It didn’t take much digging for Baylor coach Scott Drew and his staff to put together a scouting report on Norfolk State.
The No. 5 Bears are very familiar with the Spartans after their 85-49 win in the first round of last year’s NCAA Tournament at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. They’ll be back on the floor together at the Ferrell Center on Friday at 7pm.
“First and foremost, this is a team that won the league (Mideastern Athletic Conference) and brought back all 12 players and all five starters from the tournament team,” Drew said. “So, especially at the beginning of the year when there are teams returning a lot of people, they have an advantage over anyone else who is bringing in new people.”
After beating Mississippi Valley State in Monday’s 117-53 season opener, Drew hopes the competition will improve significantly.
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Norfolk State is averaging 98 points in their first two games, beating the University of Virginia Lynchburg 109-59 and Cairn 87-59. The Spartans score evenly with 6-9 forward Chris Bankston leading with 16 points and 12.5 rebounds.
“They got a big guy, Chris Bankston, who’s really fun to watch,” Drew said. He dunks 5 or 6 times a night so he’s very athletic I certainly wouldn’t go up against someone who’s more athletic than him, although someone might be on par , is less athletic.
Forward Dana Tate’s all-around numbers average 16 points and 9 rebounds, about the same as Bankston’s. Guard Caheim Brown averaged 15.5 points and MEAC Player of the Year Joe Bryant Jr. averaged 14 points, filling in four of his 10 three-pointers.
The Bears dominated Mississippi Valley State as they shot 51.6% overall and 41.2% from 3-point range and won the rebounding battle by a margin of 53-29. Their defense was vigorous in forcing his 25 turnovers while the Bears committed only his 9 turnovers.
Against the Spartans, it’s probably not easy to come up with such dominant numbers.
“Each game will have a different feel, a different energy, a different flavor, depending on the style of play and so on,” says Drew. “Norfolk are a team that keeps off balance and multiple defenses. They press and run a lot on the offense side.
For the Bears, senior guard Adam Flagler had 21 points and eight assists, LJ Cryer had 16 points and Dale Bonner had 14 points, with six players in double figures.
One of the most positive developments was the return of redshirted guard Langston Love last season after suffering an ACL injury in preseason training. Love scored 13 points and had 8 rebounds in just 20 minutes in his volleyball game against Mississippi.
“A lot of people tell me it’s going to be nerve-wracking, but I tried my best not to think about it,” Love said. It’s a blessing, my teammates, coaches and everyone helped me out.”
Dantwan Grimes, who moved to Kilgore University, has been redshirted this year due to his heavy guard rotation. The Bears hope they can keep up the momentum against Norfolk State.
“They have a lot of guys who play really hard. They crash the board hard,” Bonner said. “We expect their best efforts, so we have to do our best too.”
