Sports

Well-traveled Baker making a home at Northwestern State

Devon Baker had only returned home from college for a short time when his phone rang with a challenge. On the other end was Derrick Lawson, the Northwestern State guard’s friend and basketball mentor growing up in the South Bronx.

“I called him [Wednesday] and told him, ‘Let me see how good you really are,’” said Lawson, who has know Baker since he was in high school. “Come out here and get some good competition.”

Here was New York City’s most storied playground Rucker Park, where Lawson coaches Primetime in the Entertainer’s Basketball Classic. Baker, whose neighborhood nickname is Young Kobe, accepted and didn’t disappoint. It took him awhile to find his stoke, especially not shooting too much in the early quarters, but by the fourth he caught fire. Baker scored all 13 his points in the final frame and drilled three 3-pointers to help Primetime pull away to beat Each One Teach One on Wednesday night.

“If it feels good just let it go,” the 6-foot-1, 185-pound guard said.

Added Lawson: “I was really impressed with his fourth quarter.”

Baker is no stranger to late heroics. The junior, who transferred to Northwestern State from Howard Junior College in Texas last year, had one of the biggest shots of the season for the Demons. With 3.4 seconds left in the first overtime in an early season game against rival Nichols State, Baker took an inbounds pass about 30 feet up court and then went coast-to-coast for a finger-roll layup that beat the buzzer to force a second overtime in an eventual 99-98 win.

“The gym was going crazy,” Baker said. “It was a lot of fun the next day in class I’ll tell you that much.”

He scored 17 points in that game, averaged 14 points per contest and started 19 times last season. Northwestern State, located in Louisiana, went 10-19 and 5-11 in the Southland Conference, which Baker wants to win next year. The Demons have made two prior NCAA tournament appearences.

At Howard, he led the team to a combined 48-11 record over his two seasons. He averaged 13.6 points per game and was named first team All-Western Junior College Athletic Conference. He spent two years of high school at St. Raymond before transferring to Columbus.

“I want to keep playing,” Baker said of playing streetball. “I’m out here to have a good time, shape, get a good sweet and work on my game.”

Baker isn’t sure if he is going to play any other streetball leagues just yet, but it’s hard to think he won’t add a few more. Lawson said you used to have to kick Baker out of Junior High School 139 as a kid when he wanted to play in the adult league because he didn’t want basketball interfering with his academics. He believes playing on the streetball circuit will be a great help as Baker prepares for his senior season.

“The confidence will help him big time,” said Lawson, who also coaches the Murry Bergtraum boys basketball team. “It has to help him develop. You are going to play against the toughest guards on the circuit. He has the potential to do a lot better than he is doing now. He is really good.”