of baylor bears They made one of the biggest offseason moves in men’s college basketball by simply keeping their head coach.of kentucky wildcats After John Calipari left the program for Arkansas, Scott Drew was the clear top option, but after a brief flirtation, Drew decided to remain at Baylor, where he won the 2021 national championship. .
The Bears had to reload in the transfer portal after keeping Drew and graduating several key pieces of the rotation with two likely first-round picks in Jacoby Walter and Yves Missi. Baylor’s response was swift, and the portal got even better late Sunday night.
Baylor added perhaps its best player remaining in the transfer portal by securing a deal from Norchad Omie.former miami hurricanes The big man is a skilled interior scorer, a great rebounder, a great screen setter and extended his shooting range beyond the 3-point line for the Hurricanes last season.
Even better, Omie chose Baylor despite having more lucrative NIL offers from other programs. He chose the Bears over Louisville, Arkansas, Clemson, St. John’s and others. Baylor landed him without throwing as big a bag as possible.
Omie declared for the 2024 NBA Draft. Couldn’t get invite to combine. He will likely be playing at Baylor again next season, and his addition will make the Bears one of the top teams in the country.
Omie is Baylor’s second major addition to the transfer portal, joining Duke’s Jeremy Roach last month. Like Omie, Mr Roach’s NIL payments were also a major point of speculation. There were online reports that Roach left Duke after signing a $1.5 million NIL contract with Baylor. Roach immediately shot it down.
Omie is No. 5 overall player to enter the transfer portal this offseason Men’s College Basketball by 247Sports. Roach and Omie have established themselves as the best one-two punch in the portal this offseason.
The largest NIL amounts announced so far in the transfer portal were Oumar Baro’s $1.2 million contract with Indiana and Jonel Davis’ “more than $1 million” contract with Arkansas. It’s possible Omaye, who averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds per game for Miami last season, could have earned that kind of money elsewhere, but apparently that didn’t happen at Baylor.
Following Omie’s involvement, college basketball insider Jeff Goodman said: He listed Baylor University and the University of Alabama as programs that can acquire players without spending a lot of money. In NIL. If that’s true, Baylor has assembled a hell of a freshman without paying top dollar.
Baylor has a top-five pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, which could include New York-raised shooting guard VJ Edgecomb. Edgecomb is an elite athlete who can lock down on defense and finish plays above the rim on offense. Last summer, we ranked him as one of the best NBA prospects in high school basketball. He could be in a position to succeed by joining a veteran team.
Baylor just added Roach and Omie to transfer candidates and retained some of last season’s best players. Jayden Nunn is a formidable 6’4 shooter who will be a huge help as a winger. Langston Love is a talented scoring guard who was slowed last season by injury, but could emerge as the team’s leader in points per game this season.
Add in the return of freshman guard Robert Wright III and rising junior center Josh Ojanwuna, and Baylor looks to be one of the best teams in the country. The Bears are a little thin inside, but Omie gives them a small ball center option to spread the floor and allow players like Edgecomb to attack the basket.
Drew decided to remain at Baylor. Because he already knew he could become a national champion at Baylor. He put the Bears in position to contend for another championship with his expert work in the transfer portal.
