By Jordan Sensi

Belgian guard Manu Lecomte ('95) has been among the best European players in NCAA so far, playing above expectations and establishing himself as a top backcourt prospect.

After two seasons at Miami (FL), he has transferred to Baylor to continue the program's solid tradition in point guards development: so far into the season, he's averaging 11.6 points and 5.4 assists per game, while shooting 36.8% from three and scoring 1.4 points per possession on spot-up situations, according to Synergy Sports Technology.

Baylor is entering into the Big XII conference season still unbeaten with a 12-0 record, and at the beginning of the month Lecomte has scored his career high 24 points in a crucial game against Xavier.
We've had the chance to talk with Manu for a little basketball chat.

It is your first season with Baylor after two years with Miami and a red shirt year. How are you adapting to your new team?
 
My adaptation with Baylor is going very well. The coaches and my teammates made me feel good and trusted me since day one and it helped me a lot. The fact I was a red shirt last season made my adaptation easier as well. I was on the bench for a year and watching the team helped me to understand their systems well.

What did you do during your red shirt season and what aspect of your game did you work on the most?

During my red shirt season I tried to work on every aspect of my game but my shot off the dribble and my shot in general were my main focuses.
 
What player is your inspiration?
 
I love watching Stephen Curry, Isaiah Thomas and Chris Paul but my favorite player since I'm a kid has always been Tony Parker, he has always been my inspiration.
 
Baylor is ranked #4 (as of 12/19), and still unbeaten after wins against solid programs like Louisville and Xavier for example. How do you explain this excellent start of the season?
 
We started the season very well thanks to great coaching and great chemistry. Everyone on the team gets along very well and everyone knows his role. Our bench is strong, we have 3 or 4 players able to catch on fire anytime and it helps us a lot. It makes it much easier for the other teams to defend on us.
 
Baylor got 7 players drafted in the NBA since 2010, Taurean Prince was a lottery pick last June and the Johnathan Motley's improvement is impressive. How do you explain Baylor develops its players that well?
 
Baylor develops its players very well because we have a great coaching staff being very demanding. They are very professional and know a lot about the NBA so it helps us a lot to develop since the NBA is the dream of most of the players.



Photo: baylorbears.com
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