As a native of Houston, drexler entered the University of Houston in the early period of 1980 and joined the school basketball team "Phi Slamma Jamma". Drexler is a striker in the team, and his front line with hakeem olajuwon and Larry McCos helped the team reach the NCAA semi-finals for two consecutive years. During his junior year at drexler University, he averaged 15.9 points, 8.8 rebounds and 3.8 assists, and his shooting percentage reached 53.6%. He is also the only player in the NCAA history of his alma mater who scored more than 1000 points, 900 rebounds and 300 steals.