‘BAND BACK TOGETHER’
Led by Butler, Bears’ core lineup returns to pursue unfulfilled national title dream
A dismayed Baylor exited the 2020 basketball season exasperated and unfulfilled, with the end reminiscent of a recurring nightmare where the Bears failed to show up for a final exam — in this case the ultimate test in the NCAA Tournament.
A year ago, the Bears likely would have entered the tournament as a top seed, and had they done so the Baylor’s roster might look much different this season. The tournament was canceled, however, because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a valiant attempt to wake up from the chronic nightmare and finally turn bad to good, the Bears tacked together what amounted to a reunion tour for the 2021 season.
“With a lot of us deciding to come back,” Baylor junior guard Jared Butler said, “it was like we were getting the band back together.”
Butler this year might have very well been living in Indianapolis, home of the Final Four, or some other NBA city, had the pandemic not suddenly snuffed out his dream of playing for a national title. Instead, he gave it the old college try in returning for a final round, and Bears coach Scott Drew is grateful.
“Jared is such a great ambassador, not only for Baylor University and Baylor basketball, but for college basketball,” said Drew, adding that Butler serves on an NCAA committee helping improve college athletes’ lives. “When he’s done playing, he can be a governor, senator or president, or run a company. He’s got so many talents and abilities, and most of all he’s humble and a servant leader who treats people with respect. I love Jared.”
There is loads to love for Drew, Butler’s teammates and Baylor fans. Butler leads the Big 12 in steals (2.0 per game) and ranks third in scoring (16.5 points per game) and assists (4.8 per game). In a season of firsts for the Baylor program, Butler became the Bears’ first Big 12 player of the year.
“He shares the wealth,” Bears guard MaCio Teague said of Butler’s emphasis on involving his teammates. “He can shoot the ball off the bounce, he can create his own shot, and he was on the (Big 12) all-defensive team this year. He plays both ends of the floor.”
The Bears (26-2) will need him to do both starting 4:14 p.m. Saturday in the semifinals of the Final Four against Houston (28-3) in Lucas Oil Stadium. Baylor is competing in its first Final Four of the modern era and first since 1950, when the NCAA Tournament was comprised of eight teams instead of 68.
The Bears also won their first league title since 1950, and Butler said the players had incremental goals springing into this season.
“We’re ultra-competitors, and we want to win everything we put our hands on,” Butler said. “Being the first team to win the Big 12, that was a driving force, and also being the first (modern) team to make it to the Final Four. We had goals to leave a legacy at Baylor — and try to be the best team Baylor has ever had.”
The Bears are two victories from earning that distinction, considering they would win their first national title in men’s basketball. The women’s team has three titles under coach Kim Mulkey. In 1948, the men lost in the national title game 58-42 to Kentucky.
The Bears were 26-4 a year ago when the pandemic ended their season. Butler, Teague and Davion Mitchell all opted to return instead of turning pro. They’re now considered the top trio of guards in the nation, and led the Bears to double-digit victories in the first three of their four previous tournament games. They beat Arkansas by nine in the Elite Eight.
“They’ve got so many dynamic players,” UH coach Kelvin Sampson said of the Bears.
Drew in turn has been a dynamic recruiter during his 18 years in Waco, often with an eye for resolve that didn’t always show up in players’ high school recruiting rankings.
“A lot of them weren’t top 50 recruits, and the reason they’re where they are now is they work really hard,” Drew said of his top players from last season returning for another shot at a title. “When they came back (from the offseason) they were better players individually, and then you had the desires and wants of what they missed out on last year.
“A big reason they came back was the chance to play in this NCAA Tournament.”
Butler leads the Bears with 16.5 points per game this season but has yet to score more than 16 points in the NCAA Tournament. It hasn’t mattered, considering Baylor has won its four tournament games by an average of 14 points.
The Bears realize a big offensive contribution by Butler at this point is merely a bonus to what’s been an exceptional team effort to date in Indianapolis.
“This is a player-led team,” Drew said, “and player-led teams are always better than coach-led teams.”