NEW YORK – When Curtis Jerrells and Kevin Rogers were freshmen, Baylor didn’t have non-conference games. Now their careers will close in a championship game, as the Bears will play for the NIT championship after a 76-62 win over San Diego State on Tuesday. It’s all something they and their classmates had hoped for when they decided to go to the school.
When the current group of seniors signed up, they knew they were going to a school that had a major scandal just a few years earlier and punishment might be forthcoming from the NCAA. They also knew they were coming to a school that didn’t have a ton of basketball tradition. They didn’t know that the Bears wouldn’t be able to play a non-conference schedule in 2005-06, which was the NCAA’s punishment, but they did what they could and developed.
“I love challenges. I love stepping up and trying new things,” said Jerrells, who led the way with 25 points on 8-11 shooting and had seven assists on Tuesday. “Coming to Baylor, I knew it was going to be a challenge. I didn’t know we would not be able to have a non-conference schedule, but I made a commitment to the school and the community and to my teammates. The guys who came in with me, we all decided to stay and stick it out.”
Now they’re seeing the results of that.
Jerrells, Rogers and Henry Dugat are currently the winningest class in school history with 64 wins. Jerrells, who will leave as the school’s third all-time leading scorer, will break the school record for career games played on Thursday when he plays in his 119th game. And they’ve led the school to the first back-to-back 20-win seasons in the program’s 103-year history, with a chance to tie the record for the number of wins in a season on Thursday.
For good measure, this squad has tied the school record for postseason wins, as the 1947-48 squad won four NCAA games en route to being the national runner-up.
“That’s what happens when you play for Baylor,” said Jerrells. “Not a lot of things were achieved here. I want to come to a school like that and be the first to do things and be able to leave my name.”
Rogers had plenty of suitors coming out of high school as a talented post player. He played on a big-time travel team in Texas and could have gone to a lot of places, but like Jerrells, there was a certain draw to Baylor.
“I could have gone to a historic program and just been another player to walk through those doors and put on a uniform,” said the senior forward, who had 14 points and seven boards on Tuesday. “Here, we’ve built our own legacy, and that’s definitely what we wanted to do, that’s what we all envisioned. When we came here, fortunately for us, the hard work and the time it’s taken has paid off for us.”
The NIT run itself is not quite as improbable as the whole picture of this team being here now, but at one point this year no one would have imagined this team doing much in the postseason. The Bears started off strong and were nationally ranked in the polls in December and January, but fell apart in the Big 12, at one point losing six straight and eight of nine. They rallied in the Big 12 Tournament to reach the title game before falling to Missouri.
Now, the Bears are the last Big 12 team left playing in the postseason, a point Rogers said the team takes some pride in. They have been able to ride their offense, their strength all year, to the NIT title game as they are shooting just under 56 percent from the field in the NIT. A year ago, this team was in the NCAA Tournament and lost in the first round, and they had hoped to get back there. They have instead made the most of what they have in front of them.
“It means a lot to me and the seniors, the Baylor community and the coaching staff,” said Jerrells. “I’d rather be playing this many games in the NIT championship, being able to come to New York – it’s my first time in New York – than being a one and done or two and done in the NCAA Tournament. It’s a great experience and we’re just happy to be playing.”
Baylor head coach Scott Drew said when he brought this group in, he saw a lot of potential. He was high on their character as well, and he’s seen it as a major reason for this team’s success.
“Credit them for putting in the hard work, getting better, improving, but it’s really a tight team and you need that to be successful,” said Drew. “Down the stretch, you always want to finish strong, and again, it’s been a blessing that they have been able to go out the way they have.”
With 1:25 left in the game, Tweety Carter lobbed an alley-oop to Rogers to make it 76-57. After the dunk, Rogers had a celebratory expression, something Bear fans haven’t seen much of over the years but he hopes they will see more of.
“I looked up at the shot clock and noticed the time was winding down and we had a big lead, and we’re finally going to a championship game,” said Rogers.
Now they hope to do what no Baylor team has done before, which is win a championship. That’s a long way from playing no non-conference games and a 4-13 mark from their freshman year. It’s what they hoped to do when they first came to Waco.
