Young Cagers Score High In Conference Honors

With high hopes of returning to postseason play this year, the men's basketball team lost seven games down the stretch to finish at 14-16 overall, 4-12 in Big 12 play. A tough 74-73 overtime loss to Kansas State in the Big 12 Conference tournament ended Baylor's season.
The Bears' young team, however, shows promise for a bright future. Freshmen forward Lawrence Roberts and guard John Lucas earned All-Freshmen Big 12 honors on elite teams picked by the league's media and The Associated Press.
Additionally, Roberts garnered second-team All-Big 12 recognition from the Dallas Morning News and third-team mention from the AP. The Houston native became only the third Baylor player to receive All-Big 12 status, joining current NBA players Brian Skinner and Terry Black.
Roberts set a Big 12 freshman record for points in a season, scoring 498 to break the previous mark of 474, and he finished just 10 rebounds away from the freshman record of 257.
Lucas, another Houston native, finished 24th in the Big 12 in scoring (13.9), 10th in assists (4.0), 14th in steals (1.4) and 11th in 3-pointers (2.0). He twice was named Big 12 Rookie of the Week.
Coach Dave Bliss' three true freshmen -- Roberts, Lucas and Kenny Taylor -- made an immediate impact, combining for 42 percent of the team's points, 31 percent of the rebounds, 35 percent of the steals and 32 percent of the assists.
In addition, four Baylor players earned 2002 Academic All-Big 12 Team membership, the most from Baylor since the conference began in 1996-1997. Sophomore Logan Kosmalski was selected to the first team while junior Andre White and seniors Chad Esley and Kevin Henry were named to the second team.