BAYLOR (1-0) vs. LOUISIANA-MONROE (1-0)
Nov. 24, 2004 - Ferrell Center (Waco, Texas) - 7:00 p.m. CST
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
RADIO: Baylor Radio Network (ESPN/KRZI 1660AM Waco)
INTERNET AUDIO: live broadcast at BaylorBears.com
TELEVISION: none
INTERNET VIDEO (BEARCAST): live stream at baylorbears.com
THE GAME
Baylor hosts Louisiana-Monroe Wednesday, November 24, at 7 p.m. CST at the Ferrell Center. The Bears are 1-0 on the season following a 92-51 win over Hillsdale FWB College in their season-opener Monday. Baylor, the nation's most inexperienced team, is playing with limited scholarships and with nine newcomers. Louisiana-Monroe is also 1-0 after defeating Texas College 93-75 to open the season Saturday. The Bears and Indians played a thrilling double-overtime game last season in Waco, won by Baylor 85-79.
BAYLOR TIP-INS
- Baylor is the nation's most inexperienced team (only 1 returning scholarship player).
- Baylor's roster includes three players taller than 6-6 (Mamadou Diene 7-0, Mark Shepherd 6-9 and Tommy Swanson 6-10).
- Baylor is 66-19 all-time vs. teams in the Southland Conference. - Baylor is 45-15 in regular-season non-conference games the last 6 years. - All 10 active players scored for Baylor in the season-opening win over Hillsdale.
- The 92-51 win over Hillsdale was Baylor's largest margin of victory since a 97-45 defeat of Texas A&M in 2002.
- Baylor is currently playing with 5 active scholarship players and 5 walk-ons.
- Baylor has dressed fewer than 8 scholarship players for 30 straight games [9-21 record] (since last game of 2002-2003 season).
- Over the past five seasons Baylor is 44-3 when totaling an equal or higher shooting percentage than its opponent (1-0 this season). - Baylor teams have made at least one 3-point basket in 379 straight games.
- Two of Baylor's newcomers formerly were at other Division I schools. Sophomore Tim Bush played 10 games as a freshman at LSU in 2002-2003 and sophomore Patrick Fields was a redshirt at Mississippi in 2002-2003.
- Nine of the 12 players on Baylor's roster are Texas natives.
- Freshman Richard Hurd's older brother Lamar Hurd is the starting point guard at Oregon State.
HEAD COACH Scott Drew
Scott Drew is in his second season at Baylor and owns a two-year mark of 9-21 and a career record of 28-32 (3 seasons). Drew spent 10 seasons at Valparaiso, the last as head coach after nine seasons as an assistant to his father Homer. During his decade at Valpo, the Crusaders earned six NCAA Tournament berths, including five straight from 1996-2000. An outstanding recruiter, Drew is responsible for four national Top-20 recruiting classes over the last six years. He was named the 1998-99 National Recruiter of the Year by Court Vision and helped produce what HoopScoop named the nation's sixth best recruiting class in 2001, the 10th best in 2004, the 13th best in 1999 and the 19th best in 2003.
THE LOUSIANA-MONROE SERIES
Wednesday marks the fourth meeting between Baylor and Louisiana-Monroe and the Bears hold a 4-0 edge in the all-time series. Baylor has won all three previous meetings in Waco, including last season's 85-79 double-overtime thriller. All four previous meetings have been close with the Bears winning by a total of 15 points (69-68 in 1989; 67-63 in 1996; 79-74 in 2002; 85-79 in 2003).
THE LOUISIANA-MONROE INDIANS
Louisiana-Monroe (1-0) is led by Mike Vining, in his 24th season at the helm of the Indians. He has compiled a career record of 395-283, all as the head coach at ULM.
ULM NOTES: ULM is a Division I member of the Southland Conference... The Indians won their opener, a 93-75 victory over Texas College... Junior G Cecil Hood, a juco transfer from Arkansas-Ft. Smith, was tabbed the Southland's preseason Newcomer of the Year by the Sporting News... Hood and junior F Daryl Mason led ULM with 18 points in the season opener... Three Indians are Texas natives: senior G Tony Helton (El Paso, Montwood HS); Mason (Bryan, Bryan HS); and junior F Gary Robinson (Houston, Alief Elsilc HS).
DREW vs. LOUISIANA-MONROE
Scott Drew-coached teams are 1-0 all-time against Louisiana-Monroe.
BAYLOR vs. NON-CONFERENCE FOES
The Bears are 45-15 in regular-season non-league play over the last six seasons, including a 1-0 record this year.
