If Udoh/Dunn come back next year for Baylor

[Cheno]

Teams don't go 24-6 (11-5) in the Big12 the conference with the #1 RPI in the nation, unless a coach knows what the hell he is doing. Perhaps you think it is all an accident that Baylor was a 55% FT shooting team prior to conference play and are 1st in the Big12 in FT % in conference at 80%.

So you are saying Scott Drew made Baylor a better FT shooting team by his great coaching tactics? Would love to hear what those are.

I don't think Drew is horrible by any means but I don't think he's a good game coach. I think he's a great recruiter.
To me a great game coach is one that wins some games he shouldn't have.
The only game on Baylor's schedule that could be called that is at Texas.
And losing at Colorado was a disgrace.
Again he's doing a good job at Baylor. He's about the best Baylor can expect. But I really don't see big name programs knocking on Drew's door.

 

[SoonerfanTU]

Teams don't go 24-6 (11-5) in the Big12 the conference with the #1 RPI in the nation, unless a coach knows what the hell he is doing.

Fair enough.

On the flip side though, coaches don't "figure it out" overnight. What did Drew do this year that was so different then last year? Sometimes coaches have good years, or have a perfect mix of players, or have a schedule that lays out nicely for them, or all of the above. I'm not saying that is the case with Baylor, but who knows. Maybe his next team, or group of kids, goes back to playing like the Baylor teams of recent years.

 

[Cheno]

Considering that I would guess most of those top kids would be 2011 and 2012 I agree.

Agree. So I don't really know why it was even brought up.

 

[DFWHoopster]

So you are saying Scott Drew made Baylor a better FT shooting team by his great coaching tactics? Would love to hear what those are.

I don't think Drew is horrible by any means but I don't think he's a good game coach. I think he's a great recruiter.
To me a great game coach is one that wins some games he shouldn't have.
The only game on Baylor's schedule that could be called that is at Texas.
And losing at Colorado was a disgrace.
Again he's doing a good job at Baylor. He's about the best Baylor can expect. But I really don't see big name programs knocking on Drew's door.

I've been to a few of his practices. He may not do anything different from other coaches. But he practices at a very fast pace. Lots of intensity and pushes the guys to a level of discomfort from an endurance standpoint. And then they shoot FTs during times of great fatigue. And if they miss, they run a lot. Your concentration/mental toughness increases when your body is near the point of physical exhaustion and the idea of running more gives you a great incentive to not miss. I think this simulates game situations and creates mental toughness at the FT line. Carter and Dunn were always great FT shooters.

But Acy, Jones, Walton, Lomers and Udoh were terrible earlier in the year. All of those guys are over 70% since conference. That wins games.

Don't win games they aren't supposed to? LOL. They were 10th preseason in the conference. That would equate to a 5-11 record. Very few were projecting them as an NCAA team. They may get a 3 seed.

They were tied at Kansas with two minutes left. And Collins made some unreal plays down the stretch. They are the only team in the nation to not have a loss by more than 7 points this year. What other coach do you hold to this same hard standard that you hold Drew to?

I hope for your sake, they don't knock off Kansas in the big12 tourney again. You will never hear the end of it from me...

 

[Sawyer]

Comparing Drew to John Thompson, Dean Smith and Jim Boeheim is ridiculous.

 

[HoHum]

He's gotten his guys to play hard this year and cut down on silly shots. That's a huge part of coaching, IMO. I'm not going to pretend to be a huge basketball X's and O's guy, but good talent (which Baylor has) playing hard (which Baylor does) is a good start. I remember Dunn's freshman year he took very ill advised shots and looked like he was playing defense in the 2nd quarter of an NBA All Star Game. He's really improved his effort level.

 

[bestj]

Like most years, its Kansas' to lose

Last year was suppose to be a down year for the Jayhawks, and yet they still won the Big XII

 

[DallasCoach]

If Drew was a great coach he would have made the tourney with all the talent on last years squad.

Is Capel held to the same standard for this year's team?

 

[Cheno]

Is Capel held to the same standard for this year's team?

