Baylor forward Jefferson staying for senior season (Yahoo! Sports)
WACO, Texas (AP) — Cory Jefferson is staying at Baylor for his senior season.
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Standout JUCO guard Chery signs with Baylor (Yahoo! Sports)
WACO, Texas (AP) — Junior college standout point guard Kenny Chery has signed a national letter of intent with NIT champion Baylor.
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Brittney Griner: Lack of Position Would Keep Baylor Star at End of Bench in NBA
Mark Cuban, you sir, are crazy. Or just desperate for attention.
But if the latter was indeed your wish, consider it granted. Earlier this week, the Dallas Mavericks owner caused quite a stir when he said he would be willing to draft Baylor Lady Bears star Brittney Griner in the second round of the NBA draft (via ESPN’s Tim MacMahon):
Cuban said he would consider selecting Griner, a 6-foot-8 three-time All-American and Big 12 player of the year, in the second round of the NBA draft. If the Mavs don’t draft her, Cuban said he would have “no problem whatsoever” inviting Griner to try out for a spot on Dallas’ summer league team.
‘If she is the best on the board, I will take her,’ Cuban said before the Mavs‘ Tuesday night game against the Los Angeles Lakers. ‘I’ve thought about it. I’ve thought about it already. Would I do it? Right now, I’d lean toward yes, just to see if she can do it. You never know unless you give somebody a chance, and it’s not like the likelihood of any late-50s draft pick has a good chance of making it.’
Oy. For now, let’s not concentrate on the baffling ignorance of that strategy—ask the Sacramento Kings (Isaiah Thomas) if they think late second-round picks are worthless—but simply on Griner‘s potential role in the NBA.
And it’s simple. She wouldn’t have one.
This isn’t meant to be a cheap shot at the former Baylor star. During her career with the Bears, she redefined the word “unstoppable,” averaging 22.1 points, 8.7 rebounds and 5.1 blocks in four years. She destroyed countless records and established herself as the most dominant player in women’s hoops history.
The mere fact that this is even a conversation is a testament to what she has meant to this game.
But where in the NBA is she going to play?
In college, she was an overwhelming force in the post because 6’8″ is massive in the women’s game.
In the NBA, she’s nothing more than a tweener.
That’s not to say undersized power forwards haven’t had success in the NBA before, but it’s usually because they combine a lack of height with either daunting strength, amazing athleticism or the skill set to play the wing.
Griner (208 pounds) doesn’t have the size or strength to compete with NBA big men down low. She doesn’t have the speed, athleticism or shooting ability to play effectively on the perimeter. With her raw talent, I have no doubt that she could keep up with the boys in a pick-up game.
But in an organized NBA game, she would simply be a mismatch for the other team, no matter where she plays.
The record-breaking superstar is a lock for the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft, but she shouldn’t go anywhere in the top 60 in the NBA draft.
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Baylor wins its first NIT title, over Iowa (Yahoo! Sports)
NEW YORK (AP) — Pierre Jackson made the National Invitation Tournament his own.
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Iowa vs. Baylor: Twitter Reaction, Recap and Analysis from NIT Championship
The Baylor Bears won their first ever NIT title with a 74-54 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Not a fun game to watch for the casual fan, the Bears put on a defensive master class. They got out on the perimeter and caused fits for Iowa shooters all game long.
After 20 minutes, it looked like fans were going to be in for a long second half.
The two played a very slow-paced, dull first half, combining for only 49 points on 11-of-53 shooting. While the game wasn’t very exciting, fans were treated to some very intense, defensively strong basketball.
With the way Iowa was outplayed in the first 20 minutes, it felt like only a matter of time before Baylor would build on their five-point halftime lead.
That’s exactly what happened. Slowly but surely, the Bears opened the game up and put some distance between themselves and the Hawkeyes. Iowa cut the lead to two with 17:56 to go in the game, but then the Bears went on an 11-2 run and didn’t look back.
