By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            After getting schooled on a little Baylor basketball history from a group of former players that included Davion Mitchell, Jared Butler, Taurean Prince and Ish Wainright from the NBA ranks, the current Bears will get a class credit in European culture when they leave on Saturday for a foreign tour in France.

            "These kinds of activities bring teams closer together," said head coach Scott Drew, who went through a roster makeover going into his 21^st season. "Our guys are actually going to get a class credit over there, learn some things about European culture and French culture. But at the same time, bond as a team. That's really critical nowadays when you have so much change. Used to be, you were teammates for three or four years. Now, you're teammates for one year."

            This year's team, particularly in the backcourt, will have a completely different look. The familiar faces of Adam Flagler, Keyonte George, LJ Cryer and Dale Bonner have been replaced by highly touted freshmen Miro Little and Ja'Kobe Walter, VCU transfer Jayden Nunn and MAC Player of the Year RayJ Dennis from Toledo.

            They were tested against the likes of Mitchell, Butler, King McClure, LaceDarius Dunn and Tweety Carter when a group of former Baylor players were in town this summer. Among the other players back were Wainright, Prince, Perry Jones III, Cory Jefferson, Freddie Gillespie, Kevin Rogers and Terrance Thomas.

            "Those guys had an opportunity to learn from them, play against them," Drew said. "And then, the vets are able to spend time talking to them about what they need to do in the Big 12, what they remember about the Big 12, what they remember about college and things they wish they knew. Coaches will say one thing, but if you can get a former player to say it, that means a lot more."

            Senior forward Jalen Bridges, who averaged 10.3 points and a team-high 5.6 rebounds in his first year at Baylor, is the only returning starter on a team that also brings back 6-8 forward Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua, 6-10 sophomore forward Josh Ojianwuna, 6-8 senior forward Caleb Lohner and guards Langston Love and Dantwan Grimes (who redshirted last year).

            With 6-8 junior college transfer Yanis Ndjonga suffering a torn ACL in a non-contact workout this summer, the only frontcourt newcomer is 6-10 freshman center Yves Missi from Cameroon.

            "Yves is somebody that physically is stronger than someone you would think that just reclassified up," Drew said of Missi, initially expected to be in the 2024 class. "He's got great athleticism. Defensively, he really alters and blocks shots, and rebounding-wise he does a great job. So, huge upside. He'll be a crowd favorite early on with some of his highlight dunks and blocks."

            Much like George and 2022 NBA Draft picks Jeremy Sochan and Kendall Brown, the 6-5 Walter is a potential one-and-done player. He was projected as the 11^th pick overall in the NBA Draft Room's latest 2024 mock draft.

            "You wouldn't know he's a freshman from the standpoint – physically, he's not as developed as he will be in three, four or five years, obviously," Drew said of Walter, a McDonald's All-American who played his final prep season at Link Academy in Branson, Mo., "but he'll throw his body around, he'll try to be physical. He does a great job in having a good feel for the game as far as when to shoot, when to pass, when to cut."

            Another bigger guard at 6-4, Little is playing for the Finnish National Team in the World Cup this summer.

            "Miro is somebody that I wish was here all summer," Drew said, "but he has a great opportunity playing with the Finnish National Team. He injured his hand, so that limited what he was able to do here, and he'll miss the first scrimmage in Finland. But what a great opportunity for him. Everybody's in the World Cup, trying to get to the Olympics, trying to get a good seed. So, that's a great experience for him."

            Named to the A-10 Conference All-Rookie Team two years ago, J-Nunn averaged 9.3 points, 2.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game last year at VCU.

            "Jayden is somebody that I know Davion really respected his defensive intensity and tenacity," Drew said. "He can shoot the 3 and get to the rim, and he's somebody that really wants to grow, learn; (he's) a sponge, really coachable."

            Dennis, a 6-2 guard who started his collegiate career at Boise State, averaged 19.5 points and 5.8 assists in earning unanimous MAC Player of the Year honors last season.

            "His ball security is tremendous," Drew said. "He knows how to make all the right reads, and at the same time does a great job pitching ahead and involving people. Somebody that's really mature, approaches the game like a pro."

            Baylor also added 6-4 guard Omar Adegbola as a walk-on from Montverde (Fla.) Academy. Described as a "strong, physically overwhelming guard (who) gets downhill and finishes with relative ease," Adegbola averaged 24.7 points and 7.0 rebounds last season.

            "We've had walk-ons that turned into Freddie Gillespie, Mark Shepherd," Drew said, "and (Adegbola) is somebody that's a very good student, very hard-working and talented."

            Although Ndjonga won't make the trip because of a scheduled ACL surgery, Missi and Tchamwa Tchatchoua are both from Cameroon as well and speak fluent French, "so we're good for when we're on the trip," Drew said. Drew admits that his French doesn't go much past oui (yes).

            Splitting time between Paris, Lyon and Nice, the Bears will only play two games on the 10-day trip, which should leave plenty of time for the players, coaches and staff to bond.

            "Bonding is really easy," Drew said, "because those (French) meals take two and three hours. And they're not always on their phones because of the time change and everything. So, the pace and just being in a foreign country makes you more present. When you're in the (U.S.), we have it so down to in and out. And usually, if you go watch six teenagers or 20-year-olds (having) dinner, probably five of them are on their phone and the sixth one is looking for it."

            Coming off a 23-11 season and its 11^th-consecutive postseason appearance (nine NCAA, two NIT), Baylor will open the 2023-24 season with a Nov. 7 matchup against Auburn at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

            The Bears will also join Florida, Oregon State and Pittsburgh in the NIT Season Tip-Off Nov. 22-24 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, face Duke on Dec. 20 at Madison Square Garden and host Seton Hall in the Big East-Big 12 Battle on Dec. 5 at the Ferrell Center.