Thanks! Very interesting. You're right. We haven't had a back to the basket big like that in awhile.

EasyE said:

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Hey admins, why can we hardly see the story on VJ's commitment at the bottom of the page? The commitment is significantly more important than a 2-day old story of a WR transfer from the portal.

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Thank you admin. Now apparently we are in on this guy to replace Missi. Here is hoping. Khaman Maluach

bear2be2 said:

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Here are some highlight reels from his freshman season (he's only played five games this year; not sure why):

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Compare those gymnasiums and small attendance to the Foster Pavilion.

Talk about entering a whole new world!

What I like the most about these one-and-dones is they perfectly fit our culture of JOY. Is a win-win for them and for Baylor. Even if they are here only 1 year they push the legacy forward. Every day I ask myself "what did we do to deserve CSD?"

I'm not suggesting Drew wasn't an outstanding recruiter before our Natty year in '21 (he was) but this is what it looks like to be taking full advantage of the recruiting momentum that should ensue when you have a momentous championship season. This is the opposite of what happened with Aranda and staff after we had the best football season we've ever had in our history that same year. Drew and staff are amazing.

I'm sure it was very entertaining! I hope you didn't troll them even if it was probably quite tempting, especially Kentucky. If I'm not mistaken, we beat Kentucky in their own court several years ago.

dstaylor57 said:

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Gonna need a portal pf to replace bridges.

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I agree actually. Incredible talent next year that blows away every other big 12 team (maybe Arizona close?). But will be young outside of a few guys.

Need a tough forward transfer so not relying on developmental projects. I know we aren't giving up on Nunn but could use a tough scoring guard with defense in the portal as well. Just don't want a Kentucky situation next year.

I wouldn't be surprised to see Nunn and BU mutually part ways. We could use a PF/SF from the portal if Nunn decides to enter he portal.

BearlyBeloved said:

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bear2be2 said:

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Here are some highlight reels from his freshman season (he's only played five games this year; not sure why):

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Compare those gymnasiums and small attendance to the Foster Pavilion.

Talk about entering a whole new world!

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That's JUCO ball, in general. You're playing in a lot of high school-type gyms at that level.

There are some nice ones, though. The Chaparral Center in Midland is an excellent venue, for instance.

Johnny Bear said:

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I'm not suggesting Drew wasn't an outstanding recruiter before our Natty year in '21 (he was) but this is what it looks like to be taking full advantage of the recruiting momentum that should ensue when you have a momentous championship season. This is the opposite of what happened with Aranda and staff after we had the best football season we've ever had in our history that same year. Drew and staff are amazing.

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I agree with the general sentiment posted by you and others, but if we lose before the second weekend again this year, it's going to be hard to continue pushing this recruiting strategy as a success.

If that were to happen, and I'm not predicting it or saying it will, we'll have sent five one-and-dones to the NBA in three years -- with more to come in 2024-25 -- and have only two or three gimme tournament wins to show for it.

At some point, we need to get back in the winning game in March or all of our recruiting momentum is for naught.

Crawfoso1973 said:

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I wouldn't be surprised to see Nunn and BU mutually part ways. We could use a PF/SF from the portal if Nunn decides to enter he portal.

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If that happens, no big loss - unless the guy suddenly does a 180 and figures it out (similar to what Bridges did last season). To date he has been a disappointment - especially on the defensive end.

Did I see a little "Dream Shake" in that first video?? If he can learn that move, LOOK OUT

bear2be2 said:

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Johnny Bear said:

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I'm not suggesting Drew wasn't an outstanding recruiter before our Natty year in '21 (he was) but this is what it looks like to be taking full advantage of the recruiting momentum that should ensue when you have a momentous championship season. This is the opposite of what happened with Aranda and staff after we had the best football season we've ever had in our history that same year. Drew and staff are amazing.

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I agree with the general sentiment posted by you and others, but if we lose before the second weekend again this year, it's going to be hard to continue pushing this recruiting strategy as a success.

If that were to happen, and I'm not predicting it or saying it will, we'll have sent five one-and-dones to the NBA in three years -- with more to come in 2024-25 -- and have only two or three gimme tournament wins to show for it.

At some point, we need to get back in the winning game in March or all of our recruiting momentum is for naught.

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Point taken - but only if it happens again this season. Two years ago we had a FF caliber team that was wrecked along the way by multiple devastating injuries and last season's team just had some clearly defined weaknesses, especially on the defensive end, that made it not that surprising that we once again didn't even get to the Sweet 16. Granted to date this year's team has also had some clear defensive short comings, but it hasn't been as consistently severe and we don't seem to have multiple guys that appear to just not even care about defense like last season, plus this season we actually have some decent interior scoring threats. Time will obviously tell - hopefully our current team will be peaking in March.

This year we have already seen some improvement on defense from different guys. Now, if more of them can do that and we can see it more consistently from everyone then the future of the season would look much brighter.

