Men's basketball head coach Scott Drew will be suspended for the first two conference games of the 2012-13 season. Matt Hellman | Lariat Photo Editor

By Tyler Alley
Sports Editor

The NCAA has accepted Baylor’s self-imposed penalties and will not add further penalties for recruiting infractions involving impermissible telephone calls and text messages, the university announced Wednesday.

“We are pleased that the Committee has agreed with the University’s self-imposed sanctions to resolve this matter,” said director of athletics Ian McCaw said in a press release. “The University has made significant investments in compliance staffing and infrastructure both prior to and since the investigation began. Moreover, we have outstanding coaches who are committed to operating their programs with integrity.”

The case was resolved without a hearing, as the NCAA Enforcement Procedures utilized a summary disposition in which all parties — Baylor, involved individuals and NCAA Enforcement Staff — agree to the facts and submit a written report.

“We are grateful that this matter has been resolved, and that the NCAA Committee on Infractions has agreed to the facts of this case as reported in the joint summary disposition,” Baylor President Ken Starr said in the press release.

Men’s basketball head coach Scott Drew will be suspended for the first two conference games of the 2012-13 season, as the NCAA cited him for “failure to monitor.”

“As head coach, I take full responsibility for these mistakes and am disappointed that we have failed to uphold both the NCAA’s and Baylor’s expectations of documenting phone calls and recruiting communications,” Drew said in a statement.

Drew also said the procedures have been corrected thanks to a new software tracking system.

“Approximately 90 percent of the calls later deemed impermissible were either unlogged two-three minute voicemail messages left during a permissible calling period or calls to individuals who were parents or relatives of prospective student-athletes who were also non-scholastic (i.e. AAU) coaches to discuss a player other than their son or relative,” Drew said.

Former assistant men’s basketball coach Mark Morefield was given a one-year show-cause order for his role in the violations, meaning he will be prohibited from any recruiting activity. Morefield released a statement Wednesday apologizing to Baylor University and Baylor Nation.

Morefield committed a major violation when he attempted to influence two AAU coaches to furnish the NCAA with false and misleading information regarding a series of text messages. Morefield resigned in July 2011.

Men’s basketball also lost one scholarship this year and will lose one for next season. The coach will be reduced five official visits for next season and reduced 15 recruiting evaluation days.

Women’s basketball will also be reduced two scholarships for next season.

Head coach Kim Mulkey will not be able to participate in any off-campus recruiting in the month of July, which is the full summer recruiting period.

Assistant coach Damion McKinney will not be able to place any recruiting calls during a four-month period from January to April 2012. “I believe strongly in following NCAA rules and will always try to do so in the future,” Mulkey said. “I do nothing without permission from our Compliance Office and will continue to ask questions to assure that things are done right. Any compliance-related mistakes, even those that are secondary, are disappointing.”

Mulkey also said many of the mistakes were in sending text messages, which are prohibited by NCAA rule, and failure to accurately document their phone calls. She said the other matters involved her speaking to recruits or their parents while attending summer basketball games her daughter, Baylor sophomore Makenzie Robertson, participated in.

“While I am and will always be a mother first, I do recognize that there has to be a balance between my role as a mother of a prospect and my role as a head coach,” Mulkey said.

The investigation reviewed nearly 900,000 phone and text message records, and found that 738 texts and 528 calls were impermissible under NCAA rules.

As Baylor Nation bid adieu to sophomore forward Perry Jones III Monday, it applauded the return of freshman forward Quincy Miller.

However, the Baylor Bears will not be Miller’s team. There are five players on the court, not one.

Around him are players that received valuable experience advancing to the Elite Eight this season.

Junior point guard Pierre Jackson now has D-I experience under his belt, and his quick-as-gossip speed and impeccable ability to deliver in the clutch will control the tempo for the Bears.

Behind him is junior guard A.J. Walton, who selflessly relinquished his starting spot to Jackson and accepted his role as defensive stopper, contributing offensively when his team needed him.

