Turning down Goliath, Baylor's Scott Drew shows how David has grown

Scott Drew examined his options, then acknowledged what everybody else was thinking. Biblically speaking, he might have been out of his right mind. “This is definitely a David vs. Goliath situation,” a young coach said standing in the middle of the Ferrell Center in Waco 21 years ago, and the same story could have applied this week.

would hit the Bears hard, and that they would lose 28 of their next 32 conference games, but that eventually Kentucky — blue-blooded, star-studded Kentucky — would want to hire Baylor’s basketball coach. Then imagine telling them that Baylor’s basketball coach would turn Kentucky down. “Inconceivable” doesn’t do it justice. When Drew arrived at Baylor in 2003, no major conference program in America was farther away from Kentucky’s stratosphere.

tournament game in more than 50 years was a loss in 1988, or that they were part of a misery-plagued athletic department lucky to be included in the Big 12 in the first place. All of that was true, but the events of 2003 made it much worse.

sanctions were coming, and even if they weren’t, it looked impossible to win there. Drew, at age 32, was coming off an impressive first season as a head coach at Valparaiso. Wouldn’t it have been smarter to wait on an opportunity that wasn’t doomed? Probably, but Drew took the Baylor gig anyway. And during his press conference at the Ferrell Center, he raved so much about the Bears’ facilities, leaders and “family atmosphere” that he almost sounded delusional.

tournament from 1950 to 2007 made 12 of them from 2008 to 2024. Baylor made five Sweet 16s, and three Elite Eights, and in 2021 won the whole thing. The Bears, it should be noted, now have as many national championships this century as Kentucky does. They also have a beautiful new arena, and name recognition that allows them to attract NBA-caliber players in almost every recruiting class.

Bears NCAA Big 12 KWTX Wildcats NBA Scott Drew David Patrick Dennehy Dave Bliss John Calipari Carlton Dotson God Sweet Kentucky Waco Goliath Ferrell Center America Valparaiso Lexington Arkansas Fours Temple David Vs. Goliath Elite Eights Inconceivable

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