The last time Baylor opened a season coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance, Ronald Reagan was on his way out of the Oval Office.
The Bears' coach Scott Drew walked the halls of his high school when Baylor last made the NCAA Tournament in 1988. BU quickly fell to the bottom of the conference receiving Big 12 trouncing after Big 12 trouncing.
Drew took over for scandal-plagued Dave Bliss in 2003 just two months before Drew's 33rd birthday. With the combination of Drew's father being legendary Valparasio coach Homer Drew and Scott's young age, Baylor knew the hiring of the 33-year-old could lead to the formation of a potential perennial powerhouse.
Five seasons into Drew's tenure, that potential is finally paying off.
He fought through strict sanctions from the mess former Coach Dave Bliss left Drew to win 15 games in 2007 and 21 games last year.
Coach Drew has put together an impressive string of recruiting classes that has culminated with a mix of seasoned veterans and standout freshmen. Four seniors, two juniors, a sophomore, and two freshmen will shoulder the bulk of the minutes in 2009.
Senior forward Kevin Rogers anchors the frontcourt; the big man is the Big 12's third leading returning rebounder from 2008. He's also got a nice scoring touch usually using his left hand to put points on the board.
Rogers' classmates guards Curtis Jerrells and Henry Dugat will also pack a punch. The three seniors each averaged double-digit points during their junior campaigns.
Jerrells led the high scoring Bears who, according to Ken Pomeroy statistics, finished 15th in the country in offensive efficiency. Jerrells reach the 20 point plateau eight times in 2008 including a season high 36 in a quintuple overtime classic against Texas A&M.
Dugat is best known for his athleticism which leads to frequent dunks and drives that end up on highlight reels across the country. Of course his ability to dunk shouldn't come at a surprise considering the 6'0'' Dugat boasts a 40 inch vertical jump.
Dugat and Jerrells make up two thirds Baylor's three guard offense. Junior Tweety Carter rounds out the trio.
The sharp-shooter is the best three pointer shooter of the starters, but it's the Bears' sixth man that leads the team in long range shooting.
Sophomore LaceDarius Dunn knocked down a team leading 74 three-pointers coming off the bench. His 41.8 percent from three ranked seventh in the conference. Dunn also collected a pretty nice stash of accolades following his rookie season.
College HoopsNet named him to its Freshman All-America honorable mention team and the media selected Dunn to the Big 12 All-Freshman and Big 12 All-Reserve teams. Entering his freshman season as a top 50 recruit and the most hyped Baylor recruit in years, the now sophomore lived up to his billing in his freshman year.
Despite leading the team in threes as a reserve, Dunn's teammates were no slouches from long range either.
Tweety Carter finished just above Dunn in shooting percentage at 41.9 percent and knocked down 54 trifectas. Curtis Jerrells and Henry Dugat also chipped in 99 three-pointers combined.
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