”

Pember may be Asheville’s leading scorer and rebounder and could be a candidate for Big South Player of the Year but on the floor, Stephney is in charge.

“Trent is tougher on Drew during a game than I’ll ever be,” said Morrell. “He’s always getting on him and telling him what to do.”

And that’s OK with both, though Stephney says he gives Pember plenty of praise as well.

“I may yell at him from time to time about getting to the right spot or being in the right place on defense," Stephney said, "but I also offer praise when Drew does something well, which happens a lot."

“Trent’s just trying to do what’s best for the team and that’s OK,” Pember said.

Stephney had big role in Pember's historic game

Pember’s 41 points at Radford marked just the eighth time in school history that a Bulldogs player had scored 40 points or more in a game. But Pember is quick to point out that Asheville doesn’t win and he doesn’t score 41 points without a huge basket from Stephney.

The Bulldogs trailed 64-62 after Radford’s Josiah Jeffers had scored on an acrobatic layup with six seconds left in regulation. Asheville got the ball to Stephney, who dribbled through the Highlanders defense and hit a 10-footer in the lane as the buzzer sounded to send the game to overtime.

It was not an easy shot but it was a shot that Morrell was pleased that Stephney took.

“I was very comfortable with Trent having the ball in that situation,” said Morrell. “We didn’t need to call a time-out. Trent made a great move and hit a big-time shot for us.”

“I don’t come close to scoring 41 points and we don’t get the win without Trent hitting that shot at the end of regulation,” Pember said. “That was a huge play by him, but I wasn’t the least bit surprised he hit that shot. He’s always been a clutch player.”

Asheville is 11-8, including 3-3 in Big South Conference games, as it takes on Gardner-Webb at 7 p.m. Thursday at Kimmel Arena. Both players hope the dramatic win at Radford helps the Bulldogs get on a winning streak.

“We’ve got a talented team and if we just make a few more plays down the stretch in a close game like we did on Saturday then we can start winning those close games,” Pember said.

“We can be extremely good this year. We just need to keep our emotions in check and don’t let anything from the outside get us down,” Stephney said. “As long as we keep battling every game for 40 minutes, we’ve got a chance to win.”

This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Childhood pals reunite to turn UNC Asheville into Big South contenders