Live by the 3, die by the 3.
That’s certainly not a motto or label Baylor coach Scott Drew wants to hang on his men’s basketball team. It fits, however.
Baylor leads the Big 12 in 3-point attempts by a wide margin. In seven conference games, the Bears already have attempted 172 3-pointers. Second-place Texas has shot 155.
There’s nothing wrong with trying to win from beyond the 3-point line. Three nationally ranked teams – Air Force, Oregon and, yes, Texas – are among the nation’s top dozen teams in 3-pointers made per game, according to NCAA statistics.
But Baylor has done a whole lot more shooting than making. For league games only, the Bears rank 11th among Big 12 teams in 3- point accuracy (.285). That trails 10th-place Colorado (.298) and is ahead only of Iowa State (.283).
“We feel we have a lot better shooters than we’ve shown,” Drew said Monday during the Big 12 coaches teleconference when asked what had discouraged him most.
Considering Baylor’s dependency upon the 3-pointer and the percentage of misfires, it’s no wonder the Bears (11-9, 1-6 Big 12) are the league’s most disappointing team thus far. In a preseason poll of Big 12 coaches, Baylor was projected to finish seventh in the conference – with the Bears’ point total (60) coming much closer to projected sixth-place finisher Texas Tech (68) than to that of eighth-place Missouri (44).
Baylor’s roster features a quartet of guards that most Big 12 coaches would love to have on their side. But junior Aaron Bruce (.368), sophomores Curtis Jerrells (.307) and Henry Dugat (.373), and freshman Tweety Carter (.345) have struggled from 3-point range, although each was touted for his long range. Carter arrived from Reserve, La., as Baylor’s first McDonald’s All-American but has suffered through the inevitable rookie inconsistency.
Drew must think all those clanks off the rim are becoming contagious.
“Sometimes a guy might get on a roll and everybody makes them, or the first couple of people miss and then everybody misses,” he said.
Baylor has no choice but to rely on its outside game. While forward Kevin Rogers is much improved, the 6-foot-8 sophomore won’t be a go-to scorer. And 7-foot sophomore center Mamadou Diene can’t stay healthy. Ankle and knee problems have limited Diene to fewer than 19 minutes per game.
The Bears showed more spunk Saturday while giving Texas a scare (84-79) in Austin and hope to bust from a tie for last place tonight at home against Colorado (5-12, 1-6).
“Baylor is better than its record,” CU coach Ricardo Patton cautioned. “One thing about those guys, they can really burn you from the perimeter.”
Future benefactor?
Texas freshman Kevin Durant hasn’t announced whether he will apply for the 2007 NBA draft, as most expect. But apparently the 6-9 wunderkind already is thinking about becoming wealthy.
Durant told reporters after Saturday’s win over Baylor that he will buy Texas coach Rick Barnes a new arena. The Erwin Center’s shot clock malfunctioned during the game, forcing the arena announcer to count off the time.
“I’m going to ask (Durant) first if he knows what a new arena costs,” Barnes said Monday.
“He’d better make a lot of money if he’s going to buy a new arena.”
Footnotes
Kansas never has lost at home to a Big 12 South team (the Jayhawks are 31-0) since the league debuted 11 years ago.
Both Texas A&M (on Feb. 3) and Texas (on March 3) come to Lawrence this season. … Good players can come from almost anywhere these days. Three Big 12 guards hail from Amarillo, Texas, although none plays 120 miles down the road at Texas Tech. Justin Mason and J.D. Lewis are Texas Longhorns. Austin Johnson plays at Oklahoma. Mason and Johnson are starters.
Staff writer Tom Kensler can be reached at 303-954-1280 or tkensler@denverpost.com.
