Baylor Coach Scott Drew Gives High Praise To Atmosphere At BYU
Oct 18, 2023, 3:13 PM | Updated: 3:14 pm
Baylor coach Scott Drew and BYU head coach Mark Pope chat at Big 12 Basketball Media Days in Kansas City, Missouri on October 18, 2023. (Mitch Harper, KSL Sports)
(Mitch Harper, KSL Sports)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Baylor coach Scott Drew is one of the top bench bosses in the Big 12 Conference.
Drew took over a Baylor program that was mired in scandal over two decades ago and turned them into National Champions three years ago.
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During Drew’s ascent up the college basketball ladder, he had a nonconference stop in Provo to face BYU in 2011.
It was a down-to-the-wire finish, with Baylor squeaking an 86-83 win over BYU on its home floor. Cougar fans might remember that game as the coming out party for UCLA transfer Matt Carlino.
Carlino made his debut for BYU off the bench in that game and scored 18 points.
NBA first-round pick Perry Jones III led Baylor with 28 points.
Baylor coach Scott Drew remembers 2011 BYU game at the Marriott Center
With BYU basketball now in the Big 12 Conference, Drew was asked about his memories of his last visit to the Marriott Center twelve years ago.
“Going into that game, we heard what a great environment and what great fans BYU had. I remember that was an outstanding game; it came down to the last seconds and one of the louder places we’ve played in and have played in, period.
“Great respect for their fan base and just their game management, how they do things.”
Drew will make his return to Provo on February 20. BYU is one of the five schools Baylor will play home-and-homes with this season.
The Cougars first make a trip to Baylor’s new home arena, Foster Pavilion, on January 9.
Update on Caleb Lohner
Along with Drew’s thoughts on gameday at BYU, he also provided an update on former BYU forward Caleb Lohner.
Lohner, after transferring away from BYU following the 2021-22 season, is entering his second year with the Baylor Bears program.
“Caleb Lohner, great young man, fun to be with every day. He’s somebody that you can talk basketball; you can also talk life and so many other things,” said Drew. “He’s got a ton of hobbies from building cars to surfing to whatever. Great young man.”
Lohner averaged 3.2 points 3.5 rebounds in 12 minutes of action per game last season for the Bears.
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and host of the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (Saturday from 12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X and Threads: @Mitch_Harper.
