Drew gave his take on the brand-new Bears added from the portal
Foster Nicholas
Following Baylor men's basketball head coach Scott Drew's first press conference since turning down the Kentucky gig, here's the start of a three-part series breaking down the three big topics that were hit on. Drew touched on the transfer portal additions, his new staff and how the head coaching carousel unfolded.
Let's go ahead and start with the present and future by looking at the transfer portal and expectations for newcomers.
"As far as the group overall, it's a talented group, but it's an experienced group. And most of all, they fit the Baylor culture," Drew said. "And the older I get, life is short, you want to be around people that you love and enjoy being with. And there are certain coaches and programs that can help other players more than we can.
"And there are certain programs that really fit us, and we want to be a part of their journey and hopefully help them reach their goals and dreams. And with this group, we feel that we have the talent to compete for a championship. And at the same time, do it with a group that we're excited to work with."
To this point, the longtime head coach has been able to reel in Miami (Fla.) forward Norchad Omier (Sr.), Duke guard Jeremy Roach (5th) and Cal guard Jalen Celestine (Sr.). Drew noted that he could talk about the first two transfers, but that the most recent (Celestine) still had to wrap up the paperwork.
"Norchad is somebody that has been there, done it. He's a walking double-double. I think when he was born, he averaged 20 and 10. To win a Skip Prosser Award (top scholar-athlete in ACC men's basketball) is something that really speaks to his character, because everyone in the coaching profession knows what a great man Skip Prosser was. And any award tied to him is excellent," Drew said.
Off the court, Omier is working toward a degree in sports administration and, over his last two semesters, was named to the Fall Provost's List (3.75+ GPA) and Spring Dean's List (3.5+ GPA), which nabbed him the Skip Prosser Award.
My early inclination is that there will be a lot of playtime at the center position for Omier. He has played most of his minutes at the collegiate level as the primary big man, but his focus has always been on crashing the glass and playing hard even if he's playing power forward. With a coach like Drew who is open to evolving the offense and playing slightly undersized, the most lethal lineup combo on the team may be with him on the floor at the five.
"I think his toughness, strength, size. I mean, the guy's a beast. Charles Barkley was a really good rebounder, and he was 6-4 ½. You can't measure toughness and heart, and he has a lot of that. And then, he has size and athleticism," Drew said. "Speaking more to his rebounding right now, Rico Gathers was an unbelievable rebounder, and he wasn't 6-10, he wasn't 7-foot. At the same time, offensively he's tough for guys that are bigger to guard because of his speed and quickness and perimeter skills. And then, for smaller guys, obviously he can hurt you inside. So, he's a mismatch guy, for sure."
Drew not only nagged one player with deep postseason run experience but two. Both Omier and Roach have been there and done that which has Drew "really excited." Roach's role is rather straightforward compared to Omier, as the guard will be tasked with ball-handling duties and potential primary scorer responsibilities.
"A lot of respect for [Jeremy], he's been to a Final Four. To see what he's done throughout his career at Duke, and everybody at Duke – and talking to Coach (Jon) Scheyer – and how highly they talk about how and how much they appreciated and loved working with him, he seemed like a perfect fit for us," Drew said.
With both Celestine and Roach added to the guard room, the arrows continue to point to Omier playing the five. A lineup led by Roach at the one, Jayden Nunn (Sr.) at the two, VJ Edgecombe (Fr.) at the three and Jason Asemota (Fr.), Langston Love (RJr.) or Celestine (Sr.) at the four could provide offensive firepower.
As far as what's next for Baylor in the transfer portal, that's still up in the air. Drew seemed confident he already had everyone he needed to be successful, meaning filling the few open spots would be icing on the cake. Expect Baylor to chase down at least one more scholarship player, but don't expect them to make an instant impact.
"I think the great news is, you got scholarships leftover so you have opportunities. But at the same time, there's not something that you have to have. So, if something fits and works and makes us a better team, then that's something we would look at. If it's not, we don't have to have anybody else," Drew said.
