Baylor Basketball: Landing Langston Love will make Big 12 foes nervous
Top-30 overall prospect Langston Love has decided to play for Baylor Basketball. It could be the start of a recruiting resurgence for the Bears.
After going a program-record record 26-4 (15-3) last season and being ranked No. 1 for just the second time ever, head coach Scott Drew and Baylor Basketball are hoping to reap the benefits going forward. That has happened on the recruiting trail at least, landing top-30 recruit Langston Love.
When Love put out a list of 11 contenders nearly two months ago, the Bears were viewed as a frontrunner to land his services. The Texas native is one of the best pure shooters in the 2021 recruiting class, showcasing great size and athleticism and ability to score in a number of ways. He’s already viewed a five-star talent and is now the highest-rated committed prospect for Baylor Basketball since Isaiah Austin nearly a decade ago.
The Bears have operated well without relying on top-50 recruits, using successful transfers and quality development with 3-4 year players. But for the most part, that strategy has fallen short to rival Kansas in the Big 12. And with Texas Tech now in the picture for five-star talents on a regular basis, not to mention Oklahoma State having the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2020 class in Cade Cunningham, Baylor will have to pick up their game on the recruiting trail to keep pace.
But that doesn’t mean they need to deviate from what has worked so far. While Love is immensely talented, he doesn’t project as a “one and done” kind of talent. And that’s what should worry the other nine programs in the Big 12. If the Bears can continue their way of development and having experience all over the roster, with just better players doing it, then this past season won’t be an abnormality but more of the norm going forward.
And while Love is the first commit for the Bears in the 2021 class, he easily may not be the highest-ranked. Five-star prospects, Harrison Ingram, Michael Foster, and Kendall Brown have Baylor in the running and there’s a real chance this could be the best recruiting class not only in the Scott Drew era but in program history.
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They’ve already been a handful in the Big 12 for the other teams but could take it to the next level and be a consistent national powerhouse. And with Kansas facing its own trouble with the NCAA, now is a perfect time for the Bears to make a move and solidify their spot among the very best in not only the Big 12 but nationally overall. Langston Love is another piece to help stay up there.