Camping out downtown is sophomore Brady Heslip, who will drain the trey regardless of where the defender is, and a year of Big 12 play will add to his knowledge of the game.

Sophomore Deuce Bello should see an increase in minutes as his freakish ability on offense and quick feet on defense were valuable in big games for Baylor last season.

Junior “Two Sleeves” Cory Jefferson should see more minutes as well after getting stronger with the aid of outgoing senior Quincy Acy.

Senior J’Mison “Bobo” Morgan will shed his redshirt and play out of his mind after sitting a season.

Adding to the already talented roster for 2012 is the No. 4 recruiting class, according to ESPN.com, with three top 100 athletes.

Isaiah Austin, a 7-foot No. 3 overall recruit, will be a true center for the Bears next season, providing the height and length Acy lacked.

Forward Ricardo Gathers, a 6-foot-7 No. 34 overall recruit, will excel at the four position with a style of play similar to Thomas Robinson of Kansas.

L.J. Rose, a 6-foot-3 No. 64 overall recruit, is a pass-first point guard whose size will give him an edge over smaller defenders.

With all this electric talent, Baylor needs to acknowledge that the success of the basketball program will not be dependent on Miller.

Last season fans voiced their opinions on Jones’ style of play throughout the season. I think the criticism came from the high expectations placed on the kid before the season started.

When he did not produce high-scoring games, fans weren’t happy and questioned his ability when bottom line the most important stat was the final score. If Baylor won and Jones only had a bucket, it should be acceptable.

Last season the Baylor Bears were loaded with talent as well, giving Jones plenty of help on the offensive end of the court.

When his team really needed him (at BYU and against Kansas State in the first round of the conference tournament) he delivered.

Saying next season’s team belongs to Miller will hurt him more than it will help him.

One problem with last season’s team was the team never showed up entirely to take care of business.

Against Colorado it was Heslip. Against Xavier it was Acy. Against Kansas State it was Jones. Against Texas A&M it was Jackson.

More of a team effort will be expected from Baylor entering the 2012-13 season, something that cannot happen if all the focus is on a single player.

Yes, Miller is a special kid with amazing talent on the hardwood, but his teammates around him possess the same qualities.

Next season should be nothing short of special.

Men's basketball head coach Scott Drew was one of several Baylor coaches in eleven sports who made impermissible contact with recruits, according to an ESPN story detailing an NCAA preliminary report on the matter.
Matt Hellman | Lariat Photo Editor

By Tyler Alley
Sports Editor

Baylor could face NCAA sanctions after a three-year investigation revealed the men’s and women’s basketball programs made 738 impermissible text messages and 528 impermissible phone calls to recruits.

The investigation was made public in an ESPN.com story Monday, citing an NCAA report the website had obtained.

“Regarding today’s premature public reports of the matter, the institution remains committed to protecting the integrity of the totality of the case in accordance with its obligations under NCAA legislation and therefore the University, and its officials, will make no comment,” said Nick Joos, Baylor’s executive associate athletic director for external affairs, in an official statement.

Baylor self-imposed penalties following the 2008 investigation but the NCAA can now decide to add harsher penalties as it sees fit.

Men’s basketball head coach Scott Drew, women’s head coach Kim Mulkey and their assistant coaches were said to be involved in the calls and texts, according to the summary disposition obtained by ESPN.com.

The calls are deemed “impermissible” due to restrictions in the NCAA Division I Manual. For men’s basketball, an institution is allowed to make one phone call per month to an individual or his parents/guardians between his sophomore and junior year and two calls per week during his senior year.

In women’s basketball, an institution is allowed “one telephone call during the month of April of the individual’s junior year in high school on or after the Thursday after the conclusion of the NCAA Division I Women’s Final Four,” as well as one the following May, two phone calls in June and three in July, according to the Division I Manual. From there, the school is allowed unlimited phone calls.

Once a school has reached its limit of calls to a prospective student-athlete, an institution may not initiate another phone call. This could be how many of Baylor’s phone calls were deemed impermissible.

