DFWHoopster
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Hello Sooner Fans. I have been a long time visitor to this site and decided to register a login after reading the comments on Scott Drew and the commitment of Nolan Dennis.
I went to high school on the East Coast and grew up a huge ACC fan but have been in the Dallas area since the early 90s and have switched my allegiance to big 12 basketball.
I am a hoops junkie and have formed many friendships on the AAU circuit, with referees and high school coaches. I think the big 12 has the best collection of coaches in the country if you look at the total package of recruiting and game-planning.
Capel is up there with Self and Anderson in my book as the top coaches in the league. I do want to set the record straight on Scott Drew because I have a friendship with one of the coaches on the Baylor staff.
Some comments:
1. Drew is aggressive as hell in his recruiting tactics. He forms relationships with parents, coaches, mentors, grandparents and relatives of the players that he is targeting starting in the 8th grade.
2. The NCAA is so far up Baylor's butt after the Bliss scandal... Scott Drew runs everything by his compliance office. And I mean everything. He takes risks like hiring John Wall's AAU coach. That may or may not pay off. But he did it right- offering a job without conditions of getting the player. No other school does that. They get the LOI and then hire the coach. Drew will do anything within legal limits to gain an advantage. But he doesn't cheat. To say that Baylor is paying players is just a baseless nonsense claim.
3. The jury is out on whether Drew will be a great X's and O's guy. He showed me a lot in March this year. One of the hardest things to do in sports is to take a team that has underachieved all year and make adjustments and right the ship.
My opinion is that Drew outcoached Sadler, Self, Barnes, John Thompson III, Seth Greenberg, Jeff Lebo and Steve Fisher in putting together an impressive run at the end of the season. He used a 2-3 zone instead of playing man-to-man. They executed out of bounds plays to Rogers for dunks and Dunn for open 3's multiple times. Baylor had some ridiculous 82% FG percentage on inbounds plays in the post-season. That is good coaching.
4. Baylor's talent has been vastly over-rated. Jerrells, Dugat and Rogers were nice offensive players. But only Jerrells could play any defense. Drew sold playing time to the best players he could get at the time. He didn't have the luxury until recently to actually find great fits for his scheme- offensively and defensively.
OU and UT have been able to recruit terrific defensive players that also have good offensive skills. Occasionally, you all find a Blake Griffin or Willie Warren that can take over a game. Baylor has been taking what they can get up until last year. But their coaches will admit that they have had a lot of defensive deficiencies (small guards, clumsy bigs). Until they landed Udoh, they had no one to defend the rim with any skill. Diene was serviceable but had terrible knees.
5. Last point I promise. Scott Drew is a good man. AAU coaches like him. High school coaches like him. Players like him. He has good men on his staff and a great set of "yes sir, no sir" kids on his team.
Barnes and Bobby Knight have been critical of him in public because they are in the good ol boys club and Drew is not. Drew has used some aggressive tactics going head to head for recruits that some would label negative recruiting. Drew and the Baylor coaches wear obnoxious oversized BAYLOR shirts. Drew doesn't seem to know his place. How dare he try to recruit a player that Texas, Kansas or OU is after.
Naturally, the traditional powers want to see Baylor stay down where they belong. But Drew is kind of like a young Calipari without the sleaze factor. One article planted by Barnes and UT labeled Drew a phony. That's BS in my book. He's a Bible Thumper, but that is who he is. He lives his faith. He is honest with his players and staff. They love the guy. He's one of those freaks that is positive every single day and that starts to be contagious to people around him.
It pisses a lot of people off. But that is not his fault. He is who he is. He thinks he is going to build a powerhouse at Baylor. And he just might.
OU has had his number. But to be fair, only the last two years really count. He was severely handicapped until 2 years ago. And 3 of those 4 games were close.
I admit to being a fan of Baylor. I admire what Drew has done there. It is one of the most remarkable turnarounds in college basketball history. I grew up watching Coach K revive basketball at Duke and it reminds me some of Duke's early years. I am not saying Baylor will ever be Duke... I also root for OU, Missouri and A&M. I like the way each of those programs are headed. Drew and the coaches have good relationships with those staffs to my knowledge.
Dennis' commitment wasn't out of the blue. Baylor has been on him hard since he was in the 8th grade. Baylor has been coaching all of their commitments to keep Baylor's name out of the media even if they are considered the leader. They did that with Udoh, Acy, AJ Walton and Nolan Dennis.
I am hearing that they are very much in the running for John Wall. Don't be surprised if he commits to Baylor.
The Big 12 will be the toughest league next year bar none. And Baylor's resurgence is a good story for the league. I doubt they will be knocking OU or Texas out of the driver's seat any time soon. But don't underestimate them. They are ready to play with the big boys and Drew can coach. I think that label on him will disappear in the years to come.
