Thanks to an extremely talented coaching staff, the Baylor Men’s Basketball team continues to add extraordinary talent to their formerly depleted roster! Despite all odds and constantly compiled difficulties, the Baylor Men’s Basketball team had great success over the 2021-22 season! Back in March, the then-ranked No. 3 Men’s Basketball team inked their second consecutive regular season title in Waco! The Bears closely held off Iowa State, 75-68 despite missing leading scorer LJ Cryer and defensive star Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua. Prior to head coach Scott Drew’s tenure, Baylor had only made the Final Four in 1948 and 1950 and the NCAA tournament in 1988. In 2003, the Bears made headlines after a player killed one of his teammates and the head coach at the time covered it up. Since Drew was hired that same year, he’s recorded a school record 398 in 19 years and before this year, notched a postseason record of 21-9 since 2009. Much of the program’s success is due to Drew and his staff’s (specifically Director of Recruiting Operations Jason Smith) impeccable recruiting skills that mostly recently manifested in acquiring international standout Miro Little (I wrote about Little replacing fellow international star Jeremy Sochan who recently declared for the NBA Draft here!) and West Virginia transfer Jalen Bridges!
Bridges announced his commitment to the Bears on Twitter today after recently visiting Waco. He entered the transfer portal in March following the closure of the Mountaineers’ season. A skilled forward, Bridges was also considering Ohio State, Alabama, and Michigan as he’s been heavily recruited by many college programs over the past month. Standing at 6’7, Bridges averaged 8.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.7 blocks over the span of last season’s 33 games. He averaged 42.8% of field goals and 32.5% of 3s. Bridges has three seasons of eligibility left and he’ll join an immensely talented roster surrounded by the likes of Tchamwa Tchatchoua, Flo Thamba, LJ Cryer, Adam Flagler, Langston Love, and incoming Miro Little and Keyonte George (as well as many others). Baylor Basketball just won’t quit!!
