Baylor basketball’s Big 12 hopes rest with a shorter star

There’s a lot that feels familiar with Baylor.

Two weeks into the season, there’s a number next to the Bears’ name. There’s the screaming neon uniforms. And there’s expectation, as Baylor was picked to finish in the middle of the Big 12 despite having to replace an All-American in Johnathan Motley.

The unfamiliar part may be the player that owns the starring role.

Baylor has made four-straight NCAA Tournaments, and each of those teams has had one or more long, athletic bigs devouring space in Scott Drew’s zone. Players like Motely, Isaiah Austin, Cory Jefferson, and Taurean Price headlined those good times in Waco.

This year, one of the Bears’ stars will often be the shortest player on the court.

Senior point guard Manu Lecomte looked the part Monday night in Baylor’s Hall of Fame Classic opener against Wisconsin in Kansas City. The Bears led by as many as 19 points midway through the second half before Ethan Happ and the Badgers rallied, pulling to within 57-55 with just over two minutes left.

“We couldn’t buy a bucket for a while,” Drew said after the game. “We got on 57 and I was getting ready to go to the scorer’s table and move it to 58.”

He didn’t have to. The next time down the court, Lecomte drew a foul on a three-point attempt and sank all three free throws. In those final two minutes, with the Bears’ offense stuck in the mud, Lecomte knocked down 10-of-11 shots from the line, part of a 24 point, five assist night.

“That’s what you expect from your senior point guard,” Drew said. “The good thing about Manu is that if he’s not scoring he is a point guard. And if they put two on him, he finds someone else.”

He didn’t score, at least much, against Creighton in the championship game, but he was still there at the end despite a rough night overall. Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. (15 points, 15 rebounds), King McClure (19 points) and Terry Matson (15 points, 8 rebounds) led a 65-59 comeback win over the Bluejays, while Lecomte (9 points, 2-8 FG, 2 assists) was hounded all night by Khyri Thomas and seemed bothered by the big-bodied guard’s size.

But he set up a Matson three that broke a 52-52 tie with just over two minutes left, and then went four-for-four from the free-throw line in the final 33 seconds to seal the win.

The go-to role is one that he wanted, and walked a long way to get.

The Brussels, Belgium-native has worn about as many hats as somebody can across a college basketball career. He started as an international prospect, who Miami offered a scholarship to without seeing in person. He was immediately a part of Jim Larranaga’s rotation as a freshman, making 17 starts and averaging 28.0 minutes per game at a point guard position that had just been vacated by program-legend Shane Larkin.

The rebuilding ‘Canes won just 17 games in 2013-14, but it was a hyper-encouraging start for Lecomte. His playing time, however, dropped the following season (22.4 MPG), as freshly-eligible Kansas State transfer Angel Rodriguez pushed him off-the-ball and out of the spotlight. He excelled as a three-point shooter on a 25-win Miami team that reached the NIT final, but had lost that ball-dominant role that had seemed set in stone following his freshman season.

He talked to the Waco Tribune earlier this year about where his head was at following the 2014-15 season.

When the Hurricanes began bringing in more guards, Lecomte thought his playing time might diminish and considered going back to Europe to play pro basketball. But he changed his mind after talking with Baylor coach Scott Drew.

“I learned a lot at Miami, especially the mental part of the game and became a better player,” Lecomte said. “But starting my sophomore year, Miami had a lot of transfers coming in and a lot of players in the backcourt. I thought that maybe I should go back to Europe and play pro ball. But I liked Coach Drew and the fact that Baylor always had great point guards like Tweety Carter, Pierre Jackson, Kenny Chery, and Lester Medford.”

From unknown prospect to freshman starter to a sophomore facing a roster crunch, Lecomte found himself waiting out a transfer year as the No. 3-seed Bears were knocked out of the 2016 NCAA Tournament by Yale. When he became eligible last season, he finally had the ball back in his hands. He made the most of it right away.

Lecomte starred in non-conference wins against Oregon (18 points, 7 assists) and Xavier (24 points, 5 assists) as the Bears bolted from unranked to No. 1 faster than any team in AP poll history. And for many, he likely made his first national impression as a Bear by sinking a game-winner against Iowa State on Jan. 4. With Lecomte (12.2 PPG, 3.8 APG, 40.8 3P%) as a complement to Motley and his All-American production, the Bears went 12-6 in the Big 12 and made their fourth Sweet 16 under Drew.

With Motley gone to the NBA, the Bears are now firmly Lecomte’s team.

And while a diminutive Baylor headliner is a different look from the near past, it’s not like the program has been in a point guard drought. Kenny Chery and Lester Medford had solid careers in Waco, but were somewhat outshined by Jefferson, Austin and Prince. You’d need to go back to 2012-13 to find a Baylor team with a point guard — Pierre Jackson — as its unquestioned star.

As he showed against Wisconsin, he can excel as a pass-first point guard. He and Lual-Acuil Jr. — the Bears’ current freakishly-long big — form a potent ball screen combination. In the Wisconsin win, Drew said Lecomte was the key in setting up a 19-point night for the 7’0 senior.

But that off-the-ball role that ultimately led him away from Miami comes in handy for Drew’s offense as well. When junior guard Jake Lindsey is on the floor, Lecomte can shift away from the ball and weave his way around screens to set up his deadly three-point shooting.

If there’s a part of Lecomte’s game that’s worth watching closely early in the season, it’s his ability to take care of the ball. Turnovers were a problem for the Bears last season, as they finished with the worst offensive turnover percentage in Big 12 play. That may be skewed by coughing it up a combined 47 times in two games against West Virginia, but it’s nonetheless an area the Bears figure to be better at this season with an experienced senior point guard.

There’s been an encouraging start this season. Through Baylor’s first three games against weaker competition, Lecomte turned the ball over just two times. When the opposition ratched up at the Hall of Fame Classic, the positive trend largely continued. Lecomte turned it over just four times over both games, though he was less efficient in a three-turnover game against Thomas and the Bluejays.

The games don’t get easier after Baylor leaves Kansas City, as the Bears are in the meat of their non-conference schedule. They play at Xavier (Nov. 28) and host Wichita State (Dec. 2) before leveling off with a run of sub-249 KenPom teams prior to league play.

Like last year, they’re off to a rollicking start against quality non-league teams, and have to feel good about where they’re heading with Lecomte in control. Of all the roads he’s walked in his college career, he’s not yet vaulted into the national consciousness during March. The Bears hope that’s his final role.