Scouting The Five: Baylor Bears

With much of the talk already starting to center around a Final Four matchup with the Louisville Cardinals, it's almost as if people have forgotten that the Baylor Bears still stand between Kentucky and their second-straight trip to the Final Four.  The best Baptist school in Waco, Texas enters today's game with the Cats coming off of tournament wins over South Dakota State, Colorado and Xavier, the fourteenth, eleventh and tenth seeds in the South Region.  They're regarded as an extrememly talented, yet poorly dressed group of players that have lacked focus this season and appeared to be burned out.  Yes, this is Willie Nelson's school. Meet your Baylor Bears!   #55 Pierre Jackson, 5-10, G, Junior 2011-12 stats: 13.9 ppg, 5.9 apg, 3.5 tpg, 42% from three NCAA Tournament: 16.3 ppg, 7.3 apg, 3.0 tpg, 32% from three Who was Baylor's leading scorer in the regular season?  If you said the 5'10" guard with zero chance of making it to the NBA, you're right.  You also probably smell like Howie Schwab.  The junior college transfer helped carry the load during the first two games of the tournament when the Bears' NBA prospects were struggling, averaging 17 points and dishing out 10 assists in the win over Colorado.  His official bio says he plans to become a personal trainer after college, which may or may not be a problem for a guy majoring in General Studies, but there's always hope that he can double as a Larry O'Bannon impersonator.  He turned the ball over at least four times in half of Baylor's games this season.   #5 Brady Heslip, 6-2, G, Sophomore 2011-12 stats: 10.4 ppg, 45% from three NCAA Tournament: 18.3 ppg, 60% from three Heslip leads the team in three-point percentage, but you knew that already didn't you, you racist?  He's taken his sharp-shooting to another level in the NCAA Tournament, connecting on 14 of 22 in the first two games (9-12 in the round of 32) before going ice cold and only making 1 of 3 against Xavier in the Sweet 16.  He's also Canadian, which means he's probably going to piss himself when he sees Greg Wiltjer in the crowd.   #30 Quincy Miller, 6-9, F, Freshman 2011-12 stats: 10.8 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 34% from three NCAA Tournament: 8.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.3 bpg, 0% (0-3) from three Miller is one of the notable names in the long list of guys Dustin Rumbaugh wrote posts about and then we never heard from again.  The freshman was ranked as the nation's fourth-best player in the class of 2011 by Scout.com and is a pre-med major who hopes to become an anestesiologist.  Tough to get through undergrad and med school in only one year of college, which makes his decision to attend Baylor instead of UK a logical one.  The Big 12 co-freshman of the year is projected as a mid-first rounder, but has failed to reach double digits in points in seven of the last ten games.  Most experts believe he'll be the second-best Miller on the floor Sunday.   #4  Quincy Acy, F, 6-7,  Senior 2011-12 stats: 11.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 1.8 bpg NCAA Tournament:  10.3 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 1.0 bpg Q gon' give it to ya.  He's gon' give it to ya.  Q gon' give it to ya.  He gon' give it to ya.   #1  Perry Jones III, 6-11, F, Sophomore 2011-12 stats: 13.4 ppg, 7.6 rpg NCAA Tournament: 7.6 ppg, 6.6 rpg The third and, dare I say, greatest edition of Perry Jones entered the season being touted as a possible top overall draft pick and drew comparisons to NBA stars Kevin Durant, Tracy McGrady, Kevin Garnett and Lamar Odom.  However,after scoring 2 points against South Dakota State in the NCAA Tournament opener, most NBA folks are comparing him to Charmin, slippers from Brookstone and the Reebok Classics.  He's a little soft.  But Jones III is Baylor's second-leading scorer and leading rebounder on the season and, on paper, has the length and athleticism to match-up fairly well with the National Player of the Year.  I like the chances of Anthony Davis II.   Scott Drew, Head Coach Remember whenValparaiso's Bryce Drew hit the buzzer beater to send Ole Miss packing in 1998?  Scott Drew does.  He was an assistant coach for Valpo at the time and he's been living in his brother's shadow for the last decade plus.  Drew took over the Baylor program in 2003 after scandal had shamed the program and has slowly brought the Bears into the national forefront, reaching the Elite Eight in 2010.  He sports a 157-123 record at the school, though most assume that there will eventually be some sort of asterisk or removal of wins because he's bringing in so much talent each year.  Some people think that's an unfair assumption.  Those people have never been to Waco. Bench Anthony Jones (F) A.J. Walton (G) Cory Jefferson (F) Deuce Bello (G)  Gary Franklin (G) Notes: Kentucky is a seven-point favorite...Baylor is 3-5 against ranked opponents this year...They rank 38th in scoring and 72nd in rebounding...The Bears have not been to the Final Four since 1950...Brittany Griner ain't walkin' through that door...How'd that whole Guy Morriss situation work out for ya, Baylor?...Baylor fans use a bear claw hand motion to celebrate...It's the more threatening, less fun cousin of the motorboat...The Cats have to win this game, right?...Right?