Oct. 22, 2001

WACO, Texas - On Wednesday, October 24, Baylor men's basketball coach Dave Bliss will make a special visit to the ESPN.com moderated chat room to talk about the the Bears and the upcoming 2001-02 season.

Baylor men's basketball enters its third year under head coach Dave Bliss in 2001-2002, and excitement surrounding the program is reaching new heights. Bliss' rebuilding project took another giant step forward last season when the 2000-2001 Bears, which were projected to finish 11th in the Big 12 by the league's coaches and media, put together a 19-12 record and finished eighth in the conference with a 6-10 mark.

The season was highlighted by a 12-0 start, two wins over top-10 ranked opponents, a run to the Big 12 Tournament semifinals and the school's first postseason appearance in 11 seasons. Along the way, Bliss' Bears turned heads nationally with a convincing 85-77 victory over No. 6 Kansas at home in February in the school's first-ever appearance on ESPN's Big Monday. Baylor then made headlines in March with a shocking 62-49 upset of No. 7 Iowa State in the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City.

In two short seasons at the helm of Baylor, Bliss has instilled a winning attitude and served notice nationally that the Bears are committed to fielding a first-class basketball program.

Fan enthusiasm for Baylor basketball under Bliss and staff is high in Central Texas and is demonstrated at the Ferrell Center turnstiles. Baylor experienced an increase in average home attendance of 2,131 from 1999-2000 to last season (3,247 to 5,378), the fourth-largest such increase in the nation during that span.

While Coach Bliss will not be stopping by until 2:00 p.m. CT on Wednesday, feel free to fire off your questions now - we'll save them for his arrival!

Enter Chat Room