Scouting Baylor ahead of UH’s senior night

Scott Drew brings his 15-14 (5-11 Big 12) Baylor Bears to the Fertitta Center for an 8 p.m. tip against Kelvin Sampson and his 24-5 (12-4) Houston Cougars. It is senior night for Emanuel Sharp, Ramon Walker Jr., Milos Uzan, and Kalifa Sakho, and it will likely also be the last home game for Kingston Flemins and Chris Cenac Jr. It should be quite a celebration.

The Baylor head of the snake will still be the super athletic Cameron Carr. Carr gave the Coogs issues in Waco in UH’s 77-55 win back on Fe 10th. He had 18 points and 4 rebounds, but where he really hurt the Coogs was by drawing fouls. Carr was fouled nine times and attempted 16 free throws (he went 9/16). He was 3/6 from three and had three turnovers. The Coogs will look to defend him on the drive without reaching this time around.

Baylor is really struggling this year, but they have played well in their last two games, winning. They led Arizona for most of the game before losing 80-87 and won at UCF, making a free throw with one second left. The Bears have one of the best scoring offenses in the nation, averaging 83 points per game, but they are bad on defense, allowing 77 points per game. I love the Coogs in this one at home, to give their seniors one last win on Penick Court.

Lagniappe: last two games, Baylor has gotten out to big halftime leads (7 over Arizona, 14 at UCF) on a combined 54% shooting (34/63), 44% from three (11/25), and 75% from the line (18/24) in those first halves. But in the second half of those games, they’ve given up a combined 35/61 (57.4%) shooting on 25 assists.

Baylor Personnel (*Indicates likely starters)

*#43 – Cameron Carr – 6’5″ – RS SO – Guard – (Tennessee) – 19ppg, 6rpg, 2apg.

• Head of the snake;
• SUPER athletic guard. Extremely long wing span;
• Three-level scorer and can play WAY above the rim;
• Very explosive driving to the basket (best going right). A threat to throw his head back on the drive to bait a foul. Will also drive into traffic and throw his arms up to draw a foul;
• Leads the team in free-throw attempts, 37 more than the second most (117-147, 80%);
• Good three-point shooter. Best at catch and shoot, rather than shooting it off the bounce (63-165, 38%);
• First game: 18 points, 3/9 (3/6 from three), 9/16 FT line, four rebounds, 3 TO.

*#24 – Tounde Yessoufou – 6’5″ – FR – Guard – 18ppg, 6rpg, 2spg.

• Super athletic, three-level scoring guard;
• Really likes the corner three, but below average outside shooter (49-155, 32%);
• Crashes the offensive glass hard for second chance opportunities;
• Nice mid-range fadeaway jumper;
• First game: 11 points, 3/6, six boards, 7 turnovers.

*#0 – Dan Skillings Jr. – 6’6″ – SR – Guard – (Cincinnati) – 10ppg, 6rpg, 2apg.

• Tall, athletic, combo-guard;
• Works really hard. Coach Sampson really liked him when he played for Cincinnati;
• At his best in getting into the paint to score or draw a foul;
• He is an average three-point shooter (21-68, 31%);
• Solid defender and rebounder;
• First game: 13 minutes off the bench, 2/6, no rebounds, 1 assist, 1 TO.

*#5 – Obi Agbim – 6’3″ – 5th SR – Guard – (Northeastern JUCO, Ft Lewis College, Wyoming) – 11ppg, 3rpg, 3apg.

• Athletic guard;
• Nice floater in the paint;
• Good outside shooter (best from the wing/slot). Leads the team in three-point attempts (67-182, 37%);
• First game: 6 points both off threes, 4 boards, 2 steals.

*#12 – Michael Rataj – 6’8″ – SR – Guard – (Oregon State) – 8ppg, 5rpg.

• Long, athletic guard. He’s playing somewhat better lately, but he’s not very good.
• Best at cutting to the basket. Not GREAT at driving to the basket, but moves well without the ball and finds open spaces around the rim;
• He can’t guard me. The UH offense should be hunting him;
• Capable outside shooter, but not great (11-52, 21%);
• First game: 6 points, 2/6, 2/2 FT, 4 rebounds, had two shots blocked.

#46 – James Nnaji – 7’0″ – FR – Center – (Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets, New York Knicks, FC Barcelona) – 2ppg, 3rpg.

• A different sort of world traveler than others we have seen; Tall former NBA draft pick. No disrespect…but whatever GM drafted him should be fired;
• Extremely raw on offense. He does not have great hands and gets stripped pretty often around the basket;
• Solid at blocking and affecting shots. Does a great job jumping straight up;
• Not a threat outside of the paint. Ugly free-throw shooter (6/12 for the season);
• First game: 1/2 FG, 1/2 FT, 7 boards.

#10 – Isaac Williams IV – 6’1″ – SO – Guard – (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi) – 11ppg, 2rpg, 3apg.

• Back-up point guard;
• Drive-first guard. Good at getting all the way to the rim or pulling up in the paint;
• He doesn’t shoot a ton of three-pointers, but is really good when he does (19-40, 48%);
• First game: 1/3 FG, 0/2 FT, 5 assists, 2 TO.

#44 – Caden Powell – 6’9″ – SR – Center – (Wyoming, Rice) – 7ppg, 6rpg, 1bpg.

• Long athletic post player. Works extremely hard;
• LOVES to crash the offensive glass. Would’ve been a great Coog;
• Not a great low-post scorer (throw it in, make a move, score);
• He does the dirty work to get his buckets and is really good at it;
• Does a decent job rolling on the pick and roll;
• First game: 1/1 FG, 2/5 FT, 3 boards.

Baylor Cheat Sheet

What I’ll Be Watching…

1. Foul trouble: Baylor does a good job of getting their opponents in foul trouble, mostly by getting paint touches with their aggressive guards. It will be critical for the Coogs to defend the paint without reaching.
2. Defensive rebounding: The Bears do a nice job attacking the offensive glass (13 offensive rebounds per game). UH gave up 10 in their last matchup with Baylor, but had an overwhelming 23 of their own!!! Both teams will look to improve their defensive rebounding in this one.
3. Pace of play: Houston played much faster on offense Saturday vs. Colorado, and I would not be surprised to see this trend continue. They need to get easier baskets. With the guard play that they have, this should be a point of emphasis moving forward.

Kelvin previews Baylor

Kelvin Sampson media availability ahead of Baylor