BAYLOR vs. THE SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE
The Bears own an all-time record of 66-19 against teams currently in the Southland Conference, including a 1-2 mark last season (win over Louisiana-Monroe and losses to Stephen F. Austin and UT-San Antonio).
BEARS ONCE AGAIN SHORT-HANDED
The short roster numbers that the Bears endured last season will again be reality in 2004-2005. Baylor lost nine lettermen from last season's depleted roster (the Bears suited up between five and seven scholarship players over the season). The Bears began the season with 10 active players including walk-ons. Baylor returned just one scholarship player from last season.
NATION'S MOST INEXPERIENCED TEAM
Baylor's 2004-2005 preseason roster included a total of three returning players (two of which are walk-ons) and nine players that hadn't suited up for the Bears. Baylor is the nation's only team (and the only team in recent memroy) to return just one scholarship player. The three returnees had a combined total of four seasons of experience at the Division I level prior to this season. The 2004-2005 Baylor squad includes nine underclassmen.
LOTS OF NEWCOMERS
The 2004-2005 Baylor roster includes seven newcomers and an additional two players who sat out last season. The nine new faces include three junior college transfers (junior G Kevis Shipman, sophomore G Roscoe Biggers and G/F Patrick Fields); one Division I transfer (sophomore F Tim Bush); and five high schoolers (G Aaron Bruce, C Mamadou Diene, G/F Hall Henderson, F Richard Hurd, F Mark Shepherd).
TWO NEW BEARS AVAILABLE IN DECEMBER
Baylor is without two scholarship athletes to begin the season (first four games). Sophomore forward Tim Bush transfered from LSU last season and gains his eligibility following the fall semester (eligible Dec. 18 for game vs. Southern). Freshman center Mamdou Diene, a native of Senegal, is scheduled to arrive on campus in mid-December.
THE LAST MEETING: BAYLOR 85 - LA.-MONROE 79 2OT [Dec. 16, 2003]
Terrance Thomas scored 26 points, handed out 10 assists and grabbed nine rebounds to lead Baylor to an 85-79 double-overtime victory over Louisiana-Monroe at the Ferrell Center. Tied 73-73 at the end of the first overtime, Baylor and ULM swapped 3-point baskets to open the second extra period before Thomas put the Bears in front for good at 79-76 with his second 3-pointer of the night. Thomas' underhand pass through a double team to an unguarded Corey Herring underneath the basket clinched the Bear victory. Herring's layup with 24 seconds remaining put Baylor ahead 84-76. Mark Keith, who led ULM with 17 points, forced the game into overtime when he hit a 3-pointer with seven seconds to tie the game at 68-68. Louisiana-Monroe's Tank Thompson missed the first of two free throws but hit the second to tie the game at 73-73 with 34 seconds left in the first overtime. Baylor's Matt Saymon missed a 3-pointer with two seconds left, and R.T. Guinn missed a buzzer-beating putback attempt. Guinn added 17 points for Baylor. Herring scored 14 points and Carl Marshall added 13. Marshall started for Baylor in place of Ellis Kidd Jr., who was dismissed from the team earlier in the day for violating team policy.
LAST TIME OUT: BAYLOR 92 - HILLSDALE FWB COLLEGE 51
Aaron Bruce scored 22 points to lead Baylor to a 92-51 victory over Hillsdale Freewill Baptist College to win its sixth straight season opener Monday at the Ferrell Center. Tommy Swanson added 17 points and Patrick Fields had 16 and eight rebounds for the Bears (1-0). Baylor dominated the smaller, slower Saints, scoring 46 points in the paint and generating 30 points off turnovers. All 10 Bears that dressed for the game scored at least two points in the win. The Bears went up by 30 points at 65-35 on a Kevis Shipman 3-pointer with just under 13 minutes remaining in the game. Baylor made it 79-39 at the 7:25 mark on Bruce's 3-point basket. Hillsdale Freewill Baptist, a Division II school in the National Christian College Athletic Association, played its first game ever against an NCAA Division I university.
BAYLOR'S EARLY SIGNING CLASS RATED 10th NATIONALLY
Baylor's five-man early signee class is rated the 10th-best class in the nation according to HoopScoop and is one of the highest rated recruiting classes in recent school history. The class includes three national Top-100 players and three Top-10 state recruits. The signees include four prep seniors, Henry Dugat of Dayton (Texas) High School, Curtis Jerrells of Del Valle High School in Austin, Texas, Kevin Rogers of South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas and Jari Vanttaja of Oulu, Finland; as well as Tony Jones, a freshman at Hill College in Hillsboro, Texas.
