Baylor Bears NCAA Basketball News

Malik Pope has been going a bit stir-crazy as his leg slowly mends, but he's had at least one visitor from the college ranks as he prepares for a July return.

Baylor has been the epicenter of college basketball roster changes in the past week, with players coming and going seemingly every day.

Former Baylor guard Deuce Bello transfers to Missouri. Bello played at Baylor for two years.

The feared tornadoes didn’t come Sunday evening. But the heavy winds, which split trees and downed power lines on both sides of the state line, sure did.

On one end of the spectrum, you have a school like New Mexico that lost its coach to UCLA a mere days after he signed a 10-year contract, while on the other end a school like Kentucky spent the spring months finalizing the commitments from approximately 300 5-star recruits.

Baylor has lost a couple of reserve guards in the last week, but Scott Drew and his staff are expected to fill the void by adding Royce O'Neale , a Texas native who averaged 11.2 points and 5.5 rebounds this past season for the University of Denver as a sophomore and could wind up being allowed to play this season for the Bears.

A source told ESPN.com that point guard L.J. Rose asked for and was granted his release during a meeting with head coach Scott Drew on Tuesday afternoon.

UConn landed a good one in Daniel Hamilton. Here's a collection of highlight reels that Scout.com has put together of the 2014 prospect.

Bello averaged 2.4 points and 1.4 rebounds as a sophomore in 2012-13, when he was primary used as a defensive stopper off the bench.

FRISCO, Texas --- North Carolina has begun to target Dallas Prime Prep's Elijah Thomas, one of the top post scorers in the 2015 class.

We again asked Reed Wallach, a Nets Daily member, to take a look at the Draft, this time a preview of the Group Workout to be held at the PNY Center May 22-23. Here's his report.

Apr 4, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Baylor Bears guard Pierre Jackson loses the ball against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the first half of the championship game of the 2013 NIT basketball tournament at Madison Square Garden.

HAMPTON, Va. -- There were a number of high level performances on day two of the EYBL Hampton event held at the Boo Willams Sportsplex.

Sometimes, having success is not enough for college basketball coaches to gain the high regard of their peers and hoops fans everywhere.

Three Kansas State men's basketball players - Thomas Gipson, D.J. Johnson and Jevon Thomas - will compete internationally this summer for two organizations, as they look to improve their skills for the 2013-14 season.

Former Baylor player Perry Jones III , who plays for the Oklahoma City Thunder, consoles Baylor Bears guard Odyssey Sims in the locker room after a loss to Louisville Cardinals at Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on March 31, 2013.

Former UCLA shooting guard recruit Allerik Freeman of Findlay Prep in the Las Vegas area, who signed a letter of intent in November but was granted a release as a result of the program's coaching change to Steve Alford, has committed to Baylor, Freeman's coach, Todd Simon told the Minneapolis Star Tribune .

The good news for Baylor: Isaiah Austin and Cory Jefferson are coming back. The bad news: Pierre Jackson isn't. Baylor will arguably have the best front court in the Big 12 with its two big men, but losing the conference's leading scorer and assist man will hurt.

The problem local hoop fanatics almost always encounter after the high school and college seasons are over in March is except for watching the NBA on television, the game takes a hiatus until late fall.

Brigham Young Cougars forward Brandon Davies shoots by Baylor Bears forward Cory Jefferson during the NIT Final Four in New York City Tuesday, April 2, 2013.