Over time, Iowa couldn’t hit its shots, while Baylor remained extremely efficient in the offensive end. That turned out to be the biggest difference.
In his last collegiate game, Pierre Jackson made sure to go out with a bang. He was both the dynamic scorer and facilitator for his teammates. He finished with a double-double, recording 17 points and 10 assists.
It was the duo of Isaiah Austin and Cory Jefferson who stole the show, though.
Jefferson was the leading scorer for the game, finishing with 23 points, while adding seven rebounds.
Austin did a little bit of everything. He recorded 15 points, nine rebounds, five blocks and four assists. What doesn’t show up in the box score is how he got up and down the court extremely well. One play he’d be swatting a layup off the glass, the next he’d be on the offensive end ready to finish.
Iowa shot the ball slightly better in the second half, but it just couldn’t handle the strong perimeter defense of Baylor. The Hawkeyes only finished shooting 26.5 percent as a team. It’s almost impossible to win a Division I game when you miss 50 of your shots.
Mike Gesell was Iowa’s leading scorer, coming off the bench to score 13 points. Aaron White had the most points of any Hawkeyes starter, with 12 points.
Roy Devyn Marble came in as the Hawkeyes’ leading scorer, averaging 15.2 points a game. Baylor managed to shackle him for all 40 minutes. Marble had only six points after hitting three of his 12 attempts from the field.
Twitter Reaction
Steve Bunin of CSN-Houston noted the history Baylor made Thursday night:
David Smoak of 1660 ESPN in Waco tried to give his best guess to Iowa’s shooting percentage close to the basket.
Winning the NIT wasn’t enough for Jackson. He had to stamp his place in the Baylor record books as ESPN Stats and Info revealed:
Reid Forgrave of FOXSports.com thinks that should Austin stay, he and Jefferson would have no equal in terms of a frontcourt tandem:
CBSSports.com congratulates Baylor on finishing the season strong considering how the regular season unfolded:
It was a completely deserved win for the Bears. This could be a very scary team next season should it manage to hold on to the key players who aren’t graduating. Keep an eye out on the Bears this offseason.
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Iowa set to face Baylor for NIT championship (Yahoo! Sports)
NEW YORK (AP) — Pierre Jackson is one win away from capping his stellar Baylor career with the Bears’ first NIT championship.
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NIT Championship 2013: Baylor vs Iowa Breakdown and Predictions
Although Baylor and Iowa would prefer to be squaring off in Atlanta this weekend, the Bears and Hawkeyes will be more than willing to leave it all out on the floor for the National Invitation Tournament title on Thursday night inside the Mecca of basketball.
No. 2-seeded Baylor knocked off Long Beach State, Arizona State, Providence and BYU on its way to the tournament final, while No. 3-seeded Iowa has survived Indiana State, Stony Brook, Virginia and Maryland.
Baylor last reached the NIT final in 2009, losing to Penn State. But neither program has ever won this tournament, setting the stage for a high-stakes clash on Thursday night.
Here we’ll get you set with everything you need to know for this championship matchup at MSG.
Where: Madison Square Garden in New York
When: Thursday, April 4 at 9 p.m. ET
Watch: ESPN
Live Streaming: ESPN3.com
Betting Line: TBA
Key Injuries (according to USA Today)
Baylor: No significant injuries.
Iowa: No significant injuries.
Player to Watch for Baylor: Pierre Jackson
Expect another big-time performance from Baylor senior Pierre Jackson, who’ll be playing in the last game of his college career on Thursday.
The Big 12′s leading scorer this season, Jackson is averaging over 20 points per game in the NIT. But even more impressive, the 5’10″ guard is posting over 11 assists per game over Baylor’s during this spring’s postseason tournament.
Jackson’s ability to create his own shot and to find easy opportunities for the Bears’ big men will be huge against Iowa on Thursday as the Hawkeyes play sensational team defense.
