Men's Hoops Preview: Baylor vs. TSU Nov. 22
11/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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BAYLOR (0-0) vs. TEXAS SOUTHERN (0-0)
Nov. 22, 2003 - Ferrell Center (Waco, Texas) - 8:00 p.m. CST
RADIO: Baylor Radio Network [KRZI 1660/1580 AM Waco]
TELEVISION: none
THE GAME
Baylor opens its regular season Saturday, Nov. 22, when it hosts Texas Southern at 8 p.m. CST at the Ferrell Center. The Scott Drew era begins at Baylor in 2003-2004, as the new head coach attempts to rebuild the Bear basketball program in his first season. The Bears (0-0) are coming off two exhibition wins earlier this month. The Tigers (0-0), who visit Waco for the first time since 2001, are the defending SWAC Tournament champions and played in the NCAA Tournament last season. Saturday's game is the nightcap of a Baylor basketball double-header, following a 6 p.m. Baylor-Nicholls women's contest.
REMEMBERING PATRICK
Baylor players and fans will participate in a moment of silence prior to Saturday's game in memory of the late Patrick Dennehy. Baylor's jerseys include a black stripe across the left shoulder in honor of Dennehy, a former teammate who was a redshirt at Baylor during the 2002-2003 season after transferring from New Mexico.
HEAD COACH Scott Drew
Scott Drew is in his first season as head coach at Baylor. He came to Waco after 10 seasons coaching at Valparaiso, the final as head coach. Drew led the Crusaders to a 20-11 record and into the NIT in 2002-2003. Valpo earned the Mid-Continent Conference regular season championship with a 12-2 league record last season. The previous nine seasons, Drew served as an assistant at Valpo under his father Homer Drew. During Drew's decade at Valparaiso, the Crusaders earned six NCAA Tournament berths, including the magical 1997-1998 squad that shocked the nation by advancing to the Sweet 16. Valpo made five straight NCAA appearances from 1996-2000. An outstanding recruiter, Drew was responsible for three national Top-20 recruiting classes the last five years. Drew was named the 1998-99 National Recruiter of the Year by Court Vision and helped produce what Hoop Scoop magazine named the nation's sixth best recruiting class in 2001, the 13th best in 1999 and the 19th best in 2003 (including four Top-100 national recruits).
THE TEXAS SOUTHERN SERIES
Baylor leads the short series with Texas Southern by a 3-0 record. The Bears won the previous meetings, 63-52 in January 2001, a 94-63 decision in December 1996, and an 87-73 victory in December 1993, all in Waco.
THE TEXAS SOUTHERN TIGERS
Texas Southern (0-0) is led by Ronnie Courtney, in his third year as a head coach, all at Texas Southern. Courtney is 29-30 in two seasons at TSU.
TSU NOTES: The Tigers are a Division I member of the SWAC conference... TSU won the SWAC Tournament last season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament... The Tigers lost to UNC-Asheville in the tournament's play-in game and finished 18-12... Texas Southern returns three starters and is the consensus pick to win the SWAC this season... TSU is led by senior forward Allen Lovett (17.1 ppg, 7.1 rpg in 2002-03)... Lovett is projected as the SWAC Player of the Year in Street & Smith's preseason magazine, and freshman guard Larry Evans was named the SWAC's preseason newcomer of the year by The Sporting News.
DREW vs. TEXAS SOUTHERN
Baylor head coach Scott Drew has never coached against Texas Southern.
THE LAST MEETING: BAYLOR 63 - TEXAS SOUTHERN 52 [Jan. 2, 2001]
Greg Davis scored a career-high tying 15 points to lead Baylor past Texas Southern 63-52 at the Ferrell Center. Baylor (11-0) continued its best start in 89 years; the Bears finished the 1911-12 campaign 13-0. Davis had 10 of his points in the first half and pulled down a season-high tying nine rebounds. Terry Black matched Davis with 15 points on the night, and DeMarcus Minor added 10 to extend his streak of consecutive game with at least 10 points to 12. Wendell Greenleaf dished out a career-high tying five assists, a plateau he has reached on two other occasions including once this year. Baylor led 30-19 at halftime and enjoyed its largest lead of the night at 35-19 one minute into the second half. Texas Southern (1-10) answered with a six-point run and stayed within 10 most of the remainder of the game, closing to 55-49 with just under five minutes to play. However, Baylor held the Tigers scoreless over the next four minutes en route to the victory. A C. Miller 3-pointer with 39 seconds remaining was the only bucket for Texas Southern in the final five minutes of play. The Bears forced TSU into nine first-half turnovers which led to 11 Baylor points; the Tigers also struggled shooting, hitting only seven of 27 shots (25.9 percent).
