Baylor Basketball: 2021-22 season preview and outlook for Bears

Bench

Baylor’s depth was one of Scott Drew’s deadliest weapons last season, as evidenced by Adam Flagler, Matthew Mayer, and Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua ranking fourth, fifth, and sixth in scoring for the Bears – despite all three playing completely off the bench all season.  That is without mentioning LJ Cryer, who did not see nearly as much time – but still averaged exactly 10.0 minutes per game.

Cryer should continue to see his role expanded upon, after a tumultuous freshman campaign that saw him pour in 17 points in Baylor’s season opener against Louisiana-Lafayette – but then sit out for nine games during the 2021 calendar year.  A shooting guard, Cryer’s primary weapon was his three-point shot, where he will need to improve in order to be more effective – while he took just 11 shots from inside the arc, Cryer attempted a whopping 44 from beyond, draining just 36.4% (16-44) of his endeavors.

Whoever does not start at center between Tchamwa Tchatchoua and Flo Thamba will be among the first Bears off the bench, and understandably so – both saw over 15 minutes of action per game last year, and both were potent inside with shooting clips upwards of 56.3%.  Additionally, Zach Loveday, much like Cryer, should see increased playing time after an inconsistent freshman debut.  Loveday, at 7-foot, showed promises last season, scoring 10 points against Alcorn State and finishing the season with a 73.3% (11-15) clip inside the arc.

Much of Baylor’s depth past Cryer, Loveday, and the remaining center is hazy, with the exception of newcomer Langston Love, who enters the season ranked 40th among recruits (per 247Sports) after a stellar tenure at Montverde Academy, where he played alongside current NBA talents in Cade Cunningham and Scottie Barnes – and, impressively, finished above both in scoring in 2019.  A solid shooter and defender with a 6-4 stature, Love has the potential to become the first guard off the bench.

The Bears’ bench becomes a bit dicey after that, but there are still more options available for Drew and his staff.  Jordan Turner saw limited minutes in 12 games, and will need to mightily improve his woeful 0-11 clip from inside the arc – but he could see time as a three-point specialist, having gone 5-8 from outside last year.

Dain Dainja is coming off a redshirt freshman season but is still an intriguing four-star recruit, while Jeremy Sochan, the third name in Baylor’s newest class, is a four-star product who led Poland’s national team at the EuroBasket 2022 qualifiers, setting history as the youngest player to ever play for the Polish national squad.

There may not be the marquee names headlining Baylor’s bench play that were there last season, but Drew will still have some significant contributors at hand to pull from whenever – and there are some potential stars-in-waiting, to boot.  Love and Sochan, in particular, may be the future of Baylor basketball, alongside Kendall Brown.