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Welcome to The Oso!
(Plus Baylor in "The Game", PodcastDelOso, & Bears in Summer League)
Matt Wilson, Peter Pope & Michael Nichols
July 18, 2024
Table of Contents
Welcome to The Oso!
When SBNation gave us word that they would no longer be “investing” in OurDailyBears.com as a site, we had already been planning what the next version of this community would look and feel like. We knew that we had the opportunity to create something even more dynamic, fun, and uniquely ours.
Our goal remains unchanged from the days of OurDailyBears.com:
Create the most inclusive, free, and FUN Baylor sports fan community on the internet.
So please share, join the Discord, and welcome!
-Oso Media Group Staff
Coach isBear or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Game
I struggled to come up with words describing my emotions as I loaded up a Baylor vs Baylor practice mode in EA College Football ‘25 on my PlayStation 5 Monday afternoon. It didn’t quite compare to the birth of my first child, but (wife don’t read this) it certainly felt similar in potency to the birth of my third.
I don’t think “joy” encompasses everything that shot through my head and heart as I completed my first pass. “Excitement” was certainly a large percentage of the feelings cocktail. I guess most succinctly put, it felt like finding a piece of a jigsaw puzzle long lost under the couch, and placing it directly into the perfectly fitting void. “Relief” might be sprinkled in there.
“We are SO BACK,” I yelled at my camera and the 7 people watching on Twitch.com.
61-58 is on the screen if you pick Baylor as your favorite team 😭
— Joe Goodman (@the_joe_goodman)
8:13 PM • Jul 15, 2024
After a few snaps in practice mode, I loaded up an exhibition game (Baylor vs Baylor, of course) but in a National Championship presentation in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. I am happy to announce that Baylor did win a National Championship, and the resulting trophy ceremony was magical.
They’ve dined at Magnolia Table, they’ve ridden the boats down the Brazos…
In hindsight, it shouldn’t have taken me almost 2 hours to play a game in McLane Stadium. But when I did, it felt… like home.
First look at the #Baylor Bears entrance into McLane Stadium in EA College Football 25.
No Baylor Line but still pretty awesome. #SicEm
— Grayson Grundhoefer (@GrayGrundhoefer)
10:01 PM • Jul 14, 2024
No, there wasn’t a Baylor line rushing onto the field. (But Baylor has said that EA is working on it.) But everything else was exactly as I and many had hoped. And hope was all gaming Baylor fans could do - this was our first exposure to a digital version of McLane Stadium. But it delivered.
The game plays exactly how it feels to be a college football fan. You feel the larger gap between future-NFL players and walk-ons. You feel the speed of a college hurry up offense. You feel the pure chaos of 18-22 year old’s playing the game as… well 18-22 year old’s - blown coverages, missed blocks, laser throws directly into the blue tent. But you also feel the pinpoint accuracy of a Senior quarterback, the snap of a perfectly-timed juke move, the ground shaking as the pile gets pushed into the endzone. The balance is impeccable.
It didn’t take long for me to create my own digital avatar as the Head Coach of the Baylor Bears in Dynasty mode. (Yes, obviously, you can somewhat tweak the coach’s appearance. Yes, obviously, I made him 5’5”. Yes, obviously, I made him the maximum weight of 400lbs.)
When I played college football games in my youth, I would always simulate all of the recruiting tasks that the game had to offer. Heck, even presently, I sim a good 65% of a Madden season just to get to the actual football. But CFB ‘25 has segmented and rationalized the recruiting functions in a way that makes it feel… somewhat even more of the game than the football itself.
Recruits respond well to early scholarship offers, get offended if you invite them on campus at the same time as a rival at the same position, and LOVE it when you “Send the House” in terms of effort.
Local recruits sometimes want to stay local, 4-star skill position players often want Brand Exposure, and many prospects have a “Dealbreaker” attribute that will disqualify you and your school from even approaching them.
Playing the game is good. I think we all had pretty high expectations, and kudos to EA, but they managed to meet them.