Text messages to recruits are prohibited.

NCAA president Mark Emmert said the NCAA would not comment on the case because it’s still under review, according to the Associated Press.

“However, each member agrees to abide by the rules established by the association and our membership expects those who do not follow the rules will be held accountable,” he said in a statement.

The investigation began in 2008 during the recruitment of a current Baylor women’s basketball player, junior Brittney Griner. Members of the coaching staff spoke with Griner and her father about the basketball program, academic requirements and the school in general both before and after Baylor’s 2007 women’s basketball elite camp, according to the article on ESPN.com. This contact is a violation of NCAA rules.

Jason King, writer of the ESPN.com article and Baylor alumni, said in an interview with ESPN Central Texas Radio Monday that he thought Baylor had done a good job self-imposing the penalties.

“Taking Kim Mulkey off the road for the entire month of July this coming summer for recruiting,” King said. “That’s big. Docking two scholarships last year was certainly significant even though it didn’t hurt them too bad since they won 40 games.”

The men’s team lost one scholarship for both this season and next season, and the number of official visits has been reduced from 12 to seven.

King said the NCAA can now decide whether Baylor’s penalties are fine and close the case or can add harsher penalties, such as further scholarship reduction or the suspension of Drew and Mulkey for a few conference games.

The NCAA report found 405 additional impermissible phone calls and texts in nine other Baylor sports, ranging from football to equestrian.

By Daniel C. Houston
Staff Writer

Less than a day after winning her second national championship as Baylor’s head coach, a confident Kim Mulkey returned to the Ferrell Center Wednesday with her Lady Bears basketball team and told a large crowd of fans to prepare for another Final Four appearance in 2013.

“We were not afraid to have expectations placed upon us [this year],” Mulkey said, “and I’ll tell you this: You better get your tickets to New Orleans. See you next year.”

Mulkey’s confidence was influenced by the fact that all five of her starting players — including her two stars, junior center Brittney Griner and sophomore point guard Odyssey Sims — will likely return next year to play for the program.

Mulkey, who typically prefers her teams fly under the media radar, said she took a different approach to motivating her players this year than she has in seasons past.

“I like to play the underdog role,” Mulkey said. “I like to sneak in the back door, beat you and leave the arena. But we couldn’t hide how talented we were. We knew expectations were being placed upon us by the media and even by [the fans], so we embraced it.”

The Lady Bears finished the season with the first 40-0 record in the history of men’s or women’s college basketball, a fact Baylor President Ken Starr drew attention to when he addressed the crowd.

“Baylor University has accomplished what no athletic program in Division 1 history has ever accomplished,” Starr said. “Never — never.”

The ceremony included video highlights from each round of the Lady Bears’ NCAA tournament run, as well as recognition of awards individual players earned throughout the season.

Griner, who was named the Associated Press player of the year and the most outstanding player in the NCAA tournament, said in a press conference after Wednesday’s event that it took more than her dominating presence on the court for the Lady Bears to win the national championship.

Mulkey said she challenged other players like junior guards Kimetria “Nae-Nae” Hayden and Jordan Madden to step into roles they were initially uncomfortable with.

Mulkey said they worked hard and were a big part of why the team performed at such a high level.

But Griner said all the pressure from a long season of high expectations fell away when the clock reached zero and the team could finally celebrate a national title.

“It was awesome,” Griner said. “Before I even got back to coach to get my hug, I was already teary-eyed, and at the end of the game … we didn’t sit down. We were still standing up crying and celebrating, so it was awesome.”vBut Wednesday’s celebrations did not go without a hitch.

As Mulkey first walked up to the podium to address the crowd, members of the NoZe Brotherhood, a secret society that pokes fun at Baylor administrators and students, rushed on stage uninvited and claimed the microphone.

The NoZe brothers made all players on the Lady Bears squad honorary members of their organization, giving them the collective name “Bro. 40-and-NoZe,” in the style of their own individual pseudonyms.