Since this is a public forum, I felt compelled to set a few things straight and defend a man that some on here are dragging through the mud.
I went to high school on the East Coast and grew up a huge ACC fan but have been in the Dallas area since the early 90s and have switched my allegiance to big 12 basketball.
I am a hoops junkie and have formed many friendships on the AAU circuit, with referees and high school coaches. I think the big 12 has the best collection of coaches in the country if you look at the total package of recruiting and game-planning.
Capel is up there with Self and Anderson in my book as the top coaches in the league. I do want to set the record straight on Scott Drew because I have a friendship with one of the coaches on the Baylor staff.
Some comments:
1. Drew is aggressive as hell in his recruiting tactics. He forms relationships with parents, coaches, mentors, grandparents and relatives of the players that he is targeting starting in the 8th grade.
2. The NCAA is so far up Baylor's butt after the Bliss scandal... Scott Drew runs everything by his compliance office. And I mean everything. He takes risks like hiring John Wall's AAU coach. That may or may not pay off. But he did it right- offering a job without conditions of getting the player. No other school does that. They get the LOI and then hire the coach. Drew will do anything within legal limits to gain an advantage. But he doesn't cheat. To say that Baylor is paying players is just a baseless nonsense claim.
3. The jury is out on whether Drew will be a great X's and O's guy. He showed me a lot in March this year. One of the hardest things to do in sports is to take a team that has underachieved all year and make adjustments and right the ship.
My opinion is that Drew outcoached Sadler, Self, Barnes, John Thompson III, Seth Greenberg, Jeff Lebo and Steve Fisher in putting together an impressive run at the end of the season. He used a 2-3 zone instead of playing man-to-man. They executed out of bounds plays to Rogers for dunks and Dunn for open 3's multiple times. Baylor had some ridiculous 82% FG percentage on inbounds plays in the post-season. That is good coaching.
4. Baylor's talent has been vastly over-rated. Jerrells, Dugat and Rogers were nice offensive players. But only Jerrells could play any defense. Drew sold playing time to the best players he could get at the time. He didn't have the luxury until recently to actually find great fits for his scheme- offensively and defensively.
OU and UT have been able to recruit terrific defensive players that also have good offensive skills. Occasionally, you all find a Blake Griffin or Willie Warren that can take over a game. Baylor has been taking what they can get up until last year. But their coaches will admit that they have had a lot of defensive deficiencies (small guards, clumsy bigs). Until they landed Udoh, they had no one to defend the rim with any skill. Diene was serviceable but had terrible knees.
5. Last point I promise. Scott Drew is a good man. AAU coaches like him. High school coaches like him. Players like him. He has good men on his staff and a great set of "yes sir, no sir" kids on his team.
Barnes and Bobby Knight have been critical of him in public because they are in the good ol boys club and Drew is not. Drew has used some aggressive tactics going head to head for recruits that some would label negative recruiting. Drew and the Baylor coaches wear obnoxious oversized BAYLOR shirts. Drew doesn't seem to know his place. How dare he try to recruit a player that Texas, Kansas or OU is after.
Naturally, the traditional powers want to see Baylor stay down where they belong. But Drew is kind of like a young Calipari without the sleaze factor. One article planted by Barnes and UT labeled Drew a phony. That's BS in my book. He's a Bible Thumper, but that is who he is. He lives his faith. He is honest with his players and staff. They love the guy. He's one of those freaks that is positive every single day and that starts to be contagious to people around him.
It pisses a lot of people off. But that is not his fault. He is who he is. He thinks he is going to build a powerhouse at Baylor. And he just might.
OU has had his number. But to be fair, only the last two years really count. He was severely handicapped until 2 years ago. And 3 of those 4 games were close.
I admit to being a fan of Baylor. I admire what Drew has done there. It is one of the most remarkable turnarounds in college basketball history. I grew up watching Coach K revive basketball at Duke and it reminds me some of Duke's early years. I am not saying Baylor will ever be Duke... I also root for OU, Missouri and A&M. I like the way each of those programs are headed. Drew and the coaches have good relationships with those staffs to my knowledge.
Dennis' commitment wasn't out of the blue. Baylor has been on him hard since he was in the 8th grade. Baylor has been coaching all of their commitments to keep Baylor's name out of the media even if they are considered the leader. They did that with Udoh, Acy, AJ Walton and Nolan Dennis.
I am hearing that they are very much in the running for John Wall. Don't be surprised if he commits to Baylor.
The Big 12 will be the toughest league next year bar none. And Baylor's resurgence is a good story for the league. I doubt they will be knocking OU or Texas out of the driver's seat any time soon. But don't underestimate them. They are ready to play with the big boys and Drew can coach. I think that label on him will disappear in the years to come.
Since this is a public forum, I felt compelled to set a few things straight and defend a man that some on here are dragging through the mud.
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