IowaBear said:

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This!! I care about wins in March as a fan. I don't care how many one and dones we send to the league. Rarely do teams who rely primarily on freshman do much of anything in March. Balanced rosters always fare the best in March.

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As a fan I do care about how many one-and-dones we send to the league. It is terrific publicity for our program and keeps the recruiting momentum going. And I do think over the past 2 or 3 years we have had good roster balance with a combination of one-and-done freshmen, 4 year guys, and transfers. Next year might be our best recruiting class ever, and CSD isn't even done yet! I expect one or two more portal guys.

And you're free to your own opinion. I'd rather win games in March. That's the ultimate publicity. And that's typically done with upperclassmen or at least a good balance of them.

Hotsauce said:

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"Slimy Drew is cheating again!!!" nonsense. Oh, and according to them they can't compete with the amount of NIL we allegedly are throwing at recruits haha.

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With all the changes and the way things are now.....how exactly can you cheat? (sarcasm)

IowaBear said:

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And you're free to your own opinion. I'd rather win games in March. That's the ultimate publicity. And that's typically done with upperclassmen or at least a good balance of them.

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I agree, winning in March is obviously the goal. CSD has been pretty good at that.

They said he was advised not to do it immediately. It might even have been Drew or one of the other coaches. But I doubt it.

Still receiving offers

Blessed and grateful to receive an offer from Missouri 🙏🏽#AGTG pic.twitter.com/jJCxjedJfx

— Dylan Mingo (@_Dylanmingo) January 18, 2024

Blessed and Honored to receive an offer from SMU! #AGTG pic.twitter.com/nCbhmf6cKr

— Kayden Mingo (@_kaydenmingo) January 18, 2024

gobears20 said:

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Twitter is gold tonight

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Yep....no one would ever pick Baylor over an opportunity at UK

Next season, will be fifth consecutive season @BaylorMBB will have a Top 16 NBA Draft pick. Watching VJ Edgecombe in @nikehoopsummit. @Big12Conference 🏀👍🏻 🇧🇸

— Fran Fraschilla (@franfraschilla) April 14, 2024

I watched the first half of the Hoops Summit last night. VJ looked really good. VJ, Love and Miro together could be an excellent defensive closing line up. Wish we could have them for two more year, but that won't happen with VJ.

#Baylor MBB signee VJ Edgecombe posted a strong performance at the Nike Hoop Summit tonight as he finished with 17 points. #SicEm

pic.twitter.com/6MQ8ExJADK

— Grayson Grundhoefer (@GrayGrundhoefer) April 14, 2024

DallasBear9902 said:

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I watched the first half of the Hoops Summit last night. VJ looked really good. VJ, Love and Miro together could be an excellent defensive closing line up. Wish we could have them for two more year, but that won't happen with VJ.

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I would be surprised if either Miro or Love are relied upon as key rotation pieces next year. Miro has potential and I love him in our program, but he looked like he was a year away from being a year away. Whereas Love just can't stay healthy as the lower body injuries continue to mount. I don't think we will go into next season relying on either to be in the top 8 or 9 rotation guys. When healthy Love is instant offense and would still be a good source of bench scoring. But anything we get from him moving forward I would consider a bonus, not production the coaching staff can rely upon or build around. Therefore I think our top priority in the portal this offseason will be a starting caliber guard to rotate with Wright, Nunn, and VJ. And of course a starting forward to replace Bridges.

Crawfoso1973 said:

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DallasBear9902 said:

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I watched the first half of the Hoops Summit last night. VJ looked really good. VJ, Love and Miro together could be an excellent defensive closing line up. Wish we could have them for two more year, but that won't happen with VJ.

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I would be surprised if either Miro or Love are relied upon as key rotation pieces next year. Miro has potential and I love him in our program, but he looked like he was a year away from being a year away. Whereas Love just can't stay healthy as the lower body injuries continue to mount. I don't think we will go into next season relying on either to be in the top 8 or 9 rotation guys. When healthy Love is instant offense and would still be a good source of bench scoring. But anything we get from him moving forward I would consider a bonus, not production the coaching staff can rely upon or build around. Therefore I think our top priority in the portal this offseason will be a starting caliber guard to rotate with Wright, Nunn, and VJ. And of course a starting forward to replace Bridges.

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I actually disagree with this pretty strongly. While, yes, the repeated ankle injuries last season were concerning, his previous two injuries were freak accidents. Tearing an ACL could happen to anyone, and doesn't necessarily indicate that Love is injury-prone. Getting poked in the eye in late 2023 and missing most of the rest of the year is just really, really bad luck. I have high hopes for Langston next season.

Agree the eye injury was a freak accident. But the multiple knee / ankle injuries are extremely concerning. He was already extremely slow with his lateral movement, especially defensively, even when fully healthy. Teams will target him relentlessly on the defense end. I would love to be wrong but I don't think our coaches can RELY on him to be healthy a full season. If / when healthy he will be one of the best 6th men out there but it would be a gamble we can't rely upon.