NCAA Basketball: Seniors who never got their moment in NCAA Tournament
By Bryan Mauro
Freddie Gillespie and Devonte Bandoo – Baylor Bears
It is hard to not feel for Baylor and their basketball team. I know that Baylor has had many problems as an administration and has many a stain overall on the NCAA landscape in football and basketball. This year’s iteration of the basketball team was exactly what you look for in a team. They had no one star and they were well-coached. Every player on this team did a little bit of everything. They were the true definition of the word team. The seniors had a lot to be happy about with how their season ended but they had a legitimate chance at winning the national title and that is going to be hard for these two seniors to swallow.
Freddie Gillespie transferred to Baylor from Division III Carleton College. Gillespie is another player in the long line of players who transferred up from a lower division and had success at the high major level. Gillespie was a key cog to Baylor as he started every game and just about averaged a double-double. Gillespie was huge for Baylor this year. Gillespie was going to be a huge factor for the Bears in the tournament as well.
Baylor had all but wrapped up a one seed and Gillespie was going to have a huge NCAA tournament. He had a great season and was a huge factor in what Baylor accomplished this year. The NCAA tournament was going to be huge for Gillespie as his last memory of college basketball, but it should not take away from what he and his team accomplished.
Bandoo transferred into Baylor from Hutchinson Community College. Throughout his career, the guard had a knack for hitting big shots. Bandoo was one of the best shooters in the Big 12 in his two years in Waco. Bandoo was a key piece to this season’s rotation and he was hoping to get his moment. Every single player for Baylor is hurt by this decision, they may have been the only team in the country where the parts equaled the sum. They didn’t have a single individual star.
Removing one player from their rotation hurt them more than other losing their star. Even with no tournament, many Baylor fans would say these players had their defining moments, leading the Bears to their first-ever one seed, number one ranking and 23-game winning streak. It is a shame they were not given the chance to compete for the National Championship.