At the start of the season, B12H.com ran a "Five Questions For..." segment asking the five most pressing questions of each team. In our continuing review of the season, here are the answers to those questions.

Five Questions For...Baylor basketball

1)       Can the Bears rebound from the loss of 50% of their scoring and 2/3 of their assists due to graduation?

I'm gonna go with a resounding YES on this one. Three players, LaceDarius Dunn, Tweety Carter and Ekpe Udoh, all averaged over 13.9 ppg. Add in Quincy Acy's nearly 10 ppg and you have four guys getting 57.8 ppg. To put that into perspective, Nebraska, as a TEAM, only averaged 66.5 ppg.

2)       Coach Scott Drew can recruit, but can he coach those guys to a third straight post season tournament?

Another resounding YES. Drew led the Bears to an 11-5 conference record and 28-8 overall. Their tourney los... that was to eventual national champion Duke.

3)       Can Michigan transfer Ekpe Udoh be the defensive force Bears fans are expecting from the 6-10 center?

This is getting too easy... YES. Not only was he a defensive force, but his 13.9 ppg perfectly complemented his 9.8 rpg. Oh, and he not only made the Big 12 Hoops first team all conference, but made it in as the Rookie of the Year.

4)       Did highly ranked recruit Nolan Dennis make the right decision in rescinding his verbal from Memphis and commit to Baylor?

Hmmm... jury's still out on this. Nolan only averaged 2.2 ppg, but as we all know Memphis wasn't the Memphis of the past decade. If I were to have to decide, I'd say he did, but only because of the experience he got on an Elite Eight team under the tutelage of Tweety Carter.

5)       Who will be the go-to guy this year, LaceDarius Dunn, Tweety Carter or one of the freshman?

LaceDarius averaged nearly 20 ppg and Tweety netted 15. I guess you could call it a toss up between the two, but certainly not one of the freshman.

As an aside, the question you fans thought was the most pressing at the onset of the season was about the impact freshman.

Now that the college basketball season is officially over, we're going to take a look back at each Big 12 school to discuss their season. The rundown will go in order of conference standing. See the complete schedule after The Jump.

What Went Right: Need to filibust? Go up to a Baylor Bears fans and ask, "Hey Baylor Bears fan, what went right this season for your team?" You will get a solid 24 hour glowing report. Aside from the obvious -- what every team strives for -- the Bears' season was remarkable.  Led by Ekpe Udoh, Tweety Carter, LaceDarius Dunn, Quincy Acy and company Baylor had a historically good season. A 28-8 overall record.  11-5 in conference. Made it to the Elite Eight, losing only to eventual champ Duke in a close enough game. A fun team to watch. Great inside-outside play. With all this you can see why a fan might turn your question from a casual question into a night-long conversation.

What Went Wrong: Again, aside from not winning the Big 12 or the NCAA championship, not much really went wrong. They shared the Big 12 South title (if such a thing even matters in hoops, oh wait, it doesn't) and finished in the Top 10 nationally.The loss in Boulder was the lowlight of the season, but with all else equal, Scott Drew and squad shouldn't complain about much.

Team MVP: I said in the Kansas review that I hate giving season awards based on lifetime achievements. I also backed that up with a pretty strong argument for Sherron Collins' nomination as team MVP.  I'll do the same here with Tweety Carter. He didn't lead the team in scoring average (Dunn done led the Bears), he didn't lead them in rebounds (of course not, he's listed at 5-11), but he did lead them in assist with 5.8 apg, and was second on the team with 15 ppg. Add in his leadership on the court and all those intangibles.

Key Losses: Carter graduates, as does center Josh Lomers. There is speculation that Dunn or Udoh may declare, but no news as of yet. If I were to bet, I'd say that neither will go.

Outlook Next Year: If Dunn and Udoh do return, Baylor will again be a force and considered one of the favorites to win the conference.

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Perry Jones of Baylor (above, ESPNU No.3) and Tristan Thompson of Texas (ESPNU No. 11) lead the list of 2010 Big 12 early signees.

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ESPNU 100 players in bold.

Mark Allan Peterson
Managing Editor
editor@big12hoops.com 

Baylor Senior point guard Tweety Carter received a four-game suspension to begin to 2009-2010 season, according to head coach Scott Drew.

Drew said Carter was suspended for rules violations, but did not go into details on the nature of the suspension.

The 5-foot-10 Carter will miss Friday's season opener against Norfolk State, as well as games against Hartford, Southern and Hardin-Simmons. Carter is expected to return for Baylor's biggest test to start the season, a Thankgiving Day game against Alabama in the first round of the Old Spice Classic in Florida.

Carter, the only McDonald's American in school history, averaged a career high 10.6 points and 3.2 assists as a junior for the Bears. He is expected to take over for the departed Curtis Jerrells at the starting point guard position.

In his place tonight, Baylor is expected to start freshman A.J. Walton.

Iowa State head men’s basketball coach Greg McDermott announced today that Melvin Ejim, a 6-6 wing from Brampton, Ontario, has signed a national letter of intent to play basketball at Iowa State beginning in the 2010-11 season. 

Perry Jones, the No. 3 player in the ESPNU 100 who has been committed to playing for Baylor since 2007, made it official when he signed a letter of intent with the Bears on Wednesday, the first day of the basketball early signing period.

Curtis Jerrells will begin his rookie year playing for the Austin Toros under former Mizzou coach Quin Snyder. The former Baylor guard was cut by the San Antonio Spurs following the end of the 2009-2010 NBA Pre-season.

CJ joins the Toros alongside fellow allocated player Roderick Riley and returning players Justin Bowen, Ryan Bright, Fred Gibson, Carldell Johnson, Dwayne Jones and Jason Parker. Jerrells is the only rookie on Austin's roster. CJ will battle former UAB guard Carldell "Squeaky" Johnson for the Toros' starting point guard spot.

In a recurring piece leading up to the start of the basketball season, we will examine the top 5 questions surrounding each Big 12 basketball team.

Today, the top 5 questions for the Baylor Bears.

1)       Can the Bears rebound from the loss of 50% of their scoring and 2/3 of their assists due to graduation?

2)       Coach Scott Drew can recruit, but can he coach those guys to a third straight post season tournament?

3)       Can Michigan transfer Ekpe Udoh be the defensive force Bears fans are expecting from the 6-10 center?

4)       Did highly ranked recruit Nolan Dennis make the right decision in rescinding his verbal from Memphis and commit to Baylor?

5)       Who will be the go-to guy this year, LaceDarius Dunn, Tweety Carter or one of the freshman?

Check back tomorrow when we will ask Five Question For... the Big 12 Conference.

Also check out Five Questions For...

Big 12 North: Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Iowa State, Kansas State, Nebraska
Big 12 South: Oklahoma, Texas, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, Texas A&M

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