There are only 9 undefeateds left in all of college basketball. One of which is the #7 Baylor Bears; who this season are living up to the expectations they didn’t reach last year. Baylor missed the NCAA Tournament in 2010-11, and that shortcoming fuels their fire this season.
Baylor has one of the top frontcourts in the nation, with three long and lean guys who drastically alter the game plans of every opponent they face.
Perry Jones III is a projected top-ten pick in the 2012 NBA Draft; Quincy Acy is a freakishly talented athlete who’s dangerous on both ends of the floor; and Quincy Miller is an instant-impact, 6-9 freshman who could be a one-and-done guy joining Jones in the first round of the draft.
Miller is just as comfortable out on the perimeter as he is in taking it to the hole. He knows his versatility is his game’s greatest trait, and he knows what he needs to work on as well.
“my handles, post game, I gotta work on my whole game actually, that’s how I feel, my whole game is incomplete,” he humbly said following his team’s blow out win at previously unbeaten Northwestern.
Baylor Coach Scott Drew extolled some of Miller’s other virtues
“People look at Quincy Miller, you know he can score, but he’s also one of our best passers…he gives us an added dimension of ball-handling that we didn’t have last year,” Drew said.
The 6-10, 210 Miller is one of the highest rated recruits in Baylor history and a preseason Naismith award candidate.
6-7, 235 Quincy Acy probably won’t be heading to the league, but the senior is one of the team’s main leaders. He’s also having an All-Big 12 season so far. He talked about how the difference this season has been defense.
“We take it personal in practice guarding each other, making sure we pay close attention to defense because last year that’s what really hurt us,” Acy said.
“We could points on the board, but wouldn’t aways defend. So coach made it known to us at the beginning of the year what’s expected of us,” he added.
Acy has helped lead Baylor to it’s highest ranking in school history.
6-11 235 Sophomore Perry Jones III (that’s how they do it at Baylor, Robert Griffin III, the star athletes are all legacies) is the league preseason player of the year. He made his season debut Nov 29th and dropped 27 points tying a career high.
He’s very athletic with a lot of upside. Like Miller, he possesses the versatility to play inside and outside, with tremendous physical gifts. He’s very strong and fast, and looks quite smooth on the court.
Question marks include his demanor and approach to the game, as he’s been accused of coasting and taking the easy route. Adding strength and playing with more contact could be good for him to shed his “soft” label. He didn’t really live up to the expectations last year, and the questions of his demeanor probably stem from the “impermissible benefits” incident.
It’s probably unfair how being declared ineligible near the end of last season has hurt his reputation. He was forced to miss 5 games and pay back $700.
Jones was not made available to the media for this story.
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