Preparing for World University Games: Baylor’s Summer of Growth & Gold Medal Hopes

Before Baylor opens the World University Games this Saturday, representing Team USA, head coach Scott Drew spoke with the media about how the summer tournament is both an “honor” to be a part of and can be used as a potential preseason springboard for his 2025-2026 squad.

"The bonding, the time together and the relationships obviously pay huge dividends during the season. But the practice time has been great for us to get to know what the new guys are capable of and which areas we can help them improve in," Drew said last week.

"And then, obviously, the difference between this and a foreign tour is you're playing for a gold medal, representing the USA. That's something everyone with a U.S. passport dreams of doing if they're ever blessed with the opportunity."

Without a single player returning from last year's team, Drew believes the extra practice time to help prepare for the World University Games is paramount for his entirely new group of guys to gel together, so that they will be ready by the time November rolls around.

"In previous years, you only got 10 practice days, but this year — since we've been in summer school — we've had unlimited practices; it's basically been like in-season practice, and that's been a huge benefit," Drew said. 

"Normally, when you go overseas, it's for two to four games, and the competition usually isn't that strong. The teams aren't well-coached, they haven't started their seasons, they don't have full rosters and they haven't installed their offense or defense. This time, we're getting quality, meaningful games — games that're well-officiated and structured. Every time we've gone on a foreign tour, it's given us an edge. Hopefully, this one does the same."

Unlike the standard rules most American-born college players are accustomed to, the Bears have been preparing for the "different" FIBA rules that the tournament will adhere to, which include a 24-second shot clock, only being able to call timeouts in dead-ball situations and the ability to knock the ball off the rim mid-shot.

Another interesting wrinkle is that Drew believes the international brand of basketball differs from the isolation-heavy American offenses, and that this should give the Bears an advantage in preparing for the various looks they’ll surely face when the season starts.

"International teams run a more structured offense, not just one-on-one isolation like in the States. In the U.S., especially during summer ball, there's a lot of iso play and guarding your man one-on-one," Drew said. "Internationally, there's more movement — flare screens, re-screens, down screens, different ball screen actions. It's more of a team concept, and that'll be really good for us to prepare for things we'll see during the season."

However, one of the negatives of the tournament is that the players on Baylor's roster who aren't United States citizens — Tounde Yessoufou (Benin), Juslin Bodo Bodo (Cameroon) and Mayo Soyoye (Nigeria) — can not represent Team USA, nor will they travel to Germany.

"That's probably the only downside of having international players. They're going to stay here, go to class, and work out with Coach [Melvin] Hunt," Drew said. "But up to this point, they've been able to practice and help get us ready. So we've had a chance to get used to playing with them, learning their strengths and weaknesses. That'll help us once the season starts. You wish they could play in these games overseas, because it'd really help us figure out who can perform under the lights."

Another note is that Oregon State transfer forward and Augsburg, Germany native, Michael Rataj, is playing for Team Germany. Meanwhile, incoming freshman forward Maikcol Perez (Italy) is scheduled to meet up with the Bears in Germany and will return to the States with the team, but will not be playing in the tournament.

"We said [Rataj] can score 40, but they have to let us win," Drew said jokingly of the Oregon State transfer, who's reportedly been the Bears' best player so far this summer throughout practices.

As for the players who can attend, they believe it's a great opportunity to develop team chemistry months before the season starts, as they spend two weeks away from their homes in Waco, over 1,000 miles away.

"It's a chance to really build what your culture is," Omaha transfer guard JJ White said. "There are a lot of guys on this team who care about the right things. You need that to make a deep run in the tournament. Having this trip is perfect for a team like us, so we can build and get used to each other, know where each other's spots are and stuff like that."

Waco native and Rice transfer center Caden Powell added, "I'm very excited just being able to compete and see another part of the world. [This trip] will be a huge benefit. We'll get to play seven games and build chemistry on the court early in the year, which not many teams get the chance to do."

The rest of the roster is rounded out by transfers, Obi Agbim (Wyoming), Isaac Williams IV (Texas A&M Corpus Christi), Will Kuykendall (Arizona), Cameron Carr (Tennessee) and Dan Skillings (Cincinnati), as well as incoming freshmen Andre Iguodala II and Drew Perry. Team USA will also be accompanied by Yale center Samson Aletan, who will not be on Baylor's roster for the 2025-2026 season.

Team USA will open the World University Games against India on Saturday, July 19, at 8 p.m. local time (CEST) and 1 p.m. Central Time (CDT) at Krollmann Arena in Hagen, Germany. The Bears will conclude pool play against Latvia (July 20) and Romania (July 21) before competing in a tournament for the gold medal, which begins next week.

Reader's Note: Ashley and I will be traveling to Germany to cover the tournament. Everything coverage-wise moving forward will be on SicEm365 Premium. If you're not a member, click this link to explore a potential trial. Tournament coverage includes regularly updated game threads, post-game articles and interviews, as well as sit-down interviews with the coaches, a few feature stories about the players, some insider notes and other content. We look forward to being able to share that with you all.