They also awarded Mulkey with their trademark disguise: a pair of glasses with a fake nose.

“This will go with my crooked lip,” Mulkey joked as she put on the glasses, to audience laughter and cheers.

Mulkey coached the Final Four fighting through a form of facial paralysis called Bell’s Palsy, which left her with limited control of the right side of her face.

With all of her starters likely returning and a group of highly rated high school recruits committed to joining the team in the fall, Mulkey believes her team has a chance to be even better next year.

“The more depth, the better we are,” Mulkey said.

“The more depth, the better the competition. [Next year’s freshmen] knew when they signed to come here what their goals were, and they wanted to play for a national championship, and they wanted to continue the tradition in our women’s basketball program. The great players aren’t afraid of any competition; they want to be a part of it.”

Meagan Downing | Lariat Photographer

By Krista Pirtle
Sports Writer

DENVER — The Baylor Lady Bears took care of unfinished business, defeating Notre Dame 80-61 for the NCAA National Championship title Tuesday night.

“Now you can see we did something,” sophomore Odyssey Sims said.

Baylor is the first team in NCAA Division I history to finish the season with 40 wins, doing it with the top RPI in the nation.

“We finally did it,” junior Brittney Griner said. “The unfinished business is over.”

The Lady Bears become the seventh undefeated national champion, joining Texas (1986), Tennessee (1998), and UConn (1995, 2002, 2009, 2010).

“There is no significance in 40-0 right now,” head coach Kim Mulkey said. “Because the only words coming out of our mouths today are ‘national champions.’”

Griner, junior Jordan Madden and Sims never won a championship in high school.

“I’m just so happy,” Mulkey said. “That old saying, ‘you’re so happy you cry,’ I can’t quit crying.”

Now they have experienced the confetti and the ultimate climb up the ladder to snip away a piece of the net.

“It’s sinking in,” Griner said. “I know I’m about to get up there and cry.”

The All-Tournament team was made up of Notre Dame junior Skylar Diggins, Stanford senior Nneka Ogwumike and Baylor’s junior Destiny Williams and Sims.

“It’s dedication that we put in,” Williams said. “We put in a lot of work in the summer. We’re just excited to finally get the championship. We’re just ready to celebrate it and enjoy it with our families and teammates.”

The most outstanding player, Griner, led the Lady Bears with a double-double: 26 points and 13 rebounds. Sims followed with 19 points and four assists. As a whole Baylor shot 50 percent from the floor on the evening, while only allowing the Irish 35 percent.

“Our defense is what led us all year,” Williams said. “We frustrated our opponents. I think our defense is one-of-a-kind.”

Diggins led the Irish with 20 points followed by Kayla McBride with 11. Back in November, Natalie Novosel scored 28 points but tonight was held without a field goal, finishing with five points from the charity stripe.

In the first half, a Griner block sparked a 12-1 run by the Lady Bears, proving that Baylor is a team fueled by defensive play. The Irish would not score a field goal for six minutes.

Early in the first half, the Lady Bears were giving up offensive boards and second chances to the Irish. Once the offensive run started, Baylor took advantage of its height, going into the locker room at the half leading the battle of the boards 25-17 with 11 offensive rebounds and 10 second chance points.

To open both teams shot under 40 percent from the floor, with the Irish going 50 percent from three-point land.

“We were chasing,” Diggins said. “We spent a lot of energy chasing. In the second half, those shots just weren’t falling. They were hitting a lot of theirs.”

The Irish hit only 36 percent of their shots in the final half while the Lady Bears were 63 percent from the floor, a perfect 3 for 3 from downtown.

“We’re going to guard people,” Mulkey said. “Everyone talked about it being Notre Dame’s offense versus our defense. We scored 94 on them last time, we scored 80 today. We can score with the best of them. Defense wins championships. Don’t ever forget that.”

Notre Dame found itself in foul trouble when Devereaux Peters with three and Diggins with two.

