Horatio Alger has nothing on Lawrence Roberts and John Lucas.

A year ago, Roberts and Lucas were part of a Baylor University men’s basketball team that was ragged even before the school’s headline-making scandal surfaced.

Now, the two former Bears are working hard and reaping their American dreams.

Roberts and Lucas were the best players on a mediocre Baylor team that finished 5-11 record in the Big 12 Conference. Roberts was named a third-teamer on the all-league ballot; Lucas earned an honorable-mention spot.

Today, Roberts and Lucas, juniors from the Houston area, are playing for top-10 teams and are among the leading candidates for player of the year in their conferences.

Take that, Horatio.

The 6-foot-8 Roberts is the ringleader of a surprising Mississippi State team that has climbed to No. 4 in the polls. And the 5-11 Lucas has been the catalyst for Oklahoma State’s climb to the No. 7 slot.

All in all, you have to wonder if Lucas and Roberts really are that much better players now that they no longer wear Baylor green. Have they improved that much, or were the two simply the right players in the right place at the right time? I have to believe the latter.

At Baylor last season, Roberts averaged 15.6 points and 10.4 rebounds a game. His rebound total was the second best in the league behind Texas’ James Thomas. This year, Roberts is averaging 17.2 points and 10.0 rebounds, so his scoring is up marginally and his rebounding is virtually the same.

Mississippi State's Lawrence Roberts, left, is pressured by South Carolina's Rolando Howell, right rear, and Tre Kelly. Roberts, shown Feb. 11 in Columbia, S.C., has helped the Bulldogs to a 21-1 record and No. 4 ranking after transferring from Baylor.

What about Lucas? The latest Big 12 stats show Lucas is averaging 13.2 points and 4.36 assists per game. With Baylor last season, Lucas scored at a 14.3 clip and averaged 4.68 assists. On paper, then, his numbers are actually down this year, but that’s splitting hairs.

So Roberts and Lucas basically are the same players — at least statistically — they were last year. Why then are they receiving so much credit for the ascension of Mississippi State and Oklahoma State to unexpected top-10 status? Mostly because each was a missing ingredient.

Few realized Lucas was exactly what the Cowboys needed. I know I didn’t. And neither did the preseason poll voters, who tapped the ‘Pokes to finish fifth in the league. O-State won’t finish fifth, that’s for sure. In fact, only disaster can prevent them from winning the Big 12 regular-season championship.

When I saw Lucas play for Baylor, I categorized him as undersized, an inconsistent defender and a spotty three-point shooter. Lucas is still undersized and his defense isn’t all that spiffy, but he seems to be a more selective shooter now. Mostly, though, he has a much better supporting cast than he had at Baylor.

As you may know, Lucas would not be playing for Baylor and Roberts for Mississippi State if not for the egregious NCAA violations attributed to former coach Dave Bliss. Based on Baylor’s indiscretions, the NCAA waived its rule that requires transfers to sit out a year.

Moreover, in the case of Lucas, league fathers waived the rule that costs a transfer a year of eligibility if he goes to another Big 12 school. You’ll recall Luke Axtell had to sit out a season and lost a season of eligibility when he transferred from Texas to Kansas a few years ago.

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Guard Kenny Taylor, Baylor’s fourth-leading scorer a year ago, qualified for the same waiver when he shifted to Texas. He has been a contributor at UT, although nothing like Lucas and Roberts.

Kansas basketball fans, aware of the Axtell situation and smarting that Oklahoma State has blossomed with Lucas, could feel the Big 12 is guilty of imposing a double standard that benefited OSU and victimized Kansas, even though Axtell never turned out to be the player everyone thought he would be.

Both the NCAA and Big 12 transfer rules are archaic and should be junked. They apply only to football and men’s basketball which makes them, in my opinion, capricious and discriminatory.

Lucas, Roberts and Taylor should have been allowed to transfer with impunity, not because of waivers.

Oklahoma State guard John Lucas celebrates after a victory over Oklahoma. Lucas, whose Cowboys beat the Sooners, 65-52, Monday in Norman, Okla., has emerged as a vital player for OSU after transferring from Baylor.