Coming off a week in which the Baylor men won TWO games, both by TWO points, signee Perry Jones became McDonald's All-American number TWO in program history, and head coach Scott Drew (hey, it rhymes with "TWO") coached in his TWO hundredth game...there's something we need TO do:  Give the Bears' bench boss some post-Valentine's Day LOVE.  (And no, it's not a Wink-tastic Valentine's Pajamagram.)

 

200 games into his Baylor coaching career, Scott Drew's record is 100-and-100.  And while a winning percentage of exactly .500 might seem mediocre or par for the course, if you've been paying attention to Baylor basketball - you know that the job Coach Drew has done in Waco has been anything but "average".

 

After taking over the program in 2003, following the Dave Bliss scandal, Coach Drew went 8-and-21 in his first season with the Bears.  After three years, his Baylor record was 21-and-53.  That's a winning percentage of .283.  As of Monday, only 34 of the 334 Division 1 basketball teams in America had a winning percentage of LESS than 28.3 percent this season.

 

Following that 21-and-53 start, not only has Coach Drew guided the Bears to a record of 79-and-47 (.627 winning percentage), but in the latest NCAA RPI rankings - the Bears are Number 17, which is believed to be an all-time program best.  Thanks to that sky high RPI, Chris Yandle's Full Court Press points out that the Bears are on the verge of their second NCAA berth in three years and are currently projected as NO lower than a six-seed in the 2010 tournament.  Before Coach Drew came to Waco, Baylor had been to Big Dance only four other times, with the last time appearance coming in 1988.  Only four members of the current Baylor roster were alive in March of 1988.

 

The jolt Coach Drew has given to the Bears has not only been felt on the court - it has also resonated in the stands.  Half of the Top 10 Ferrell Center crowds of all-time have come during the Drew era. But unfortunately, NONE of those Top 10 crowds have come during this season. In fact, the largest Ferrell Center attendance of 2009-2010 would rank merely 18th on the all-time Baylor list.

 

If Coach Drew can beat Texas Tech on Tuesday night and pick up career Baylor victory number 101, his Baylor record would sit at 101-and-100.  A victory on Tuesday would also give Coach Drew a winning record for the first time since December 6, 2003 when he was a whopping 3-and-2 overall, after picking up victories over Texas Southern, A&M Corpus, and Midwestern State.

 

Please take a minute to stop, appreciate, and pay some respect (and feel free to pay for a ticket, as well) to the greatest comeback story in Central Texas history.  At least until they open the Raising Cane's in the old Krystal Burger building on Franklin Avenue...