Player to Watch for Iowa: Roy Devyn Marble
One of the best guards in the country, Iowa junior Roy Devyn Marble has been putting himself and the Hawkeyes on the college basketball map this postseason with some exceptional play. He’s averaging over 24 points per game on 49 percent shooting from the field through four NIT games.
At 6’6″, Marble is nearly unstoppable with the ball in his hands. He can drive to the basket, create for a teammate or step back and nail a shot from well beyond the arc.
Keep an eye out for No. 4 in black on Thursday, as his ability to provide a scoring threat on each and every possession will keep Baylor on its toes defensively.
Key Matchup: Front Court Battle
The key matchup in Thursday’s showdown will take place in the front court, where Baylor boasts two exceptional talents in forward Cory Jefferson and NBA draft prospect Isaiah Austin. The two bigs combined for 35 points and 15 rebounds in Tuesday’s win over BYU, and will need to leave a similar impact on Thursday’s game if Baylor is to end its season on a high note.
On the other side, if Iowa can contain those bigs and make Baylor one-dimensional offensively, forcing Pierre Jackson to shoulder the load on that end of the floor, the Hawkeyes will be in the driver’s seat to win the title.
Although Aaron White, Adam Woodbury and company bring a lot to the table on the interior, I don’t like their chances of shutting down a seven-footer like Austin or being able to keep him off the foul line. Add in Jefferson’s strong 6’9″ frame and his ability to shoot a high percentage around the basket, and Baylor boasts a mighty advantage in this key area.
Prediction
This is a tough matchup to predict considering both teams do so many things well, but if there’s an edge to be given, it has to go to Baylor, a team that made a deep run to the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament a year ago.
The Bears have an elite point guard leading the way in Jackson, a knockdown shooter on the wing who’s hitting over 48 percent from beyond the arc in Brady Heslip and two dependable frontcourt players in Jefferson and Austin.
Marble and the Hawkeyes will be in this game until the very end, they’re too talented defensively and too scrappy to get blown out at this stage, but I look for Jackson’s senior leadership and will to win to make the difference late for Baylor.
Baylor 78, Iowa 72
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NIT Semifinals: Baylor Escapes BYU and Iowa Outsmarts Maryland
After Baylor outlasted BYU in a game of wills, and Iowa overwhelmed Maryland, the NIT championship is all set for Thursday night.
With under two minutes remaining and the season hanging in the balance, BYU’s Matt Carlino hit back-to-back-to-back three-pointers to cut Baylor’s lead to 69-65, but the Baylor Bears hung on to win Tuesday night, 76-70.
Pierre Jackson, who has been a stud in the three games prior to the semis, was Baylor’s high-man with 24 points Tuesday, and he talked about how difficult it was for his Bears to put BYU away in the end.
“It was really tough. They got some great players on their side, some great shooters. Carlino caught fire a little bit, but we stuck to the game plan and executed well.”
BYU was a thorn in Baylor’s side all night long. The Cougars were able to stick around in large part due to their effort on the glass—out-rebounding the Bears, 40-33.
This game, however, was all about execution and timing, and BYU was just a little off on both.
Tuesday night was the second time in three months these two schools have met, and Baylor head coach Scott Drew talked about the respect factor in the postgame press conference.
BYU—you gotta really credit them because they really compete hard, they never give up. It’s a team that’s used to winning. I don’t know how many times they’ve had 25-plus win seasons in a row.
We have a lot of respect for them, and knew it was going to be a hard-fought game, just like the last two times we played them.
This time last year, the Baylor Bears were in the Elite Eight of the NCAA tournament—they reached the NIT finals in 2009, but now, they’re back eyeing the 2013 NIT championship.
The Iowa vs. Maryland game was a stark contrast to the first semifinal Tuesday.
Iowa came into Tuesday night having won 10 of its last 13—and doing so by an average of 13.2 points per game—and that trend continued by disposing of Maryland, 71-60.
The Terps just ran into a buzz saw in the Hawkeyes and never really gave themselves a chance.
