There has been a lot of discussion about the length of the players Tang and his staff have signed (and targeted), so I was curious about Baylor's roster make up over the last dozen or so years after the Bears became a consistent tournament team. I'm not sure how much influence that is having on recruiting on top of dealing with NIL and recruiting for to a new spot without a proven track record, but I have to think the length Baylor often played with factors in. I'm sure Tang would love to have a trio of elite guards like Butler, Mitchell, and Teague, but that was really the only time the Bears had a true 3 guard line up outside of one transitional season in 2013. Even guys like Wainright and Vital at 6-5 playing the 3 were undersized forwards as much at they were true swing players.
The labeled positions are the players with the most starts listed in order by height, then the top 3 bench players are listed in order by height.
By comparison, here is what K-State has so far in addition to guys that have visited (that can play next season and if indeed Wahab made it last weekend). Regardless, 7-8 of the guys that have visited are 6-8 or bigger, so the preference for a longer team seems pretty clear so far. Even last year, Baylor often rolled with a big line up, though part of that was Cryer's injury plagued year.
This is why I've mentioned that I could see Tang going back to some of the zone defenses we saw at Baylor over the years, but we'll see. Last year they managed to play no middle with 3 guys 6-8 or bigger much of the time, though Brown and Sochan were pretty talented guys. Still, the video below may be worth a watch.
The labeled positions are the players with the most starts listed in order by height, then the top 3 bench players are listed in order by height.
| Year | PG | SG | SF | PF | C | Bench | Bench | Bench | Result |
| 2010 | Carter 5-11 | Dunn 6-4 | A Jones 6-10 | Udoh 6-10 | Lomers 7-1 | Walton 6-1 | Dennis 6-5 | Acy 6-7 | 28-8, 3 Seed, Elite 8 |
| 2011 | Walton 6-1 | Dunn 6-4 | Acy 6-7 | A Jones 6-10 | P Jones 6-11 | Love 6-3 | Ellis 6-6 | Morgan 6-11 | 18-13, NIT |
| 2012 | Jackson 5-10 | Heslip 6-2 | Acy 6-7 | Q Miller 6-9 | P Jones 6-11 | Walton 6-1 | Jefferson 6-9 | A Jones 6-10 | 30-8, 3 Seed, Elite 8 |
| 2013 | Jackson 5-10 | Walton 6-1 | Heslip 6-2 | Jefferson 6-9 | Austin 7-1 | Franklin 6-2 | Bello 6-4 | Gathers 6-8 | 23-14, NIT Champ |
| 2014 | Chery 5-11 | Heslip 6-2 | O'Neale 6-6 | Jefferson 6-9 | Austin 7-1 | Franklin 6-2 | Prince 6-7 | Gathers 6-8 | 26-12, 6 Seed, Sweet 16 |
| 2015 | Chery 5-11 | Medford 5-10 | O'Neale 6-6 | Gathers 6-8 | Motley 6-9 | Freeman 6-3 | Prince 6-7 | Wainright 6-5 | 24-10, 3 Seed, 2nd Rnd |
| 2016 | Medford 5-10 | Freeman 6-3 | Wainright 6-5 | Prince 6-7 | Gathers 6-8 | McClure 6-3 | Lindsey 6-5 | Motley 6-9 | 22-12, 5 Seed, 1st Rnd |
| 2017 | Lecomte 5-11 | Freeman 6-3 | Wainright 6-5 | Motley 6-9 | Acuil 7-0 | McClure 6-3 | Lindsey 6-5 | Maston 6-7 | 27-8, 3 Seed, Sweet 16 |
| 2018 | Lecomte 5-11 | McClure 6-3 | Omat 6-9 | Clark 6-10 | Acuil 7-0 | Vital 6-5 | Lindsey 6-5 | Maston 6-7 | 19-15, NIT |
| 2019 | Mason 6-1 | McClure 6-3 | Vital 6-5 | Kegler 6-7 | Clark 6-10 | Butler 6-3 | Bandoo 6-3 | Gillespie 6-9 | 20-14, 9 Seed, 2nd Rnd |
| 2020 | Mitchell 6-2 | Butler 6-3 | Teague 6-4 | Vital 6-5 | Gillespie 6-9 | Bandoo 6-3 | Mayer 6-9 | Clark 6-10 | 26-4, COVID |
| 2021 | Mitchell 6-2 | Butler 6-3 | Teague 6-4 | Vital 6-5 | Thamba 6-10 | Flagler 6-3 | Tch-Tch 6-8 | Mayer 6-9 | 28-2, 1 Seed, Champ |
| 2022 | Akinjo 6-1 | Flagler 6-3 | Brown 6-8 | Mayer 6-9 | Thamba 6-10 | Cryer 6-1 | Tch-Tch 6-8 | Sochan 6-9 | 27-7, 1 Seed, 2nd Rnd |
By comparison, here is what K-State has so far in addition to guys that have visited (that can play next season and if indeed Wahab made it last weekend). Regardless, 7-8 of the guys that have visited are 6-8 or bigger, so the preference for a longer team seems pretty clear so far. Even last year, Baylor often rolled with a big line up, though part of that was Cryer's injury plagued year.
| Return | Nowell 5-8 | Massoud 6-9 | ||||
| Signed | Carter 6-3 | Finister 6-5 | Tomlin 6-8 | Manning 6-8 | Colbert 6-10 | |
| Visits | Davis 6-1 | Valencia 6-8 | N'Guessan 6-9 | Phillips 6-11 | Tchikou 6-11 | Wahab 6-11 |
This is why I've mentioned that I could see Tang going back to some of the zone defenses we saw at Baylor over the years, but we'll see. Last year they managed to play no middle with 3 guys 6-8 or bigger much of the time, though Brown and Sochan were pretty talented guys. Still, the video below may be worth a watch.