Rogers, a 6-8, 220-pound power forward, is rated the 35th-best recruit nationally by Rivals and Hoop Alliance and the sixth-best recruit in the state by Rivals. Dugat is a 6-0, 160-pound combo guard rated No. 69 nationally by Scout.com and the fifth-best recruit in the state by TexasHoops. Jerrells, a 6-1, 170-pound point guard, was named to the TABC 4A All-State second team. He is rated the No. 94 recruit nationally by Rivals and the No. 7 recruit in Texas by Texas Roundball. Vanttaja is a 6-10, 215-pound forward who recently averaged 14 points and 5.5 rebounds for the Finnish Junior National Team at the Albert Schweitzer Tournament in Mannheim, Germany. According to HoopScoop, if Vanttaja played in the U.S. he would be rated among the Top 50 high school prospects. Jones is a 6-7, 185-pound forward who redshirted the 2003-2004 season at Hill College and will have three seasons of eligibility at Baylor.
BAYLOR EARLY SIGNEES:Name Pos. Ht. Wt. Yr. Hometown (Schools)Henry Dugat G 6-0 160 Fr. Dayton, Texas (Dayton HS)Curtis Jerrells G 6-1 170 Fr. Austin, Texas (Del Valle HS)Tony Jones F 6-7 185 So. San Antonio, Texas (Taft HS/Hill College)Kevin Rogers F 6-8 220 Fr. Dallas, Texas (South Oak Cliff HS)Jari Vanttaja F 6-10 215 Fr. Oulu, Finland (South Tapiola HS)
DEPARTED PLAYERS
Nine lettermen from Baylor's season-opening 2003-2004 roster are not on the 2004-2005 edition. With those departed players the Bears have lost 88.8 percent of their scoring and 86.4 percent of last season's rebounding. Gone is Baylor's all-time games-played leader Matt Sayman, the USBL's No. 1 draft pick R.T. Guinn, talented All-District honoree Terrance Thomas, the scoring of third-team All-Big 12 selection Harvey Thomas and 22-game starter Carl Marshall. Four players left due to graduation/expired eligibility (Guinn, Robbie McKenzie, Sayman, T. Thomas), three transferred (Will Allen, Corey Herring, Marshall), one left to play professionally (H. Thomas) and one was dismissed from the team (Ellis Kidd Jr.).
FERRELL CENTER'S 17th YEAR
The Bears are in their 17th season in the beautiful Ferrell Center this year. Baylor is 1-0 at home in 2004-2005 and owns a 143-100 all-time record in the arena, which opened in November 1988. The Ferrell Center is a golden-domed structure that seats 10,284 for basketball games.
BAYLOR GAMES ONLINE - AUDIO AND VIDEO (BEARCAST)
A live audio stream of all Baylor basketball games can be heard on BaylorBears.com at no cost. Live video (BearCasts) is available at BaylorBears.com; all home games that are not scheduled to be televised will be streamed. BearCast subscriptions are $6.95 a month or $49.95 annually. Single-game basketball fees are $0.95 for an annual BearCast subscriber, $1.95 for a monthly BearCast subscriber or $4.95 for non-BearCast subscribers.
OVER THE AIR
Bear basketball games are aired live on the Baylor Radio Network and flagship station 1660AM ESPN Radio (KRZI) in Waco. Selected games are broadcast on Dallas-Fort Worth affiliate WBAP 820AM, which covers 80 percent of the nation and reaches 38 states during night games. All Baylor games are broadcast by the "Voice of the Bears" John Morris, a veteran broadcaster in his 10th season, and former Baylor basketball standout Pat Nunley, in his 23rd season as color analyst.
INSIDE BAYLOR SPORTS TV SHOW
Inside Baylor Sports, a half-hour wrap-up of Baylor athletics, airs weekly throughout the Southwest. The program, co-hosted by John Morris and Lori Scott-Fogleman, airs on KCEN-TV Channel 6, Fox Sports Net Southwest and College Sports TV. KCEN carries the show at 10:30 p.m. Sundays, and it airs at 1 p.m. Wednesdays on FSN Southwest. All shows are archived online at BaylorBears.com and BaylorTV.com.
NEXT UP...
Baylor has a week off before hosting Arkansas-Pine Bluff Wednesday, Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. at the Ferrell Center.