Maryland turned the ball over 17 times, and as a team, hit just 56.3 percent from the free-throw line.
Disappointed head coach Mark Turgeon summed up his team’s effort, as reality set in that Maryland’s season is officially over.
I thought we played incredibly hard, I thought we tried to win, we just didn’t play smart enough—our shot selection, our turnovers, decision making.
Alex [Len] down there kept the game close, and Logan [Aronhalt] made some big shots for us.
We never quit, we cut it to five twice, we just made two or three really bad decisions. I’m proud of my team, give Iowa a lot of credit, they were great.
New York City might not be Maryland’s favorite place, as the Terps’ season began with a loss to Kentucky at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, and it ended with a loss Tuesday night in Madison Square Garden.
As for Roy Devyn Marble of Iowa, he quickly turned his attention to the Baylor team that the Hawkeyes will face Thursday night for the championship.
I know that Pierre Jackson is a very good point guard, they’re a very athletic team, so it’s going to be a challenge for us defensively and rebounding against this team and to make sure that we get back in transition.
Iowa head coach Fran McCaffery also spoke to the challenge they will face against Baylor.
They’re just a team with a lot of weapons. They’re long and athletic, and when you have a general like that [Jackson], he puts your defense on it’s heels every time down.
They got length, offensive rebounders and they’re going to push it. We’re comfortable playing an uptempo game like that, but this will be a particularly difficult challenge.
Ultimately, Coach Drew of Baylor summed it up best when he said, “There’s only two happy teams at the end of the year, the team that wins the NCAA and the team that wins the NIT.
Baylor and Iowa have one night to marinate, but by around midnight Thursday night, one team will be happy.
Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.
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Jackson’s double-double gets Baylor to NIT final (Yahoo! Sports)
NEW YORK (AP) — Pierre Jackson has saved some of the best basketball of his career for the end of it.
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Kevin Durant Reps Seattle, Visits Louisville Women’s Team After Baylor Upset
No boys allowed. Unless that boy is Kevin Durant sporting a Seattle Mariners hat.
A fifth-seeded Louisville pulled off one of the greatest upsets in women’s NCAA basketball tournament history when it defeated Baylor, which had won 32 straight games.
Following the victory, the ladies’ celebration took an Oklahoma City Thunder-esque turn when they were greeted by Durant and what appears to be his giggling entourage in their locker room.
Never mind the grade-school rules Durant and crew are breaking. This was no time to obey a law that was decreed while you were still learning how to glue macaroni on a sheet of paper and call it “art.”
It was a time to party. And jump. And scream. And hug. And if you’re a member of Durant’s crew, cackle like you were still making those not-so-edible works of art.
It was also a time to rep the city of Seattle.
Oklahoma City’s star forward was donning a Mariners cap at the game, perhaps in anticipation of baseball’s season beginning the very next day.
Before cries of “random” litter the comments section, remember, Durant was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics before they moved to Oklahoma City and became the Thunder. There’s history between the Durantula and that city.
With Seattle currently attempting to pry the Sacramento Kings out of Sacramento, Durant’s silent and nostalgic endorsement couldn’t have come at a better time.
Now, when Sacramento appeals before the NBA‘s Board of Governors, the group of investors from The Emerald City can intervene with a “But Kevin Durant is totally cool with us purchasing the team” form of rebuttal.
I jest. Sort of.
My main focus is Durant visiting the locker room. What a shock that must have been for a Louisville team that had just shocked the college basketball sphere only moments before.
One minute, you’re bouncing around like you just don’t care, and the next, you’re taking pictures with an NBA MVP candidate.
Surreal.
And how about Durant’s minions? How good do they have it?
If you hang with James Harden, you’re obsessing over fresh “heat.” If you’re chilling with Kris Humphries, you’re bolstering his already massive ego or constructing a time machine.
With Durant, though, you’re women’s locker-room hopping.
Advantage: Kevin.
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