“When we got in foul trouble that destroyed our game plan,” Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw said. “In the second half, we were afraid to foul. Every time Brittney got the ball, we didn’t lean on her and she got really close to the basket. She shot over us. There really wasn’t anything we can do.”

Griner only missed one shot out of nine attempts in the final half for the Lady Bears.

For Baylor, all the starters will return for the 2012-2013 season.

The Lady Bears’ senior class of Terran Condrey, Lindsay Palmer and Ashley Field finished their four-year careers with a record of 131-19 in addition to one national title, two Final Four appearances, four NCAA tournament trips and five Big 12 titles (two regular season, three tournament).

As for scrubby little Baylor, it has the most wins combined in football (10), men’s basketball (30) and women’s basketball (40) in NCAA Division I this season.

“At Baylor they used to not let the Baptists dance,” Mulkey said. “I bet they’re dancing now. It’s fun. Look, it’s been a great year for Baylor. Robert Griffin being here. I don’t know what other coaches from Baylor were here. It’s just a fun time. I look forward to going back. Let’s enjoy it. This is a memory. This is for Baylor.”

No. 55 junior Pierre Jackson dribbles through two Kentucky defenders on March 25 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. Baylor lost 82-70.
Matt Hellman | Lariat Photo Editor

2012 Season Recap

By Tyler Alley
Sports Editor

Baylor men’s basketball was elite again. That is to say, the Bears once again earned a spot in the Regional Finals of the NCAA tournament, also known as the “Elite Eight.”

The Bears last made the Elite Eight in 2010, setting a then-program record of 28 wins. This season, head coach Scott Drew brought the Bears back once again.

“I think the big thing is when you’ve done something, human nature is you want to go to the next step,” Drew said. “With people experiencing the Elite Eight before, that’s helped us stay grounded, focused, to try to be in a situation where you can cut down the nets and go to a Final Four.”

Looking back at that team, one can find some (almost uncanny) similarities between 2010 and 2012.

First the random and not-so-significant similarity: Baylor is a 3-seed now and was a 3-seed then, and in both years, the road to the Elite Eight went through a 14-, 10- and 11- seed.

More importantly is who was on both teams — five players bring experience from that team (redshirt sophomore Cory Jefferson, junior A.J. Walton and seniors Fred Ellis, Anthony Jones and Quincy Acy) but only one of those players starts (Acy). Those who were there before, Acy said, don’t want to go out like last time.

“I think the guys, the younger guys as well as the seniors, upperclassmen, we made a commitment this year that we know we have the talent,” Acy said. “We just have to execute and do what Coach has for us. He always puts us in good positions to do what we’re capable of doing. It’s just up to us to execute and get stops and stuff like that.”

The Bears of 2010 had a 6-foot-10 NBA-bound forward who could put good points and snag key rebounds. The 2012 version of Ekpe Udoh? Sophomore Perry Jones III fit much of the mold Udoh was as a player.

Jones III was among a starting lineup with four of five players with zero prior tournament experience.

“I mean, it’s exciting to be in the Elite Eight, especially experiencing it with the guys that have been here before,” Jones III said. “We’re just looking forward to go a little further and make a little history.”

Having said all that, there were key differences as well. The 2010 Elite Eight team had a senior point guard with four seasons of experience. The 2012 Bears’ starting point guard was Pierre Jackson, a junior in his rookie season for Division I basketball.

“I’m always nervous before every game,” Jackson said. “It’s my first trip here. But my teammates do a good job of keeping me confident and positive. I just have to go out there and help my team win.”

The other big differences were that the 2012 Bears did not have their own variation of guard LaceDarius Dunn or center Josh Lomers. Dunn served as a pure point-scorer for the 2010 Bears, and Lomers was pure inside presence.

This was not necessarily a downside, however. The Bears did not have a Dunn-type player who was guaranteed to put up a good amount of points; instead, the Bears had multiple players who could. All five members of the starting lineup led the team in scoring in at least one game.

As for Lomers? Again, there is not one player designed for inside presence; Jones III, Acy, Jefferson and freshman Quincy Miller all showed post play. as a part of their game along with other strengths.