But I had no expectation of this: Playing the game reconnected me to the Baylor football program. I instantly learned new player names and attributes. I started visualizing what the different formations and plays would look like in the calendar year of 2024. I became excited again, even after everything that has transpired over the last decade. I started looking forward to Baylor Football again.
The game is good. The game is real good.
PODCASTDELOSO
00:00 - Welcome to PDO!
05:02 - Uniform Talk
12:33 - Preseason Media Poll: Baylor @ #12
22:54 - Media Days!
1:00:58 - Recruiting Update 1:15:49 - EA Sports College Football is BACK!
1:25:30 - Outro
Bears In the NBA Summer League
Michael Nichols @pckt_chng
Baylor has a strong representation this summer league, with a mix of young guys hoping to prove themselves and some more veteran players fighting for an end-of-rotation spot.
One-and-dones Yves Missi and Ja’Kobe Walter both seem to be easing into things. Missi has thus far focused on being the energy big he was projected to be (20 minutes, 8 rebounds, and 4/4 from the free throw line) when the New Orleans Pelicans selected him 21st, while Walter is still trying to find the balance between team and individual success (+20 in game 1, but only 5 points on 9 shots) on a Toronto Raptors team that is somewhere between rebuilding and play-in aspiring.
Their former teammates RayJ Dennis (LA Clippers) and Jalen Bridges (Phoenix Suns) are hoping to secure opportunities beyond this summer, though it remains to be seen. Dennis was his usual steady-distributing self: only 5 points, but 7 rebounds and 8 assists, with a block and a steal to compliment. Bridges, on the other hand, was 1 of 3 3pt-shooting against the Warriors is fine for a first game. For him to stick with a team the caliber of the Suns, though, he’s going to need to flash bigger shooting from deep and more impactful defense. The Suns were -20 with him on the floor.
Unsurprisingly, Keyonte George looked just like himself for the Utah Jazz: willing to fire (18 FGA), capable of going off (30.5 ppg), but not terribly efficient (39 FG%, 4.5/5 assist/turnover). He’s a genuine NBA player who could grow into a star. He played in the Salt Lake City League and appears to be on ice in Vegas. George is the only Bear to appear in Summer League who is clearly a big piece of his team’s future.
You might be delighted to hear of some other Bears of yester-year. Freddie Gillespie continues to fight for his place, this time with the Memphis Grizzlies. He averaged 17.5 minutes, 3 points, 5 boards, and 1 block in the Salt Lake City League. Former backcourt partners James Akinjo and Adam Flagler are both on rosters, though Akinjo’s small minutes for the Bucks in game 1 isn’t encouraging for his odds. Flagler has had games of 18, 23, and 20 so far, but being on the Oklahoma City Thunder means there is a very high bar to clear for NBA minutes. Their old teammate Kendall Brown, still with the Indiana Pacers, seems to still be more athletic promise than refined game (18 minutes, 4 points, 2 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 turnovers, +5 || 20% FG / 50% FT / 0% 3PT in his lone game so far). Jared Butler had a nice Summer League last season, but rode the bench in the Washing Wizards first game.
The name I saw that floored me? Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. is still out here, y’all. He averaged 16 points in 3 games for the Sacramento Kings, adding 7.7 rebounds, 1.3 blocks, and a solid +14 plus/minus. Last spring, Lual-Acuil joined the Basketball Africa League where he set a league record for points in a game (42), won both MVP and DPOY, and led the league in scoring (21.1). Big Jo is set to play in Australia next season but would undoubtedly love an opportunity to play in the League.
Drama From the OsoMedia Discord: #introduce-yourself
A user in the OsoMedia Discord server gave a simple response of “Shouts to Men of Martin” to a new user introducing themselves this week.
I, naturally, had to escalate the situation by responding with,
Unfortunately, but also thankfully, nobody really took the bait and the conversation moved elsewhere.
But I can’t let it stand. Martin Men, Penland Men, send in your stories from the dorms. DM them to me on Discord or send them in a reply to this email. I will share the best ones (read: the ones that make Martin look best and/or Penland look worst).
We’ll see who doesn’t take the bait NOW.