NCAA Basketball: Michigan’s struggles, a sleeper pick and more weekly takeaways
By Brian Rauf
8) The case for Scott Drew for National Coach of the Year
There are a lot of quality candidates for Coach of the Year this season.
Rick Barnes deserves a lot of votes, as does Tony Bennett (again), John Beilein, and Tom Izzo. You could even put Marquette’s Steve Wojciechowski and Louisville’s Chris Mack in the conversation for the way they’ve spectacularly overachieved this year. But, right now, I’m going with Scott Drew.
No one expected anything from Baylor this year. They were picked to finish ninth in the Big 12 and, after losing Jake Lindsey (hip) and Tristan Clark (knee) for the season and suffering non-conference losses to Texas Southern and Stephen F. Austin, the Bears were left for dead.
Then Drew completely changed the way Baylor plays. Traditionally a big team with long, lanky athletes, the Bears are relying on an Ivy League point guard and a four-out, one-in offense – and it’s working. Senior King McClure told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram why that’s happening.
"“When Tristan went down, we came together. He’s our brother and we wanted to rally around him. We’re a different team. I feel playing smaller has definitely helped us. We’ve definitely got some guards who can play.”"
Baylor has now won nine of their last 11 games, picking up wins over the likes of Oregon, Iowa State, Texas Tech, and TCU. They are no longer in the bubble conversation – they are firmly in the NCAA Tournament and are one of the hottest teams in the country.
Next. National Player of the Year Power Rankings. dark
The job Drew has done with this undermanned group cannot be overstated. And, if they can keep up this level of play for the final month of the year, the buzz surrounding his candidacy will only grow. As it should.