Loyola’s Drew Valentine at 29, becomes the youngest head coach in Division I basketball. ‘He’s just a natural-born leader’

As a little boy playing on youth basketball teams, Drew Valentine would grab rambunctious, scattered teammates and move them into position.

“I didn’t know he was listening that closely to me,” said Carlton Valentine, Drew’s dad as well as his youth and high school coach. “He’d say, ‘You’re supposed to be two passes away, not three.’ They’d get mad at him but he’d be right. Drew’s been a coach since he was 3 or 4 years old.”

It came as no major shock to those closest to Valentine that the 29-year-old has now become the youngest head coach in Division I men’s basketball. Loyola introduced Valentine on Tuesday at a news conference at Gentile Arena, where he takes over as Porter Moser’s replacement.

Moser left last week after 10 seasons in Rogers Park to become Oklahoma’s new coach. He endorsed Valentine — his assistant the last four seasons — as his successor.

“Everybody has been asking me if I feel pressure,” Valentine said. “I just have such a high standard for myself. If I’m taking out the trash, I want to take out the trash the best. If I’m getting dressed for the game, I want to be the best-dressed dude.

“My standard for myself is so high already, I’m going to put pressure on myself to do great. One thing my dad always taught me is when you’re doing something you know, there’s no need to be nervous.”

Valentine takes over with high expectations after Loyola grew into a midmajor power under Moser with three Missouri Valley Conference titles in the last four seasons and two deep NCAA Tournament runs. The Ramblers had been eyeing him for this moment for years.

Athletic director Steve Watson said they became more focused on grooming Valentine the last two years as Moser continued to receive high-major offers.

“We never formally said he’s the coach in waiting,” said Watson, who declined to specify contract details other than calling it a long-term commitment. “But we had enough discussions, we knew what direction we were headed in.”

Watson didn’t interview other candidates. He called Valentine immediately after Moser confirmed he was accepting Oklahoma’s offer.

“There’s a difference between the quantity of experience and quality of experience,” Watson said. “The quality of his experience is off the charts.”

Valentine’s lineage was made for coaching. Carlton, a former Michigan State player, was a 25-year high school coach in Lansing, Mich. Drew helped shape his younger brother Denzel, a former Michigan State star who’s now with the Chicago Bulls. Drew also played for and coached with Oakland University coach Greg Kampe and served as a graduate assistant for two seasons with Michigan State’s Tom Izzo.

“Those two years were like 10 years,” Izzo said. “He’s probably 39 in terms of experience.”

Kampe told Izzo when Valentine graduated from Oakland in 2013, “Drew is a superstar in waiting in the business.”

“I was a little skeptical of bringing him on,” Izzo said. “I didn’t want people to think I was bringing him here because of his brother. That had zero to do with it. He did an incredible job as a GA: shut your mouth, do your work and make us notice him without flaunting it. Being there early, being there late, a good rapport with players.”

Izzo provided Valentine opportunities most GAs don’t get a taste of, such as recruiting and working on scouting reports. Valentine also treated his brother like other players.

“I was impressed he was mature enough to handle that,” Izzo said. “He was incredible.”

It was nothing new for Drew and Denzel, who grew up playing for their dad and pushing each other. They worked on defensive shell drills as youngsters and lifted weights as preteens. Basketball and family were everything.

Drew wiped tears at his news conference while thanking his brother and reflecting on their sacrifices for the game. Denzel credits Drew for his success.

“He’s always been a leader,” Denzel said at Bulls practice, unable to attend the event. “He’s always had incredible knowledge for the game. He knows his analytics, he knows X’s and O’s, he knows how to talk to people. He’s just a really good leader.

“Even when we go on vacations and stuff like that, he’s just organized. We always look to Drew: ‘Drew, what should do? What restaurants should we go to?’ He’s just a natural-born leader.”

Valentine never focused on a future coaching career while devouring every aspect of the game. Sometimes he even surprised his own family with his drive.

“I’d say, ‘Let’s run this set and go there,’ ” Carlton said. “He’d stop and say, ‘This isn’t going to work. Let’s do a back cut and go over top.’ We’d watch film and he’d be right. He was pinpoint accurate on things.”

Teammates noticed his determination.

Jordan Howenstine, who played on youth, high school and college basketball teams with Valentine, recalled an under-10 travel game for which most of the team was just happy to be on a road trip and excited about the hotel.

“We got our butts kicked,” Howenstine said. “At 10, everyone was like, ‘We have a pool! We’re going to Denny’s! This is great.’ Drew was the only one who was like, ‘That is not happening again.’ He was mad the whole night.

“He would hold people accountable. It wasn’t just, we’re going to play games and go home. It’s, let’s go running. Let’s play in the driveway. This is what we’re going to do because this is who we are.”

At Sexton High School, he was a two-time captain of the football team as a quarterback but sat out his senior season after tearing his ACL. He devoted himself to rehabilitating in order to come back in time for his last basketball season, returning in January.

He also tore his MCL at Oakland and rarely practiced as a senior, saving himself for games.

“He attacked it,” said Travis Bader, Valentine’s former Oakland teammate and roommate. “I never saw him doubt himself. I saw him go all out in college, the way he trained not just his body but studying scouting reports and film more than other guys.”

Kampe quickly noticed Valentine had the traits to be a coach.

He earned coaches’ respect. He focused on making teammates successful. He rallied players when they were trailing. He orchestrated off-the-court gatherings and, considered the team’s best dancer, knew how to get a party started.

“He had that unique ability to be demanding but in a way that they followed and didn’t dislike him for it,” Kampe said. “He was always a guy in the huddle I’d look at. If it was late in a game and there was a big possession, I’d look at him to see him nod or shake his head no.”

Being a head coach is admittedly “weird” for Valentine. He felt so awkward in the Loyola head coach’s office, he left after 20 minutes and worked in his smaller office down the hall. He plans to make it a second home soon, decorating it with photos of his family, including his wife, Taylor, who’s expecting their first child, a daughter, in July.

“It’s still surreal that that’s my office,” he said. “I feel like I’m just blue-collar. I don’t feel entitled to anything.”