Ken Davis

Baylor needed more than a new basketball coach back in 2003. The Bears were searching for someone with a vision, someone who could see past the problems of the day without fearing tomorrow.

In Scott Drew, the Bears not only found a guy who wanted to build a program from scratch, they may have discovered the eternal optimist. Only five seasons into Drew’s rebuilding project, the past is fading into a distant memory and the future suddenly seems quite promising.

By defeating Texas A&M 116-110 in five overtimes Wednesday, Baylor improved to 16-2 overall and matched the school’s best start since the 1945-46 season when the Bears went on to win the Southwest Conference championship. And by joining Kansas as the first teams to 4-0 in the Big 12, the Bears are off to their best conference start since winning their first five league games in 1997-98.

Even better, Baylor moved into the AP Top 25 rankings for the first time since 1969.

Those might be viewed as modest steps elsewhere, but it’s a giant leap for a program still trying to rise from the rubble of a shocking murder case and the extreme NCAA sanctions that followed.

Patrick Dennehy’s murder at the hands of teammate Carlton Dotson in 2003 was enough to shake the foundation of any academic institution. That was followed by news of improper tuition payments and failed drug tests, as well as the elaborate cover-up plans ordered by coach Dave Bliss. Baylor imposed its own sanctions, announcing scholarship reductions and limiting recruiting visits, as well as a postseason ban for the 2003-04 season. That wasn’t enough for the NCAA. Five years of probation were added and Baylor was excluded from non-conference play for the 2005-06 season.

Drew never had more than seven scholarship players his first two seasons. After winning 20 games at Valparaiso in 2002-03, Drew needed three seasons to win 21 at Baylor.

“I think the biggest obstacle was just bringing in the players that you needed to be successful in building a program, the ones you wanted to represent your school, character-wise, on and off the court and then have the talent to compete,” Drew said earlier this week. “Whenever you step into a situation, you have a vision for what you want from your program. But the tough thing is then making sure you convey that and get the necessary personnel with you to get the job done.”

Baylor quietly rose to 15-16 last season, beat Missouri in the first round of the Big 12 tournament and nearly upset Texas in the second round. Led by senior guard Aaron Bruce, the Big 12 Freshman of the Year in 2005, this season already includes victories over Notre Dame and South Carolina.

Oklahoma State assistant coach James Dickey credits Drew and the rest of the Baylor coaching staff for working hard on the recruiting trail. Dickey also praises the school’s administration for its patience and understanding of the process.

“When a program is down, it certainly takes time to get it back,” Dickey said. “It takes recruiting classes, and it takes recruits and coaches some time to view what you have done and what you have accomplished. So, it’s a building process. A lot of times in our profession, you don’t have time.”

In addition to Bruce, who withdrew his name from the NBA Draft last summer with the intention of reaching the NCAA Tournament this season, Drew also recruited freshman guard LaceDarius Dunn, a consensus top-50 prospect from Monroe, La. They join Tweety Carter, Henry Dugat and Curtis Jerrells to form an extremely deep backcourt.

“Outside of Kansas, they’ve got the best collection of guards in the Big 12,” Oklahoma State coach Sean Sutton said after losing to Baylor last week. “They put so much pressure on you defensively.”

All 18 opponents have been held under 50 percent shooting, including Texas A&M (37.2), which became the eighth team to fall short of 39 percent during Baylor's 116-110 five-overtime win, the first ever for the Bears as a ranked team.

“We definitely have confidence and know that if we play hard and play to our full capability we can compete with anybody,” Drew said. “I think we have the necessary experience now, we have the depth in the backcourt and our front line is coming along.

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“It was really important for our team, in that Paradise Jam [in St. Thomas] to go there, play well and win that tournament [beating Wichita State, Notre Dame and Winthrop]. It had been about 40 years since a Baylor team had won an eight-team tournament like that. That really gave us some confidence and momentum going into the rest of the games. We did lose a game to Washington State and we did lose a game to Arkansas, but at the same time we were prepared for every team we played. In both of those games, we had an opportunity and hopefully we will learn from that.”

Drew says the Bears have more resources and options than in the past. His players now understand the importance of every conference game. And Drew thinks it is important to recognize the value of each milestone. The first two conference victories have come at home but by beating Iowa State, the Bears won their Big 12 opener for the first time since 2002.

“That was very important for our program,” Drew said. “We needed to do that. It’s a good feeling.”

Baylor even began a tough road stretch the right way. The win against Nebraska snapped a 25-game road losing streak. Baylor won again Wednesday at Texas A&M, then continues to Texas (Feb. 2) and Kansas (Feb. 9).

The first half has been sweet, but even the optimistic Drew realizes what Baylor does next will define the way this season is remembered.

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