Baylor Bears’ Scott Drew: ‘We’ve Got to Get Better on Defensive Rebounding’
With Christmas now in the rearview mirror and the new year looming, Baylor coach Scott Drew and the No. 12 Bears embark upon one final pre-conference tune-up before Big 12 play begins on Dec. 31.
But before that New Year’s Eve showdown at Iowa State, Drew and the Bears will face Nicholls State on Wednesday, Dec. 28 as the team aims to pick up their 10th win of the season.
Almost every game has been close this season for a Baylor team that has remained ranked all season long.
Coach Drew believes there’s a reason for that.
“I said it before, the teams we are playing are good teams,” Drew said at the press conference following Baylor’s win over Northwestern State. “There’s a reason TCU has one loss and it’s to this team. Their style of play is really good as far as something that nobody wants to play against, and it gives them a chance to stay in games like this.
“I thought our guys really played good defense. If we didn’t give up the defensive rebounds, I think we’d have had a better margin and we’d all felt a little better about it.”
Defensive rebounding is one area the Bears need to improve upon as the season rolls on.
“Shooting comes and goes,” Drew said when asked about the Bears' early struggles in their contest against Northwestern State. “For us to be good, we know defense and rebounding translates our defensive rebounding has to get better.
“They’re a good offensive-rebounding team. Top 30 in the nation for a reason, so they do a very good job rebounding. But we’ve got to get better on defensive rebounding.”
Second-chance points and missed fast break opportunities are other areas where Drew feels the team needs to improve.
“Offensively you’re going to miss some, but you’ve got to have some second chances,” Drew said. “We should have finished on some fast break points better. It just wasn’t as good as it needed to be.”
So how about the offense?
“If we have some good looks and miss them, hey I’m gonna live with them,” Drew said when talking about the team taking open three-point shots. “We’ve just got to get rebounds. And for them to have 16 to 14 second-chance points over us, that’s not acceptable. It’s not good enough.”
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Denton Ramsey has been a journalist for over 20 years with a decade of experience as a sports writer and editor for a plethora of newspapers throughout Texas and Alabama. Growing up in Houston and attending Baylor University, Ramsey is a die-hard sports fan with a true passion for writing. He may be reached via email at denton.itb@gmail.com