There are two more (unfortunate) similarities for the Bears: both the 2010 team and the 2012 team fell in the Elite Eight to a 1-seed, and in both years, the 1-seed that defeated Baylor (Duke in 2010, Kentucky in 2012) won it all.

We "Drew" a winner

As a high school senior, I knew I was going to Baylor, and I knew the Bears were in the 2008 NCAA tournament. So naturally, I penciled in 11-seed Baylor to beat Purdue, a 6-seed.

For those of you who don’t know how this story ends, Baylor lost — it wasn’t even close. But it was my first taste of Baylor spirit, and that’s what this story is about.

As a freshman, I was convinced I would have four years of elite basketball to enjoy while I earned my degree. It didn’t exactly go that way, but I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.

In 2009, the same athletic team that had stunned the college basketball world by earning the final berth in the tournament the year before could not find a defensive identity.

Coach Scott Drew turned around the season by substituting big man Josh Lomers into the starting lineup and instituting a 2-3 zone defense. His new scheme propelled Baylor to a place in the Big 12 tournament finals and a tough loss to Missouri.

The Bears qualified for the NIT and clawed their way to the finals.

I loved it. Drew loved it. The team loved it. Everyone loved it … for the time being.

This Bears team advanced to the Elite Eight and was clearly a team of destiny.

But then Baylor ran into Duke. The Bears lost a close game, mainly due to a late charging call against Quincy Acy — a foul that he still denies to this day.

Though the loss of shot-blocking machine Ekpe Udoh to the NBA draft was devastating, I was excited for the arrival of Perry Jones III, Baylor’s first top 10 recruit, and a projected top 5 NBA draft pick.

Yet without Tweety Carter, shooting guard LaceDarius Dunn just couldn’t get it going. Walton did not live up to lofty expectations in his sophomore season and Jones III — while outstanding — proved to be just as most other freshman: inconsistent.

Worse than that? He was declared ineligible before the Big 12 tournament because his mother had accepted loans for housing from his AAU coach, a family friend. Baylor Nation was livid and frustrated, but mostly disappointed.

By adding a stellar recruiting class to this year’s roster as well as transfer Brady Heslip, Drew made this Baylor team the most talented one yet.

Baylor basketball didn’t suffer its first loss until they went to Allen Fieldhouse to play Kansas, a nearly impossible place to win. In the Big 12 tournament, though, the Bears stunned the entire state of Kansas in consecutive wins against Kansas State and Kansas.

Once again, the stars seemed to align, with 3-seed Baylor advancing by playing lower seeded teams and avoiding 2-seed Duke. After impressive wins over 13-seed South Dakota State, former Big 12 rival and 11-seed Colorado, and 10-seed Xavier, they ran into 1-seed Kentucky, 2012’s juggernaut.

After the first four minutes I sent a text message to my father: “Are you watching?”

Four minutes later my father replied: “I wish I wasn’t.”

Things had gone from fantastic to horrible in that small time period. After Baylor’s assertive start to the game, Kentucky began to run the floor, not even giving Baylor’s newly revamped defense a chance to stop them. Yet I still watched every last second of it.

Why?

Because I had fallen in love with this school, and by extension this team, five years ago when I decided to attend Baylor University.

Scott Drew is the single nicest, happiest and hyper person I’ve ever met on this campus. And no one is friendlier than Quincy Acy off the court. Sure, he seems mean and angry, but he really just hates the rim. He loves people.

Brady Heslip? Best wingman ever. A.J. Walton? No one is more fun to play basketball with in the SLC than A.J.

Not only had I fallen in love with the idea of Baylor Basketball, but I had become friends with team members and gotten to know one of the nicest men ever — who also happened to be the head coach.

Baylor basketball may have taken 10 years off my life over the four years I went to school here, but they helped make those the best four years of my life.

Benjamin Friedman is a senior journalism major from Katy and served as the Bear Pit president this season.