Article: Baylor Bears Basketball

I'm a bit stunned these days. My Baylor Bears are 15-2, ranked #25 in the national polls, and tied for first in the Big 12! This is the team, as many of you know, that endured a terrible tragedy a few years ago when it was hit by murder and illegal activity. Here is a link explaining the entire scandal:

Link

Those that have followed Baylor for so many years were shocked. How could that have happened? Would the program survive?

In response, the University imposed major sanctions on itself. They limited recruiting... newly-hired coach Scott Drew had to get players who were already on campus playing intramural games. When the NCAA came through with their sanctions, we weren't allowed to play any non-conference games for one year. It was dreadful.

The other night I watched "We Are Marshall." It's a fantastic story of how the team literally rose from the ashes with the support of the school and community. I highly recommend it. That story reminded me a little of what Baylor has gone through these past 5 years. Waking up and reading this article this morning (on the front page of the Dallas Morning News) was a great way to start the day. Enjoy...

Baylor's men's basketball team enjoying resurgence
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Chip Brown

Scott Drew and his Baylor basketball team caught an 11 a.m. flight from Omaha to Dallas on Sunday and then made the hour and a half bus trip from Dallas to Waco watching the western 3:10 to Yuma.

Looking around, Drew saw something after a Big 12 road game he hadn't seen since 2004.
"Broad smiles," Drew said.

The Bears snapped a 25-game road losing streak in Big 12 play Saturday night with a 72-70 victory at Nebraska. The Bears improved to 15-2 and 3-0 in the Big 12 – tied with Kansas (18-0, 3-0) for first place.

It's Baylor's best start since the 1945-46 season, when the Bears started 24-2. The 3-0 league start is the best since 1997-98, when the Bears started 5-0. Baylor hasn't been ranked since 1969, but that could be next.

"There have been so many firsts," Drew said. "One day we won't have those firsts to worry about. But it sure is nice to be knocking those down."

Drew is fully aware his team is only three games into the conference season and has a treacherous five-game stretch ahead – at Texas A&M (Wednesday), Oklahoma, at Texas, Texas Tech and at Kansas. He is in no mood to say his program has fully recovered from the dark days of 2003.

That was the year Baylor basketball player Carlton Dotson was charged with murdering teammate Patrick Dennehy. Then-coach Dave Bliss also tried to cover up improper tuition payments by insisting – in a recorded conversation – that an assistant coach portray Dennehy as a drug dealer.

NCAA sanctions resulted in Drew taking over a team that could only play conference games in the 2004-05 season.

The players Drew convinced to join him in trying to rebuild the Baylor program are finally growing up. The Bears count on three juniors – forward Kevin Rogers of South Oak Cliff and guards Curtis Jerrells and Henry Dugat – as well as senior guard Aaron Bruce.
Sophomore guard Tweety Carter is the school's first McDonald's All-American. Freshman guard LaceDarius Dunn was a top-50 national recruit from Louisiana, who is second on the team in scoring (12.3 ppg) behind Jerrells (13.0 ppg).

What may be most impressive about this team is that it is 5-0 when trailing at halftime this season, including erasing a 20-point deficit at South Carolina on Dec. 19. The Bears overcame a five-point halftime deficit against Nebraska on Saturday night.

"Last year, we were in a number of close games and lost them," Drew said. "But our guys saw we could be competitive with anyone. They knew if they put the time in the gym, that this year could be our year."

The game that may have changed everything, Drew said, was a 74-69 loss to Texas in the quarterfinals of last year's Big 12 tournament. The Bears blew a 20-point lead in their final game of the season.

"Everyone was devastated, very dejected," Drew said. "The hunger from not carrying that game out carried over to the summer and improving their games. We had some confidence coming out of that experience."

The Bears continued to build that confidence by winning the Paradise Jam, an eight-team tournament in the Virgin Islands in November with wins over Wichita State, Notre Dame and Winthrop.

It was the first time Baylor won a tournament that included at least eight teams since the 1968-69 season.

"I think we've just got a swagger," said Bruce, who withdrew his name from NBA draft eligibility to return for his senior season. "We know that we've gone through a lot of tough times and a lot of really testing games. We're starting to get older, more experience, so we know just how to handle ourselves in certain situations."

Added Dugat, "We have the veterans and the depth we need to get things done."
Baylor leads the Big 12 in 3-point field goals made per game (9.12) and 3-point field goal percentage (.410). When the Bears get hot from outside, they are one of the toughest matchups in the league, because guards Bruce, Jerrells, Dugat, Carter and Dunn can all hit from beyond the arc.

"Baylor has some of the best 'spurtability' of anyone in the Big 12," said Iowa State coach Greg McDermott, whose team lost to Baylor, 74-67, on Jan. 12. "They can score so quickly. We burned every timeout trying to stop their runs, and it still didn't work."

Added Oklahoma State coach Sean Sutton, who lost in Waco, 79-71, on Jan. 15: "Outside of Kansas, I think you have to look at their five guys as the best collection of guards in the Big 12.
"They can put so much pressure on your defense," Sutton added. "All five of those guys are capable of going out and scoring 20 points on a given night."

Baylor gave up second-half leads in its only two losses, to No. 8 Washington State and Arkansas. Against the Cougars, Jerrells and Dunn went down with injuries. Against the Razorbacks, Baylor shot itself out of the game by continuing to gun from 3-point range despite repeated misses.

The Bears have gotten off to a 3-0 league start with Jerrells locked in a five-game shooting slump. He has hit only 2-of-18 from beyond the arc (11 percent) in that stretch, missing 14 in a row at one point. But his teammates have picked up the scoring load. Chemistry is strong. So is leadership.

Carter was due to sub in for Dugat against South Carolina because Dugat was struggling. But after Dugat scored back-to-back baskets, Carter voluntarily walked back to the bench from the scorer's table and sat down.

"It's an unselfish group," Drew said.

Drew sold his players during recruiting on making Baylor an "elite Big 12 program." Still, Drew doesn't talk about the NCAA Tournament with his players.

"With inexperience, you tend to look at the big picture too much and look at things beyond your control," Drew said. "Every team wants the same thing – to go to the postseason. We've really tried to focus on the next game and stay away from talking about the tournament. So far, that has served us well."