By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            From strictly a historical perspective, the Baylor basketball's shortened 2019-20 season will go down as arguably one of the best ever . . . if not the best. Even if the Bears (26-4) weren't able to finish it with the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments.
            "For the Baylor family, I know we were all looking forward to seeing Baylor with the No. 1 seed (for the NCAA tournament)," coach Scott Drew said in Tuesday's video conference with the media. "That was something we worked extremely hard to have an opportunity to achieve."
            Along the way, the Bears set a school- and Big 12-record 23-game winning streak that "I don't know if that will be broken," Drew said, because of the parity in college basketball.
            "You saw how long it took to break the 22-game winning streak (Kansas in 1996-97), and I can see it standing for a long time. With the parity of basketball, that was another great accomplishment by this group," he said.
            Baylor also had a five-week run as the No. 1-ranked team in the country, which was the longest by any team since Kentucky in 2015. In the final polls that were released this week, the Bears were ranked an all-time-best No. 4 in the USA Today coaches' poll and fifth by the AP.
            "That just speaks to the consistency," Drew said. "It speaks to the everyday blue-collar attitude where these guys just showed up and competed and played. Even in games we lost, they played extremely hard and they never didn't show up. The guys loved one another, they loved to compete and play, and I thought they brought out the best in each other all year long."
            Even when the team gathered last week to discuss the NCAA tournament being canceled, senior guard Obim Okeke described it as a "blessed season."
            "Anybody who knows O, he's always smiling, he's always making everybody happy. He's always making the mood light," Drew said of Okeke, who joined the basketball team two years ago after spending three seasons as a walk-on with Baylor football. "I know our team wanted to make sure I passed along to the NCAA that if they wanted to play the tournament in August, July – anytime, anywhere – they wanted to be there. I know we have a special group of guys."
            That includes Okeke and fellow seniors Freddie Gillespie and Devonte Bandoo, who averaged 9.6 and 7.6 points, respectively. The NCAA has discussed the possibility of adding a year of eligibility for sports that had their season cut short because of the coronavirus.
            Drew said the priority for the seniors, and really all his players, is "making sure academically they're staying caught up and staying on top of things."
            "We're probably two weeks out in a holding pattern to see what transpires," he said. "I know the NBA and the NCAA will be working together to figure out what are the drop-dead dates and what people can and can't do. Right now, it's sit tight as far as making any final decisions."
            Because of that, he is not asked for an answer on whether any of the seniors would return for the 2020-21 season.
            "Until we know it's an option to come back, we need to keep pursuing what they would be doing next year," he said. "And at the same time, just not finalizing anything until we know that's the only option."
            Other than the season being cut short, Drew said one of the toughest things has been not seeing the players in the gym every day. Because of campus-wide shutdowns, they're not able to come to the Ferrell Center or work out in the weight room or Student Life Center.
            "You're in shock, because you're always used to seeing people around. That's a completely different feeling," he said.
            That's what made this season so special, he said, is because "it seemed like every day it was fun going to work."
            "No matter win or lose, the guys were always in the gym, they were always energetic, they were always fun to coach. And you don't find that a lot of times in nowadays society, because a lot of times student-athletes can get wrapped up with how am I playing, my minutes, my shots, my this, my that. You know you're going to have good games and bad games, so that attitude becomes contagious. And we really didn't have that.
            "We had more a team that was about each other and picked each other up and kept each other in check and made practice fun every day."
            Regardless of whether or not the seniors return, Drew could have an even better squad for next season. The backcourt returns intact with unanimous All-Big 12 first-team pick Jared Butler (16.0 ppg, 3.1 assists), Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Davion Mitchell (9.9 ppg, 3.8 assists) and junior MaCio Teague (13.9 ppg, 4.6 rebounds), a second-team All-Big 12 selection.
            Junior forward Mark Vital (6.1 ppg, 6.2 rebounds) joined Mitchell on the All-Big 12 third team, and they were both selected as finalists for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award.
            Also returning are 6-10 junior forward Tristan Clark, 6-9 sophomore forward Matthew Mayer and 6-10 sophomore forward Flo Thamba.
            "We had a historic year this year, what more can we do next year?" Drew said. "Hopefully, this group all returns with the same hunger and desire and love for each other. And now, we have a chance to finish what we started from the standpoint that hopefully you have a Big 12 tournament, hopefully you have an NCAA tournament. March Madness is such a memorable time. That's something where players often leave their mark on a university or college basketball. And our guys having a chance to achieve that, that would be something that I'd love for them to see."
            Freshman guard Jordan Turner redshirted this season along with sophomore guard Adam Flagler and 6-8, 245-pound sophomore forward Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua, a pair of Division I transfers. The Bears also signed a top-10 class last November, adding 6-8, 230-pound forward Dain Dainja from Brooklyn Park, Minn., 6-11, 215-pound center Zach Loveday from Gallipolis, Ohio, and 6-foot guard from Katy (Texas) Cinco Ranch.
            Similar to Mitchell and Teague, who redshirted the year before, Drew said the three redshirts made an impact this year in that "they helped prepare us and get us ready for this year."
            Much like Butler, Teague, Mitchell and Bandoo, Flager "can score it on all three levels and can defense, can facilitate, and somebody that is a high-character person with a great work ethic." He was the Big South Freshman of the Year as a freshman at Presbyterian, averaging 15.9 points per game, after setting the all-time scoring record at Duluth (Ga.) High School with 1,300 points.
            Tchamwa Tchatchoua earned the nickname "Everday John," Drew said, "because he's always the same. He brings great energy and intensity. He's usually good for one highlight dunk or highlight block every day."
            "It's truly remarkable how consistently he's able to spend time in the gym," Drew said of the 6-8 big man, who averaged 3.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.7 blocks as a freshman at UNLV. "He's one of the biggest gym rats I've ever had the opportunity to work with thus far. We've had a lot that are real gym rats, so that tells you a little about his work ethic. Somebody with a 40-inch vertical and 7 percent body fat. He brings some physicality and athleticism to the gym."
            Ranked as the No. 11 recruit in the state of Texas by ESPN, Turner needed the redshirt year to "put on some weight and strength."
            "He was skilled, and he's improving his skill, but he's gotten bigger and stronger and used to competing and playing against more physical, older guys," Drew said. "He's probably had it the toughest being the only freshman this year on the team. The guys loved him, really took care of him. He was the little brother. I'm really looking forward for those guys to have an opportunity to compete and help us on the court."