In 2003, even their ardent well-wishers would not have given Baylor basketball a ghost of a chance.
This was the time of the murder of player Patrick Dennehy; former coach Dave Bliss’s unrelated, cover-up violations; the pay-for-play scandal. Baylor needed a leader for their program. And they found Scott Drew quickly. It was August 2003.
There was no question of Drew rebuilding the team, though he talked of getting the Bears into the Final Four. Drew had to resurrect it.
Today, the Bears are just two wins away from the Final Four. Incredibly. You’ll understand the importance of today in Baylor’ life if you know that during its darkest period, the school was slammed with penalties – there was a post-season ban, fund reductions, a five-year ban on playing non-conference games. Baylor was reported to be bankrupt.
Drew went about recruiting aggressively, some would say controversially. With more funds forthcoming from the private management, he built a new locker room, weight room, training room and a 6500-foot practice facility, at a cost of $11million. In 2005, Baylor’s women team won the NCAA championship, the momentum basketball needed.
The men’s team has Tweety Carter, Lace Darius Dunn (average 34.5 points). In 2007-08, Baylor won 21 games and reached the NCAA. Drew thinks that is the turning point.
Now he hopes people are saying, “Baylor basketball team is back.”

Baylor plays St.Mary’s at Houston, Friday, 4:27 pm.