#66 - OurDailyPodcast: Scott Drew Is Going To Live Forever

We're back with another episode! Fankhauser rejoins us this week in the wake of National Signing Day and one of the most dominant road wins of the Scott Drew era. Fank's going to be a regular fixture on the podcast for the remainder of basketball season, and we're thrilled to have him

Aftermath of National Signing Day

We're talking about the aftermath of National Signing Day, recognizing just how absurd the "event" has gotten, fully realizing that we are part of the problem, but that there's nothing much to be done about it. Plus, Mike Gundy threw gas on the whole don't-tweet-at-recruits fire last week when he said the following:

This year, people are back to flipping. There were a lot of guys changing their minds and changing schools. I think the reason for that is because of the internet...I think the fans play a role in that, because they can contact the recruits. I think they’re a huge impact in recruiting now, whether we as coaches (believe that or not). These fans who are contacting these players can affect the way they think. You never know why kids do what they do, but I’m convinced, in some of the ones we were involved in this year, they were affected be people who contacted them on their Twitter account.

(hit that link for the full quote) Yeahhhhh... Probably not the best way to shut that down. Every fan base thinks that theirs is the only team that does things right and everyone else cheats or is the shadiest team ever.

We talk about it briefly, but I must say that for the most part, I was pleased with how the majority of Baylor fans handled themselves this recruiting cycle, most significantly with Chad President in the wake of Jarrett Stidham committing and his moving to Tulsa. Baylor fans were largely supportive, and the combination of Coach Phil Montgomery and President at Tulsa means the Golden Hurricane won quite a few new fans in Baylor supporters.

Next we're talking about the coaching carousel and its relationship to National Signing Day. This is an interesting point Mark brings up that is fascinating and I won't spoil it, but it's an interesting problem, and we think that there's a fairly easy solution that won't ever happen. Give it a listen. I will say this... A global Bobby Petrino clause is something sorely needed.

Basketball Time!

The past few weeks have completely altered the expectations and outlook of this team. While the Bears have been incredible at home (Fank points out that a one-point loss to Kansas at home is all that is between us and an 18-game winning streak at home), they've struggled on the road until the past couple of weeks, culminating with Saturday's dominant win over West Virginia in Morgantown. Baylor was able to get past the Mountaineer full court press, controlling the game and preventing West Virginia from ever closing the lead to less than 14 points. Every time the Mountaineers looked like they might make a run and make the game tighter, the Bears were able to answer and rebuild the lead.

Part of what has been so impressive about this season has been the defense. Scott Drew teams have always been knocked for their lack of defense, but it seems like this squad's foundation is the defense, and the offense is only really starting to mature at this stage of the season. That's gone a good bit of distance to silencing the Scott Drew critics. Plus, this latest win is another testament to his coaching, since the only way you beat a full-game full court press like the one WVU employs is through superior coaching. It's been most impressive. Since the run last spring, the Drew detractors are becoming quieter and quieter. We here at ODB are enormous supporters of Scott Drew and hope he stays as long as he can. It is known.

What's more, this team seems to be gelling as a squad and truly operating as a team, not relying on one star for the majority of its buckets. There isn't a player that we look at and say "As Player X goes, so goes the team." That is very exciting to watch. We do talk about the development of Taurean Prince as well as the absolutely dominant season Rico Gathers is putting up on the boards. My favorite stat: Gathers has 287 rebounds in 29.1 minutes/game, coming out to 17.1 rebounds per 40 minutes. That's a pretty decent clip.

Tonight the Bears play Oklahoma State at the Ferrell. GO. GO TO THIS GAME. Thanks. That is all.

Almost. Mark has a special message towards the end.