LOL...if you've spent any time here lately you'd know Capel is getting roasted for the job he's done this year.

 

[stoops4pres]

And losing at Colorado was a disgrace.

What would you define KU nearly losing to Colorado and having to face them in OT?

 

[gracefor24]

If you ever thought Thompson, Smith, and Boeheim were terrible coaches I don't think the discussion needs to go any further. That is absolutely ridiculous.

Drew is having a really good year and if he can keep it up I would gladly change my opinion. I don't think he's a terrible coach but I don't think he's proven to be a good coach. Quin Snyder had some really nice years as well but overall he underachieved quite a bit with the amount of talent he collected. I think you could say the same with Drew.

 

[stoops4pres]

Don't win games they aren't supposed to? LOL. They were 10th preseason in the conference. That would equate to a 5-11 record. Very few were projecting them as an NCAA team. They may get a 3 seed.

You're right, being predicted to finish as one of the worst teams, but actually finishing as one of the best is impressive, no matter what way you spin it.

 

[HoHum]

You're right, being predicted to finish as one of the worst teams, but actually finishing as one of the best is impressive, no matter what way you spin it.

I think the preseason prediction by the coaches says a lot about what the opinion on Drew was before this season.

 

[Cheno]

What would you define KU nearly losing to Colorado and having to face them in OT?

Are you serious? I call it a win.
Gotta love those...."you almost lost"....kind of guys.

Again, what games this year did Baylor win that they shouldn't have?
That is what defines a very good game coach at a school like Baylor....to me anyways.

 

[Cheno]

I think the preseason prediction by the coaches says a lot about what the opinion on Drew was before this season.

Yes, they don't like them is what I hear.

 

[HoHum]

Are you serious? I call it a win.
Gotta love those...."you almost lost"....kind of guys.

You don't think the fact that Colorado played KU very tough means anything in regards to the difficulty playing in Boulder?

 

[stoops4pres]

Are you serious? I call it a win.
Gotta love those...."you almost lost"....kind of guys.

LOL. You're funny.

I'm not taking anything away from KU... A win is a win. I just don't understand your logic that Baylor losing to Colorado was a "disgrace" when in fact the best team in the country had to beat them in OT. See how going from a "disgrace", to nothing bad at all when the margin is that slim, seems illogical? You probably don't, but it is.

 

[stoops4pres]

You don't think the fact that Colorado played KU very tough means anything in regards to the difficulty playing in Boulder?

Exactly.

 

[stoops4pres]

I think the preseason prediction by the coaches says a lot about what the opinion on Drew was before this season.

That's a good point. I agree if he was more well-liked they probably would've been a few spots higher.

Either way, surpassing expectations to the extent that Baylor has is impressive.

 

[DFWHoopster]

If you ever thought Thompson, Smith, and Boeheim were terrible coaches I don't think the discussion needs to go any further. That is absolutely ridiculous.

Drew is having a really good year and if he can keep it up I would gladly change my opinion. I don't think he's a terrible coach but I don't think he's proven to be a good coach. Quin Snyder had some really nice years as well but overall he underachieved quite a bit with the amount of talent he collected. I think you could say the same with Drew.

I'll admit that my view of Dean Smith was always skewed by my hatred for UNC just like my view of Scott Drew's whipping boy (Barnes) is skewed by my dislike for UT. But Smith arguably underachieved with Jordan, Perkins, Kenny Smith, Brad Daugherty and James Worthy. Lot of NBA all-stars there including the best player of all time. The joke was who is the only guy that can hold Jordan to under 20? Dean Smith.

Thompson recruited out of his mind but his teams seemed to play undisciplined in the early 80s. Boeheim same deal. His early 80s teams with guys like Pearl Washington were talented buy erratic. Point is good coaches/recruiters do improve and eventually get all kinds of street cred. Of course, I look back and see that I was wrong about all three of those guys. Just like many on here will say the same thing about Drew 10 years from now.

Now that I am a little older and have watched 1000+ games, I understand how hard it is to win even with great talent. The coaches who can do it and sustain it are all elite coaches.