Big 12 Basketball: Power Rankings in the home stretch
6. Baylor Bears, 18-7, 7-5 Big 12
With the up and down season that Baylor has had, not enough is made out of the season Lester Medford is having. I, along with many other people, were a little wary before the season on Medford. Would he be able to give the stability that Kenny Chery did?
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And after a 2 point, 1 assist, 6 turnover game against Oregon in the second game of the season, I was totally ready to write him off. He was benched in favor of Jake Lindsey down the stretch of that game, and it looked as if Baylor had a real point guard issue.
Now, Medford’s assist to turnover ratio of 3.4 is the fifth highest in the history of the Big 12! He sits behind Doug Gottlieb‘s 1998-99 season when he also posted a 3.4 assist to turnover ratio, and three of Monte Morris‘ seasons when he posted ratios of 4.6, 4.8, and currently 5.4 (stats via last night’s ESPN telecast) (also: Monte Morris is really good).
He’s been lights out from beyond the arc during Big 12 play, too, shooting 41% from there, helping keep the floor spread for Taurean Prince and company (via sports-reference.com). He isn’t quite the scorer that Kenny Chery was, but he’s doing what he can to keep this offense humming (they currently rank 23rd in the nation in offensive rating). Now if they can shore up their issues on the defensive end, we could be looking at a dangerous team come March.
Next: Number 5