2005 Baylor Bears Basketball Preview

2005 Baylor Bears Team Preview

The Baylor Bears Aaron Bruce returns for his second season and that is extremely good news. Bruce, at 6’ 3” and 190 pounds, proved to be a tough, determined player who could score with panache and speed. He led Division I freshmen in scoring (18.2 PPG) and was second amongst all Big 12 players. He also spent the summer playing for and captaining Australia’s under-21 national team, which means he’s that much more experienced.

Overall this is an inexperienced team with a large contingent of sophomores and freshmen. It’s also a club that managed to finish last or next to last in the conference in scoring, defense, rebounding, and turnovers. If sound fundamentals give a team the chance to win, the Bears can benefit from focusing on the rudiments and disciplined play.

Bruce does have four talented starters with which to work. Forward/center Tommy Swanson is an excellent shooter, hitting from the field 51.9% and from the foul line 70.6% of the time. With the Bears finishing dead last in grabbing the ball off the glass last season the senior will need to pick up his rebounding average, which was 5.8 per game. Forward Tim Bush, another accurate scorer, also needs to help out on the boards.

Freshmen Henry Dugat and Kevin Rogers are both capable of making an immediate impact. Dugat, always a scoring threat, works hard and hustles with flair and quickness. Rogers, who was one of the top 20 high school forwards in the country, has a sweet shot that will give the Bears points.

Last year in his first season Aaron Bruce took the conference by storm. For Baylor to move up in the highly competitive Big 12, they’ll need Bruce to continue his great play while requiring sound fundamentals from everyone and stellar years from some of the newest members of the team.

We have also listed the link to the official Baylor Bears athletic site, for those that would like more info on the 2005 Baylor mens basketball team. If not continue on below to more of the individual big 12 schools.