Baylor is celebrating its 100th season of men’s basketball, although Bears coach Scott Drew might chuckle and say this really makes 99 1/2.
From the time Baylor gathered in mid-October for its first practice, Drew learned to show a happy face though his team faced 89 days before finally getting to suit up for a game last Wednesday. In an unprecedented move, the NCAA last summer eliminated Baylor’s entire nonconference schedule this season, the most severe punishment of a five- year probation. The penalties stemmed from myriad violations discovered after former Baylor player Carlton Dotson murdered teammate Patrick Dennehy in 2003.
The scandal cost then-coach Dave Bliss and the athletic director their jobs. No current members of the Baylor coaching staff were involved in the violations.
“But now there’s light at the end of the tunnel,” said Drew, who brings his team to Boulder tonight to play Colorado in a Big 12 game.
It’s been easy for Drew, 35, to remain enthusiastic and determined. He’s young and eager, having had only one year of head-coaching experience, at Valparaiso, prior to replacing Bliss before the 2003-04 season. And Drew, like most coaches, enjoys practice.
But three months?
“Being so enthusiastic and young, this staff was perfect to get through that situation,” said John Morris, in his 11th season as Baylor’s radio voice.
“Being such a young staff, I really think they helped to keep us up and keep us positive,” said guard Aaron Bruce, an Australian sharpshooter who led the nation’s freshmen in scoring (18.2 points per game) last season.
Through it all, Drew has kept his wits and maintained his sense of humor.
“Well, at least we should still be fresh during the dog days of February,” he quipped.
There was more time for lifting weights, more time for seconds and thirds at the training table. With a smile, Drew tells anyone within earshot that 7-foot center Mamadou Diene, a redshirt freshman from Senegal, weighed 197 pounds soaking wet when he arrived on campus last winter and now has reached 240.
Tonight’s game against Colorado (11-3, 1-2 Big 12) will be the Bears’ third game. Baylor (0-2) opened with a 79-61 loss at Texas Tech and Saturday got drubbed 66-48 at home by Oklahoma State.
The season’s low point, players agree, came in November when they began watching other teams play on television.
“We’d gather in the locker room watching a game thinking, ‘I wish we could be out there,”‘ said guard Curtis Jerrells, one of six freshmen. “You kind of wanted to turn the TV off. But you wanted to get a look at other teams and what they do. I tried to stay focused. But then I’d think about how many more days were left (before the first game) and I’d get a little down.”
To lift morale, Drew gave his team more time off than during a normal season, including a six- day break for Christmas. Bruce got to spend the holiday with family in Australia.
“I told the team not to get used to this,” Drew said.
Some practice time was used only for lifting weights or individual work on fundamentals. For scrimmages, Drew ordered recorded crowd noise piped in and kept score to simulate a regular game. Often, there was something on the line, such as the losers running laps afterward.
On Dec. 18, he took his team on a simulated road trip to Dallas. The Bears stayed at the same hotel that will be used during the Big 12 Tournament. They participated in a noon shootaround the following day, took a “pregame” nap and then scrimmaged that evening in the American Airlines Center as if it were a game.
“It gave the young guys a chance to put on a game jersey for the first time,” Bruce said. “There’s a different feeling to that.”
Playing in Lubbock, Texas, was a different deal, however. Baylor shot just 23-for-60 from the field in its opener and was outrebounded 45-26. The Bears’ timing obviously wasn’t up to game speed and Baylor failed to match Texas Tech’s intensity.
In their home opener Saturday, the Bears probably came out too fired up. They missed their first six shots, committed five early turnovers and never recovered from a 10-0 deficit.
Nobody should be surprised. While most Division I teams warmed up with exhibition games against Division II opponents, Baylor opened against Bob Knight and Eddie Sutton.
“We’re just starting, and we’ll get better,” Drew said. “(But) fans in the front row had better keep their hands up or they might get hit in the head with a pass.”
Staff writer Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-820-5456 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
