BAYLOR (2-3) vs. SOUTHERN (3-4)
Dec. 18, 2004 - Ferrell Center (Waco, Texas) - 8:00 p.m. CST
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RADIO: Baylor Radio Network (ESPN/KRZI 1660AM Waco)
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THE GAME
Baylor returns home and begins a three-game homestand with a contest vs. Southern Saturday, Dec. 16. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. CST at the Ferrell Center. The Bears are 2-3 on the season following a 77-43 loss at SMU Thursday. Baylor, the nation's most inexperienced team, is playing with limited scholarships and with nine newcomers. The Bears welcomed the addition of newly eligible Tim Bush, who scored 15 points in his debut Thursday. After a 95-73 loss at North Texas Thursday, Southern's record is 3-4. The Jaguars are 0-3 on the road this season.
BAYLOR TIP-INS
- Baylor is 19-0 all-time against teams currently in the SWAC.
- Baylor is the nation's most inexperienced team (only 1 returning scholarship player).
- Baylor ranks 2nd in the Big 12 in 3-point shooting, averaging 7.2 3s per game.
- 4 of Baylor players have double-digit scoring averages.
- Kevis Shipman leads the Big 12 with 3.0 3-pointers per game.
- 3 Bears rank among the Big 12's 3-point percentage leaders: Richard Hurd (6th - 56%); Aaron Bruce (t9th - 50%); and Kevis Shipman (12th - 47%).
- Aaron Bruce leads the Big 12 in free throw shooting at 93.3%.
- Tim Bush had 15 points, 3 rebounds and 2 blocks in debut at SMU (1st career start).
- All 45 points Kevis Shipman has scored this season are from 3-pointers (15-of-32).
- Baylor has dressed fewer than 8 scholarship players for 34 straight games [10-24 record] (since final game of 2002-2003 season).
- Baylor is currently playing with 6 active scholarship players and 5 walk-ons.
- Baylor's roster includes two active players taller than 6-6 (Mark Shepherd 6-9 and Tommy Swanson 6-10) [Mamadou Diene, 7-0, is expected to join team in January].
- Over the past five seasons Baylor is 45-3 when totaling an equal or higher shooting percentage than its opponent (2-0 this season).
HEAD COACH Scott Drew
Scott Drew is in his second season of the massive rebuilding project he undertook at Baylor and owns a two-year mark of 10-24 and a career record of 30-35 (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 SOUTHERN SERIES
Saturday Baylor and Southern will meet for the second time. The Bears won the only other meeting in the series, a 78-63 decision Dec. 28, 1999, in Waco.
THE SOUTHERN JAGUARS
Southern (3-4) is led by Michael Grant, in his second season at Southern and his ninth as a head coach. Grant owns a two-year mark of 15-20 at Southern and a career-record of 141-114.
SU NOTES: The Jaguars are a Division I member of the Southwest Athletic Conference... Southern is led by senior F Peter Cipriano, who averages team-highs of 16.3 points and 11.7 rebounds... The Jags were the preseason pick to win the SWAC according to the Blue Ribbon Yearbook, The Sporting News and Lindy's... Southern is 0-3 on the road this season.
BUSH IMPRESSIVE IN DEBUT
Sophomore F Tim Bush played well in his Baylor debut at SMU Thursday, totaling 15 points, three rebounds and two blocks in a team-high 35 minutes. After transferring to Baylor from LSU last season, Bush gained his eligibility at the conclusion of the fall semester. Bush, who entered the Bears' starting lineup, is getting substantial playing time for the first time in the last four seasons. Bush, who did not play his senior season of high school, played 36 minutes in 10 games for LSU as a true freshman in 2002-2003 and transferred prior to last season - which he sat out at Baylor as a redshirt. Bush's addition gives Baylor six active sholarship players.
BRUCE PLAYS THROUGH INJURY
True freshman G Aaron Bruce, the Bears' leader in scoring (15.2 ppg; 10th in Big 12) and free throw shooting (93.3%; 1st in Big 12), started and played 27 minutes (5 points) Thursday in the loss at SMU while nursing an ankle injury suffered Dec. 4 vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
BAYLOR vs. THE SWAC
The Bears own an all-time record of 19-0 against teams currently in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, including a 63-53 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff earlier this season. Baylor has never lost vs. SWAC teams, having played eight of the SWAC's 10 teams. BAYLOR vs. NON-CONFERENCE FOES The Bears are 46-18 in regular-season non-league play over the last six seasons, including a 2-3 record this year.
NATION'S MOST INEXPERIENCED TEAM
Baylor returned just three players from it's 2003-2004 roster this season, including two walk-ons. Nine new players were included on the 2004-2005 preseason roster. Baylor is the nation's only team (and the only team in recent memory) to have only one scholarship returnee. 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.
BEARS ONCE AGAIN SHORT-HANDED
For the second consecutive season the Bears are enduring short roster numbers. 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 this season with 10 active players including walk-ons. Baylor returned just one scholarship player from last season.
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).
LAST TIME OUT: SMU 77 - BAYLOR 43
An impressive debut by sophomore forward Tim Bush was not enough to lead the overmatched Bears to a win over SMU as Bryan Hopkins scored 26 to lead the Mustangs to a 77-43 victory at Moody Coliseum. Bush, in his first game at Baylor since transferring from LSU last January, totaled 15 points, three rebounds and two blocks. Bush started with a bang for the Bears, scoring six of the team's first 12 points and Baylor was even with SMU at 12-12 through the first six minutes. Hopkins then led a 22-4 run over the next nine minutes and the Ponies led 34-16. Tommy Swanson led Baylor with a career-high 19 points and seven rebounds. Aaron Bruce, the Bear's leading scorer, scored just five points in limited duty coming back from an ankle injury. SMU outrebounded Baylor 34-22 and scored 26 points off of 20 Baylor turnovers.
THE LAST MEETING: BAYLOR 78 - SOUTHERN 63 [Dec. 28, 1999]
Terry Black scored 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds as Baylor overcame a four-point halftime deficit to defeat Southern, 78-63. Southern led 40-36 at the half and stretched the lead to 47-38 with 17:53 to play. The Jaguars lead was five with 14:46 left when Baylor went on a 22-1 run that resulted in a 68-52 lead at the 6:52 mark. Tevis Stukes produced a game-high 16 points on the strength of four 3-pointers. Black and Ben Echols both added 15, and DeMarcus Minor had 12 points and five assists.
BAYLOR'S EARLY SIGNING CLASS RATED 11th NATIONALLY
Baylor's five-man early signee class is rated the 11th-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 2-2 at home in 2004-2005 and owns a 144-102 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 non-televised home games will be streamed on-line. 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.
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 continues its three-game homestand with a contest vs. Maryland-Eastern Shore Wednesday, Dec. 22. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Ferrell Center.
