By ZACH SMART
Special to ZAGSBLOG.COM
Is Ian Baker his brothers’ keeper?
Baker, a junior guard at Arlington Country Day school in Jacksonville, Fla., is certainly keeping the Baker name intact on the court.
Seton Hall has recently offered Baker, a cerebral 6-foot-1 combination guard, a scholarship. Potential Division-I suitors such as West Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Kansas State have all expressed significant interest in Baker.
The youngest in a Washington, D.C.-bred clan of brotherly ballers, Baker has come into his own and opened eyes. He’s no longer the little kid in the stands, witnessing his older brothers ply their trade on the hardwood.
“He would be good in the Big East as well as any other conference in the country because he has that toughness running through his blood,” said Jeremy Baker, Ian’s older brother.
“Growing up and playing along the DMV landscape, being able to survive in that high-level basketball climate, he’s come a long way. It’s easy to get lost in the wind. But he has the older brothers there to push him to be the best and he takes pride in that.”
Baker may have all the essential attributes to evolve into the most promising of the hoop-crazed family.
The two Big East schools are currently the front runners, with ACC and CAA coaches additionally busting out a shed of recruiting tools to sell the kid from the burdensome basketball bloodline.
Two of Ian’s older brothers, Evann and Jeremy, played under former UConn assistant Tom Moore at Quinnipiac in the Northeast Conference. They helped the Bobcats earn a berth in the NIT for the first time in school history this season.
Ian’s other brother Travis is headed for the prep ranks after averaging 18 points, four dimes, and five boards at High Point High School in Beltsville, Md. Travis Baker earned All-County, turning in two 25-point performances against Oxon Hill.
Oxon Hill, as we know, is the alma mater of former Georgetown star Michael Sweetney and DeMario Anderson (Central Connecticut/Quinnipiac), whose scoring exploits have allowed his game to prosper over the waters.
Oh and while we’re on it, Baker’s other older brother, Corey, was the MVP at High Point in 2009 and recently accepted a scholarship at Garden City Community College in Kansas.
Jeremy Baker authored a memorable career at Garden City.
The JUCO All-American drained a number of clutch shots, handed out assists like a club promoter hands out flyers (early, often, and whenever he goes to work), and always handled the chore of clamping down on every All-American in sight.
So, is Ian Baker his brothers’ keeper?
As the youngest of the Baker boys, he’s got pairs and pairs of sneakers to fill. As his emergence as one of the more highly sought after recruits in the D.C.-area would indicate, the kicks are a perfect fit.
West Virginia assistant coach Larry Harrison appears high on Baker.
“Coach Harrison, he’s the one who contacted me first,” said Baker. “They started recruiting me after we played in a tournament down in West Virginia.”
“That’s when they first started recruiting me, so I guess I did something that caught their eye.”
Baker, taking after Jeremy, loves to create offense. He draws in the defense with his serious handle and precise, pinpoint passes. He embraces his role as a dish-first player, albeit Baker has found himself calling his own number and stuffing the score sheet as of late.
“I try to get everybody involved,” says Baker. “I realize that if nobody gets their scoring going, then I’ll try to take over with my own scoring.”
Baker transferred to Arlington Country Day from Proctor Academy in New Hampshire, where his second cousin (former UConn guard and 2010 NBA draft hopeful) Jerome Dyson played. If you get invited to an extended Baker family barbeque, bringing a Spalding would probably get you one of the first-cooked burgers.
“When it comes to basketball, since he was the baby and he got to see everybody go through, he’s got like a basketball old soul,” explained longtime D.C. basketball guru Walter Ray III, the founder and president of E.G.O.S. (Education, Goals, Opportunities In Sports).
“That’s what his strength is, experience. As far as talent goes, his talent is right there with the rest of them. He gets to kind of incorporate that into the wisdom and knowledge and experience thing that you get from having older brothers. That just adds to what he is, because most of these players now have robotic games. Now he can play instinctively. Like I said, he’s seen some of the best. I mean, he’s been out there with me getting his ass busted.”
Is Baker a Big East caliber baller?
“I’ve seen some 11-12th men (from the Big East) he’s better than, I’ve seen some starters he’s better than,” opined Ray. “Historically and currently, yeah. He can play in the Big East.”
Ray would know a thing or two about the Big East.
He’s nurtured the success of players such as Roy Hibbert and the aforementioned Dyson, both of whom were part of the E.G.O.S. program since elementary school.
Ray has also coached the likes of former George Mason guard Tony Skinn, the aforementioned Bakers, former NCAA scoring cyborg Rob Monroe (fourth in the nation in scoring his senior year at Quinnipiac), Binghamton’s Troy Hailey II, Jerome Habel (San Diego State), Steve Harley (Nebraska) and plenty others from Maryland/D.C.’s basketball real estate.
RECRUITING NOTES BY ALEX KLINE AND ADAM ZAGORIA
Rice wing Jermaine Sanders had an in-home Friday with Cincinnati coach Mick Cronin, the same day that Shaquille Thomas committed to Cincy on SNY.tv. “I had a visit with the Cincinnati staff,” Sanders told Alex Kline by text. “The visit went well, I loved everything about it.”…Seton Hall had in-home visits with Jarelle Reichel ’11 of N.J. & Jervon Pressley ’11 of N.C., recently…UNLV had an in-home visit Friday night with Naadir Tharpe ’11. Tharpe hosts N.C. State Saturday…Adonis Thomas is on an official visit to Tennessee this weekend amidst the news that the NCAA is investigating the school’s entire athletic program. Thomas will also visit Arkansas (Sept. 24), UCLA (Oct. 2), Florida (Oct. 9) and Memphis (Oct. 15)…Lionel Gomis is on an official visit to Siena this weekend…Kedren Johnson is on an official visit to Vanderbilt this weekend…Angelo Chol is on an official visit to Alabama this weekend…Goran Pantovic of Life Center (NJ) committed to Drexel…Perry Ellis & Julius Randle visit Oklahoma unofficially this weekend…Former Dartmouth commit Kyle Aiken, a 6-1 point guard, will take an unofficial visit to St. Peter’s next week…Jevon Thomas will return to Our Savior New American, rather than attending St. Benedict’s this year…Mikael Hopkins & Sam Thompson will take an official visit to Ohio State this weekend for the Miami football game. Jeremy Hollowell will be there, as well, for an unofficial visit…Hopkins has set up some in-home visits. He had one with Kansas & N.C. State earlier in the week. Next week, he will have in-home’s with Miami & Virginia Tech on Monday, West Virginia Tuesday & Texas Wednesday.
