5 has always been one of my favorite numbers … 5 or 55. Maybe it’s because Johnny Bench wore number 5 when he was the All-Star catcher on the Big Red Machine (Cincinnati Reds in the early to mid 1970s). Maybe it’s because Roger Goree wore number 55 when he was about the only All-American in football at Baylor University during the same period. (I think Baylor football won three games in three years … but none of that can be attributed to Mr. Goree.)
Five years ago, in 2003, Baylor men’s basketball was in terrible shape. Carlton Dotson murdered teammate Patrick Dennehy that summer. The investigation into the murder highlighted numerous problems. The basketball coach and athletic director were either fired or resigned.
The NCAA did not give the program the death penalty. But, for the 2005-06 season, the team was not allowed to play any non-conference games. The season opener was in January when Big XII play tipped off.
Ian McCaw was hired to become the new athletic director, and Scott Drew took on the task of rebuilding the men’s basketball program. Dana O’Neil has written a beautiful piece describing the history in more detail.
Five years after that terrible 2002-03 season, Baylor cracked the top 25 (25 is 5 squared) for the first time in forty years. Then they had to travel to College Station, Texas, to take on the higher ranked Aggies who were playing at home.
The game went into 5 overtimes … Dick Vitale has called it a leading contender for Game of the Year.
Who knows where the season will end up. I think it would be poetic if Baylor is a 5-seed in the NCAA tournament.
The lesson here for all of us is that good things truly can rise from the ashes. My prayer for each of us today is that we can draw strength and hope from our past and look ahead to good things.
Blessings, SCW
