Baylor basketball will lose four seniors after this season. Point guard Manu Lecomte, center Jo Lual-Acuil, forward Terry Maston and forward Nuni Omot will all be out of eligibility in late March or early April. If you only look up the rankings of the 2018 class, Baylor appears to have not done a good job of replacing these departing seniors. The class is currently ranked 80th by 247 Sports nationally and 8th in the Big12.
But that ranking tells an incomplete story. The Bears have already added 5 key pieces that will be eligible to play in 2018. Two of those guys are already on the Baylor campus sitting out per transfer rules. The other 3 are playing for various teams but will join the Baylor roster in the summer of 2018. I would expect another couple of additions this spring likely focusing on bigs. Let's take a look at each of these guys starting with the two signees from today.
Mayer is a 6-9 wing with lots of athleticism, skill and a terrific shooting touch. He is a long, lanky athlete that was a highly coveted high school prospect. The battle for his signature ultimately came down to Texas, Texas A&M and Baylor. He has the ability to knock down 3s, and has a variety of spin moves at full speed that he uses to score. Mayer is proficient in the mid range game as well and will most certainly posterize opponents with dunks from time to time. He is a solid rebounder. His defense like most high school guys will need work and he will need to add strength to be a major contributor at the Big12 level. But the skill set and athleticism are already in place.
Allen is a freakish athlete that can score in transition, in the paint, from 3 and is also a really good defender. Those skills attracted Gonzaga, Wichita State and West Virginia to him but in the end, he chose the Bears. He sports a 40+ vertical and has worked hard to add strength to his frame at Palm Beach State Community College. Allen shined during some juco showcases this summer and his recruitment blew up as a result. He averaged 10 ppg and 5 rebounds as a freshman last year on a 25-6 team and will look to improve on those numbers as a sophomore before heading to Baylor next season. Ball handling, decision making and shooting consistency are the main things that Allen is focused on improving.
Makai Mason was the point guard that torched Baylor in the NCAA tournament in 2016. He scored 31 points against the Bears and help send Baylor home with a first round upset. In an ironic twist, Mason will use up his eligibility at Yale after this season but still retains a year of NCAA eligibility and chose Baylor as his future destination for a graduate transfer year. Mason averaged 16 ppg and 4 assists as a sophomore at Yale. He has tremendous athleticsm at 6-1 and should be one of the best point guards in college basketball over the next two seasons. His turnover rate was high as a sophomore at 3 per game. He will need to work on becoming a better defender and also increasing his assist to turnover ratio to round out his game.
Kegler transferred from Mississippi State to Baylor after the season ended. He has had a full summer working out with Baylor and the word is that he is really good. He is 6-7 and will remind Baylor fans of Taurean Prince in that he can score in the paint, has explosiveness and is a capable 3 point shooter as well. He is also a tenacious defender. Kegler averaged 10 ppg and 5 rebounds as a freshman starter at MSU. Kegler will have 3 years of eligibility after sitting out this transfer year. His main focus for improvement is getting his body leaner and stronger and improving his decision making and shooting.
Gillespie started playing basketball in high school and has improved a lot each year. He is 6-8 240 lbs and sports a 7-6 wingspan. His work ethic is stellar. He has improved a lot in his time at Baylor already. As he continues to develop, he may be an important piece of Baylor's future success as a rim defender and post player. Freddie averaged 10 ppg; 8 reb and 2.5 blocks per game for D3 Carleton College last season. Gillespie has 2 years of eligibility left after sitting out this transfer year. Gillespie needs to add strength and improve his overall skill set during the transfer year.
Great info! Well done. Drew is a mad scientist when it comes to plugging holes.
"We are unaware of any situation where you personally had contact with anyone who directly reported to you being the victim of sexual assault or that you directly discouraged the victim of an alleged sexual assault from reporting to law enforcement or university officials. Nor are we aware of any situation where you played a student athlete who had been found responsible for sexual assault.”
- Chris Holmes, Baylor General Counsel
Scott Drew said that Mayer was measured at 6-9 recently. With his skill set, that extra 2 inches of height is a really big deal. He may be special. Lots of guard skills.
Read the article regarding next years team. It appears that Mason will again be the only "true" PG on the roster.
Question...the article states he has 1 year of eligibility, yet goes on to say he has 2 years. Which is it? If he has 1 year, once again we will be in the market for a PG. Who are we looking it to fill that void?
He has this year at Yale and next year at Baylor. He will have only more year of eligibility after this year.
Drew is definitely on the hunt for a pg for 2019 and beyond. A Manu Lecomte type transfer who can sit out next year and be ready to go in 2019 would be ideal.
Jake Lindsey could be the pg if mason was injured next year but he will be a senior next year.