BAYLOR vs. SWAC
The Bears own an all-time record of 17-0 against teams currently in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, most recently having defeated Alcorn State 81-61 in last season's opener. Baylor has never lost vs. SWAC teams, having played seven of the SWAC's 10 teams.
BAYLOR vs. NON-CONFERENCE FOES
The Bears open their non-conference schedule Saturday vs. Texas Southern. Baylor is 39-7 in regular-season non-league play over the last four seasons, including a 9-2 record last year. The Bruins have won 28 of their last 29 games vs. non-conference opponents in the Ferrell Center.
BEARS IN SEASON OPENERS
Baylor has won four straight season-opening games, and is 10-3 in season-openers over the last 13 years. When the Bears have opened the season at home, they are 20-1 dating back to 1975.
BEARS BEGIN 2003-2004 WITH EXHIBITION WINS
Baylor began the 2003-2004 season with exhibition victories over the Knox Raiders of Australia (83-73) and the World HoopStars (104-38). Sophomore Tommy Swanson led the Bears with 20 points in each contest.
STEADY SAYMAN
Matt Sayman returns as the Bears' most veteran player and a co-captain. The senior provides leadership and consistent play as Baylor's most experienced player (89 games played). He played his way into the starting lineup over the final nine games of 2002-2003 and averaged 5.6 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists down the stretch. Sayman, a career 82 percent free throw shooter, was 14-for-16 from the line in the game's final three minutes last season.
GUINN STEPS UP PLAY LATE IN YEAR
Senior center R.T. Guinn has made a habit of stepping up his play down the stretch, significantly improving his production over the final half of each of the past two seasons. In 2001-2002, Guinn's 9.3 scoring average in Big 12 games was more than double that of his non-conference average (4.3), and he averaged 15.3 points, 7 rebounds and shot a torrid 61.1 percent (11-of-18) from the 3-point arc over the final four games of the season. As a junior last season, Guinn put together eight double-digit scoring performances in his last nine games, recording three double-doubles. He averaged 13.8 points and 7 rebounds over that span, shooting 45 percent from 3-point land.
NEW STAFF GUIDING BEARS
Head coach Scott Drew is joined on the Baylor coaching staff by new assistants Matthew Driscoll, Mark Morefield and Jerome Tang. Driscoll and Morefield followed Drew from his staff at Valparaiso, and Tang joined Baylor after 10 years as a prep coach at Heritage Christian Academy in Cleveland, Texas.
NEW BRUINS
The 2003-2004 Baylor roster includes five new players: three high school players (Carl Marshall, Robbie McKenzie and Turner Phipps) and two junior college transfers (Ryan Pryor and Harvey Thomas). Marshall and Thomas are scholarship players.
3-POINT PROPENSITY
The Bears averaged 9.1 made 3-pointers (8th nationally) and 26.5 attempts per game last season; both figures topped the Big 12 Conference. Baylor has made at least one 3-pointer in 349 consecutive games (dating back to Feb. 21, 1990).
BEARS' STELLAR SHOOTING FROM LINE
As a team, the Bears shot 72.5 percent from the free throw line in 2002-2003, the best mark in the Big 12 Conference. Matt Sayman finished ninth in the league in free-throw percentage for all games (77.6%) and ranked fourth for conference games (83.0%).
QUICK TRIGGER ON 3-POINTERS
As a team, 743 of the Bears' 1,624 shot attempts (46%) came from behind the arc in 2002-2003. Baylor averaged 9.1 made 3-pointers and 26.5 attempts per game; both of those figures topped the Big 12 Conference. In the last four seasons, Baylor has finished no lower than fourth in 3-point field goals or attempts in the conference rankings. Center R.T. Guinn led the Bears and finished eighth in the league in 3-point field goal shooting at 40.5% (49-of-121). Baylor has made at least one 3-pointer in 349 consecutive games (dating back to Feb. 21, 1990).
RECORD ATTENDANCE FIGURES
For the third straight season, Baylor fans came to the Ferrell Center in record numbers in 2002-2003. The Bears attracted 108,292 fans in 2002-2003, the second-highest attendance total in the 15-year history of the arena (behind the 109,494 drawn in 2001-2002). The 6,768 average attendance was also second to the previous season's 6,843.
