The college basketball world has never been surrounded with more uncertainty.NIL and the transfer portal are off thecharts,NBA draftees are returning to school, and the NCAA tournament is on the verge of expanding.
In the current landscape of thesport,the most decorated coaches across the nation are speaking out against the challenges that are being added tothealready difficult jobof a high-major head coach.Arkansas’John Calipari,Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, Kansas’ Bill Self, and Saint John’s Rick Pitino all havevocalized their distaste for the path that college basketball is currently traveling down.
Advertisement
Asthebestcoaches in the nation voicetheir distaste ofconstant NCAA rulechanges, reigning national champion Dusty May just set a standard for coacheswho are against the direction of the sport.May, this past week, left Michigan to become the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks and noted thewears of the sport on a head coach as his driving reason to jump to the highest level.
With the direction NIL and the transferportal areheading, itmay not be long until Baylor head coach Scott Drewlooks down the same roadas May.
Why Would Drew Leave for the NBA
Drew hasfaced the worst of the turmoil that is the NCAA’s mismanagement of college basketball when compared to other national championship winning coaches. The 2025-26 season aloneforced Drew’s hand to adapt to the world around him.
Advertisement
The roster turnover from the 2024-25 season, as the Bears brought 0% of their scoring into the offseason, proved to be one of the biggest tests of Drew’s career. Despite still producing a first round draft pick in Cameron Carr, this past season still ended with a sour taste in Drew’s mouth.
Coming off a season whereit seemedexperimentafter experimentfailed,the questionis raisedabouthow long Drew will keepbeingsowilling to adapt to the landscape of the sport.
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
A jump to the NBA for Drew wouldplace the Hall of Fame coach in a place where basketball is what matters most, and also a league where his analytics-driven approach would thrive.
Advertisement
Drew is notorious for prioritizing high-percentage shots andbasing his five on the floor on plus/minus distribution of value. ThewayDrew has managed and coached Baylor for the past two decades is a style that is currently dominating at the highest level.
Most notably, the2023 Denver Nuggets,the 2024 Boston Celtics, the 2025 Oklahoma City Thunderallwon NBA championships on the back of play styles that Drew has been producing at the collegelevelhis whole career.
Why Drew Will Stay at Baylor
At the end of the day Baylor basketball does not exist without Scott Drew.
We have seen Drew get offers to leave before, most notoriously with Kentucky in 2024 and North Carolina in 2026.Time and time again,Drewhasdoubled down and stayed committed to winning at Baylor.
Advertisement
While the world of college basketball gets messier every day,Drew has proventime and time again his willingness to adapt to change.
IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
While it was not what Drew and his staff nor Baylor fans were hoping for, the James Nnaji experiment this past season is proof of that.Baylor’s NBA draftee experiment, while a flaming failure,should be looked back on as a moment of reassurance.
Drew’s willingness to stay in Waco despite other offers,openly give a professional player ashot, andopenly requestmoreNIL tobuild a competitive roster should keep Baylor fans believing.
Baylor is farfrom donecompeting for conference and national titles, and Drew is far from done with Baylor.As the shape of college basketball continues to shift, Baylor’s captain at the helm is ready to weather whatever storm may come.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/baylor as College Basketball Changes Could Lead to Scott Drew’s Exit From Baylor.
