Scott Drew on adding Duke transfer Jeremy Roach: 'Seemed like a perfect fit for us'

Baylor picked up about as good of a point guard as was available in the transfer portal this offseason with the addition of Duke’s Jeremy Roach. Scott Drew knows it too based on what he has seen and heard about him himself

Drew had high praise for Roach during a recent press conference last week. He joked that the Bears realized that they needed him for themselves after he played well against them in a Top-25 matchup last season in a matchup inside Madison Square Garden.

“Well, I think, if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em, right?” Drew laughed. “After New York, we were like, ‘He’s pretty good. We need him on our team.'”

Roach went for 18 points (5-9 FG), three rebounds, three assists, and a pair of steals in the 78-70 win for No. 21 Duke over No. 10 Baylor in NYC. He helped the Blue Devils to close it, including the final two free-throws to seal the eight-point victory in mid-December.

That wasn’t all that sold Drew and the Bears on Roach, though. The remarks and endorsement of his former program also showed them that he was going to be great for Baylor.

“A lot of respect for him. He has been in the Final Four,” said Drew. “To see what he has done throughout his career at Duke. Everybody at Duke, talking to Coach Scheyer and how highly they talked about him and how much they appreciated and loved working with him.”

“Seemed like a perfect fit for us,” Drew said.

Roach averaged 11.3 points, 3.1 assists, and 2.4 rebounds on 43.9% shooting overall and 35.5% from three. He did that in 130 games at Duke, including 108 starts. As a senior this year, which was his third as a team captain, he posted career numbers at 14 ppg. with 3.3 assists and 2.5 rebounds while shooting 46.8% from the field and 42.9% from three.

Per On3’s 2024 Transfer Portal Top Players, Roach was the No. 11 transfer just outside the Top-10. He was the No. 2 PG as well behind only Harvard’s Malik Mack (Georgetown). That made him the second highest-rated pickup for the Bears out of their three. He rated behind only Miami’s Norchad Omier (No. 2 overall, No. 1 SF).

Drew understands what it takes to win a title after winning Baylor’s lone one in school history in 2021. With that, he knows that what Roach brings will help next year’s team to check some more of those boxes.

“At the same time, nowadays, to bring in players that are experienced and have been to a Final Four, when they’re in the NCAA Tournament? They know what it’s like to be there. They know what it’s like to win there. So that’s really important and critical,” said Drew. “We all know the importance of guard play.”

Roach could be most impactful pickup going into next season if he is the same kind of floor general, if not better, in his fifth season in total. That’ll certainly be so if he helps to take Baylor back to a national stage next season, which is what Drew is hoping for based on his past experiences.