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Baylor Is Back
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Published: January 26, 2008
Who has the best team in men's college basketball?
That's a debate.
Who has the best story in men's college basketball?
No question - the Baylor Bears.
It's an impossible story, really. In 2003, Baylor junior forward Patrick Dennehy was missing and later found dead outside of Waco, Texas. Teammate Carlton Dotson was charged with the murder and pleaded guilty two years later. Investigators revealed improper tuition payments had been made to Dennehy and the basketball staff did not report drug tests properly.
Then this: In a secretly taped phone conversation, Coach Dave Bliss threatened to fire an assistant if he didn't portray Dennehy as a drug dealer, in an attempt to cover up the payments and avoid NCAA sanctions.
Bliss and Baylor athletic director Tom Stanton resigned. Baylor was slammed with NCAA probation. And the program nearly fell apart.
But then, Valparaiso coach Scott Drew, seemingly against all reason, took the Baylor job. He weathered competing with a lineup of five nonscholarship players and a penalty-shortened 2005-06 season (nonconference games were prohibited).
Now Baylor (16-2, 4-0 Big 12) is back in a big way. It has cracked The Associated Press Top 25 for the first time since 1969.
Drew has attracted top players, such as senior Aaron Bruce (a member of Australia's under-21 national team), sophomore Tweety Carter (the program's first McDonald's All-American) and freshman LaceDarius Dunn (a two-time Louisiana prep player of the year).
Wednesday night, Baylor took its resiliency to a new level with a 116-110 win at Texas A&M in five overtimes. Bears junior guard Curtis Jerrells had 36 points (20 of 24 from the free-throw line) in 53 minutes.
"We have stayed with our motto," Bruce told the Waco Tribune-Herald. "What's our most important game? The next one. We know we still have a long way to go."
But just think of how far they have already come.
NCAA DROUGHTS
The Baylor Bears haven't been to the NCAA Tournament since 1988 - the longest drought among teams from BCS conferences.
| Team | Rec. (Conf.) | League | Last NCAA | Comment |
| Baylor | 16-2 (4-0) | Big 12 | 1988 | Shooting for second NCAA trip in last 58 years |
| Oregon State | 6-13 (0-7) | Pac-10 | 1990 | Back to square one after firing coach |
| South Florida | 10-10 (1-6) | Big East | 1992 | Real concern: Will Bulls win again this year? |
| Kansas State | 13-4 (3-0) | Big 12 | 1996 | Wildcats could challenge for league crown |
| Clemson | 15-4 (3-2) | ACC | 1998 | Last season's collapse still a fresh memory |
| Florida State | 13-7 (2-3) | ACC | 1998 | Seminoles still swimming upstream in tough league |
| Michigan | 5-14 (1-6) | Big Ten | 1998 | Coach John Beilein has plenty of work ahead |
| Nebraska | 11-5 (0-3) | Big 12 | 1998 | Counting the days until volleyball season begins |
Courtside: Maryland Coach Gary Williams
The Maryland Terrapins (12-7, 2-2 ACC) are in high gear after last weekend's 82-80 upset against No. 1-ranked North Carolina. Maryland has won six of its last seven games. And that streak came after back-to-back home losses against Ohio and American (the Terps had been 131-3 in nonconference home games under Coach Gary Williams).
Williams talks about the turnaround, which will be tested in Sunday's ACC home game against Duke.
Given the early season struggles, how rewarding was it to see the joy on the faces of your players after beating North Carolina?
I want them to be excited. They had to work very hard to be competitive against a team like North Carolina. They understand why they won the game - work ethic. Hopefully, we can build on that and not let that just be one game this year.
How has your team handled the attention from beating the No. 1-ranked team?
All of a sudden, people are telling our players how good they are. I told them about myself, the phone calls I've gotten since the Carolina game. I didn't quite get that many after the American University game. Oh, I got a few, but they were not the same tone. We all know who our friends are. They're the same ones who are there for you in tough times. I told our players to remember that.
Now you get Duke, and there's a bit of a rivalry there. When did that happen?
There was no rivalry for the first five or six years. We weren't even close to them. Anybody who comes into a league with two teams like Duke and Carolina, if you can play with those teams, you know you can compete nationally. Gradually, we got to the point where we could be competitive, then beat them. It forces your program to get better. If you want to stay with them, you have to get to where they are.