McKENZIE BIO [NOT INCLUDED IN MEDIA GUIDE]
Walk-on Robbie McKenzie joined the Bears' squad after open tryouts Oct. 20. The 6-5 guard/forward will provide needed depth. HIGH SCHOOL - Three-year letterwinner at Callisburg High School in Gainesville, Texas, under coach Randy Romines... First-team all-district selection as a junior and again as a senior... Named district newcomer of the year as a sophomore... Also lettered once in football and once in track... Won 2000 district championship and placed seventh at regionals in the triple jump... Placed third in district the same year in the long jump and the 400m... Valedictorian of his graduating class. PERSONAL - Full name is James Robert McKenzie... Born Nov. 10, 1981 in Gainesville, Texas... Son of Mike McKenzie and Debi McKenzie... University Scholar major (pre-med).
BAYLOR PRAISED FOR PAIR OF EARLY SIGNEES
Baylor has inked two prep athletes to national letters of intent during the early signing period: center Mamadou Diene of Senegal and guard Aaron Bruce of Australia. The pair are ranked as the 36th-best recruiting class to date by HoopScoop. Diene, a 7-footer, is rated as the top NBA prospect in Africa and the sixth-best international prospect in the world by NBAdraft.net. The analysts at HoopScoop said that if Diene were playing high school basketball in the United States, he would rank among the top 40 players in the nation. HoopScoop also reported that Diene was ranked as the top player in camp when he attended the Babacar Sy Basketball Camp in July. Bruce spent last summer playing for the Australian junior national team in the 2003 FIBA Junior World Championships in Thessaloniki, Greece. The 6-2 guard led Australia with 25 points as the Aussies upset Team USA 106-85. HoopScoop reports that if Bruce were playing high school basketball in the United States, he would rank among the top 50 seniors in the country.
BAYLOR SIGNEES:Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown (School)Aaron Bruce G 6-2 190 Fr. Horsham, Victoria (Australian Inst. of Sport)Mamadou Diene C 7-0 210 Fr. Yeumbeul, Senegal
LSU TRANSFER TO ENROLL AT BAYLOR
Tim Bush, a freshman forward at LSU in 2002-2003, has signed scholarship papers to transfer to Baylor. The 6-6 forward will enroll at Baylor for the spring 2004 semester but will not be eligible to play until after the conclusion of the fall 2004 semester. Bush will compete for the Bears as a sophomore with three years of eligibility remaining. As a true freshman last season at LSU, Bush appeared in 10 games, averaging 0.7 points and 1.5 rebounds per contest. Coming out of high school, Bush was ranked the No. 137 prospect in the class of 2003 by HoopScoop. Bush averaged 15 points and eight rebounds per game as a junior at Shaw High School in New Orleans.
FERRELL CENTER'S 16th YEAR
The Bears are enjoying their 16th season in the beautiful Ferrell Center. Baylor finished 10-6 at home in 2002-2003 and owns a 137-90 all-time record in the arena, which opened in November 1988. The Ferrell Center is a golden-domed structure that seats 10,284 for basketball games.
OVER THE AIR
Bear basketball games can be heard live on the Baylor Radio Network. The flagship station is KRZI-AM (1660/1580) in Waco. Selected Baylor games are broadcast on Dallas-Fort Worth affiliate WBAP News/Talk 820, which covers 80 percent of the nation and reaches 38 states during night games. All Baylor games are broadcast by the "Voice of the Bears" John Morris, a veteran broadcaster in his ninth season. Former Baylor basketball standout Pat Nunley is in his 22nd season as color analyst for Bear broadcasts.
BAYLOR GAMES ON THE NET
The radio broadcast of all Baylor basketball games can be heard live on-line on Baylor's official website, BaylorBears.com, or at www.broadcast.com.
BIG 12 PRESEASON PROJECTIONS
Baylor's 2003-2004 edition has been projected to finish last in the Big 12 Conference in virtually every preseason poll. The only preseason publication that didn't pick the Bears 12th in the conference was Athlon Sports, which was published prior to the transfers of three Baylor returnees.
INSIDE BAYLOR SPORTS TV SHOW
Inside Baylor Sports, a half-hour look at the world of Baylor athletics, airs weekly throughout Central Texas and the region. The program, co-hosted by John Morris and Lori Scott-Fogleman, airs on KCEN-TV Channel 6, Fox Sports Net Southwest, College Sports TV and the College Channel (Waco Time Warner cable channel 18). KCEN carries the show at 10:30 p.m. Sundays, and it airs at 1 p.m. Wednesdays on Fox Sports Net Southwest. Each show is archived online at BaylorBears.com and BaylorTV.com.
NEXT UP...
Baylor continues a five-game homestand to open the season by hosting Stephen F. Austin Tuesday, Nov. 25. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CST at the Ferrell Center.
