![]() ![]() That’s not to say that Baylor’s success was linear. Thanks to players like Henry Dugat, Tweety Carter, Curtis Jerrells, LaceDarius Dunn and others, Baylor went 21-11, reaching the NCAA Tournament as a No. But the latter teams showed signs of promise, going 15-16 overall, setting up Baylor’s first winning season under Drew the next year. And that eclipsed the number of league games that the Bears won from 2003-04 to 2006-07 (12). This year, Baylor won 13-of-14 Big 12 games. Roberts became a first-team All-American at Mississippi State Lucas led Oklahoma State to the Final Four. went to work, even as former Baylor stars like Lawrence Roberts and John Lucas III became two of the best players in the country. The NCAA, as it does, slammed the Baylor program, even as none of the original actors were still on campus and even beyond Baylor’s own proposed sanctions, including one year where the Bears weren’t allowed to play any non-conference games. “But obviously the goal was always to build a program that could consistently compete and have an opportunity to play in March.” Obviously once we got into the season and you found out that most of your team were walk-ons and most of them weren't over 6-2, then you realized it might be tougher than you originally thought,” Drew said. ![]() “I really believed in the vision of the school, from the president and the administrators during that time and what they wanted Baylor to continue to grow and become. Bliss eventually confessed to making the payments and resigned, and the tonnage of penalties relating to those payments, along with other violations, meant that the ever-optimistic Drew had to build the program from scratch and then some.īut Drew, who campaigned hard to get the position at a time when few dared consider it, said Monday he wasn’t ever skeptical about the job. When payments to cover Dennehy’s tuition surfaced - along with payments on Corey Herring’s tuition - Bliss publicly said that Dennehy paid his tuition through dealing drugs. The previous coach, Dave Bliss, resigned after one player, Carlton Dotson, murdered another in Patrick Dennehy. When Drew took over the Baylor job, “joy” was hard to find around the program. And the last thing I'll say is I did learn about coffee and that helps, too, the older you get.” “In those moments when you're down, they do a great job inspiring you. And I've been blessed to have some great ones,” Drew said. The head coach is only as good as his players and staff. “You've seen Grant (McCasland) and Coach (Paul) Mills and Coach (Matthew) Driscoll have successful careers leading their programs. We wouldn't have been able to do what we've done without him. You just see how good Coach (Jerome) Tang is, because he's been here 18 years. And then I've had a staff where iron sharpens iron, and we wouldn't have been able achieve any of this. My dad is the most positive person I know,” Drew said. In the wake of Baylor’s win over Arkansas to reach the Final Four, the Bears’ coach was asked about his positive nature. Then there’s this-those around Baylor’s basketball program routinely tweet about having a culture, not borne of hard work or discipline or rowing boats or pounding nails - though certainly those things are important - but of “joy.” And Drew’s ability to keep a positive bent under conditions that would melt even the hottest steel seems like a pretty solid match. While actor and writer Jason Sudeikis has noted that the title character is an amalgamation of various coaches, it’s easy to pair Lasso with Baylor coach Scott Drew.Īfter all, Lasso is known for his near-unending positivity, and one of his players, when asked what he would like to endorse, opines that he would like to peddle “joy,” for free, of course. Anyone who watches Baylor basketball and has seen the series Ted Lasso just can’t help the comparisons.
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