Did you hear that Duke fans, after hearing the second-half score of Maryland-North Carolina, were cheering for Maryland?
That's nice of them. I understand the rivalry between Duke and North Carolina. I'm pretty sure they won't be cheering for us on Sunday.
GAME OF THE DAY
Connecticut at Indiana
1 p.m.; WTSP, Channel 10
Connecticut (13-5, 4-3 Big East) collected a much-needed victory with Thursday night's 84-83 win at Cincinnati. The Huskies rallied from a 12-point deficit in the final 5:52.
Now it's a nonconference road game against Indiana (17-1, 6-0 Big Ten), which defeated UConn 77-73 last season.
The Hoosiers have their best start in conference play since 1992-93, the last time they won an outright Big Ten title. They have won 29 straight games at Assembly Hall - currently the nation's fourth-longest homecourt streak - and are off to their best overall start since the 1975-76 unbeaten national championship season.
Indiana has the Big Ten's leading scorer in freshman guard Eric Gordon (22.1 ppg) and rugged senior forward D.J. White (17.1 ppg, 10.8 rpg).
SLAM DUNK
IUPUI's Ron Hunter, bringing attention to a charitable cause, coached barefoot during Thursday night's game against Oakland University. He will send more than 100,000 pairs of shoes to Africa next month, honoring the 40th anniversary of the death of Martin Luther King Jr. Hunter had a first-hand look at the poverty - and the lack of shoes for children - four years ago during a recruiting trip to Nigeria. Hunter, working through a charitable organization called Samaritan's Feet, reached his original target number of 40,000 when Converse donated 15,000 pairs of shoes Thursday morning, but donations have kept coming in from other parties. For more information, check out samaritansfeet.org.
AIR BALL
They keep adding programs to the Division I ranks - it's up to 335, and counting - so it's no surprise we have a program such as New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). The Highlanders, who have independent status, are 0-20 while losing a dozen games by margins of 20 points or worse. It's unlikely things will get better on the campus in beautiful downtown Newark. The Highlanders have failed to shoot 50 percent from the field in any game this season.It's official: We have more than enough Division I programs.
BY THE NUMBERS
772
Career free-throw attempts by North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough, who leads all active players in that statistic. Hansbrough was 15 of 16 from the line in Wednesday's 98-82 win against Miami.
RETURN TO TAMPA
The NCAA men's basketball tournament returns to the Tampa Bay area with opening-round games March 21 and 23 at the St. Pete Times Forum. Tickets are available: $208 for six games. Call (813) 301-6600 or visit sptimesforum.com.
This week's Tampa Bay NCAA basketball memory:
Kentucky 86, Duke 84
March 22, 1998
Tropicana Field
Coach Tubby Smith's Wildcats rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit to defeat Duke in the South Region final and earn a trip to the Final Four.
It came six years after Duke stunned Kentucky 104-103 on Christian Laettner's overtime buzzer-beater in the East Region final.
The Wildcats had five players in double figures, including Scott Padgett (12 points), who hit the eventual game-winner, and Heshimu Evans (14 points, 11 rebounds off the bench).
Kentucky went on to capture the national title.
PROJECTED REGIONAL SEEDS
Staff writer Joey Johnston takes an early look at how the NCAA men's basketball tournament field might develop:
East (Charlotte)
1. North Carolina (19-1)
2. Tennessee (16-2)
3. Michigan State (17-2)
4. Drake (17-1)
•Missouri Valley Conference leader Drake, which hasn't made the NCAA Tournament since 1971, is moving up the charts with an RPI of 14.
South (Houston)
1. Memphis (18-0)
2. Georgetown (15-2)
3. Texas (15-3)
4. Vanderbilt (17-2)
•Today's extremely revealing slate: Gonzaga at Memphis, Georgetown at West Virginia, Texas Tech at Texas, Vanderbilt at Florida.
Midwest (Detroit)
1. Kansas (19-0)
2. Indiana (17-1)
3. Washington State (16-2)
4. Pittsburgh (16-3)
•If one of the unbeaten teams has a slip, Indiana will begin its push for a
No. 1 seed (Big Ten alert: Thursday, IU at Wisconsin).
West (Phoenix)
1. UCLA (17-2)
2. Duke (16-1)
3. Wisconsin (16-2)
4. Baylor (16-2)
•UCLA's rugged 80-75 road win at Oregon on Thursday night pushes Bruins back to No. 1 seed status in our eyes.
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