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Red wrote:Baker seems like a good kid and he's a fine representative of the Valley, but I've never watched him play and said "wow, he looks like an NBA player".

If you watch his NCAA games, you can see it. Not lottery pick stuff, for sure, but definitely potential. A big part of that is because he has been most healthy during the 2 NCAA tournaments. I think his biggest problem is that he doesn't fit very perfectly into an NBA position, unlike Early.

Ron Baker doesn't belong in the NBA like Fred Hoiberg didn't belong in the NBA.

Red wrote:Baker seems like a good kid and he's a fine representative of the Valley, but I've never watched him play and said "wow, he looks like an NBA player".

I have a feeling you'll have a lot of opportunities to say that next year with him as the best scoring option

Depends on how good he gets at the point moving forward. And whether his perimeter game continues to improve. I have little doubt he'll be drafted at the end of his time at WSU if he stays healthy, but there's a pretty huge range he could be drafted in depending on his progression.

Compare him to a Kirk Hinrich type of player who has hung onto the NBA for a lot of years. They are good athletes although not great athletes. They are really good shooters who can also drive the basketball and have a nice mid range game. I predict that Baker will get his 3pt. Shooting % to 40-45% this year and FT % to close to 90%. His BB IQ is extremely high. He plays very good defense. His team comes first and all he does is WIN. He makes few turn overs, and handles the ball nicely. While he won't be a star, theses attributes make for a 10 year NBA career.

Baker struck me as an NBA caliber player beginning in the tournament last year and throughout this year. Good shooter with NBA range, good ball handler, physically strong, smart, etc. There really aren't any weaknesses in his game.

I thought there were several times this year when he took over the game on offense when he needed to. I remember one game (maybe at SLU?) where he looked pretty unstoppable. I agree that I think we'll see more of that this year.

nm

Baker is far more of an NBA type player than McDermott

uniftw wrote:Baker is far more of an NBA type player than McDermott

muahahaha you guys crack me up! You realize he will be playing in Europe like the rest of the former MVC players, right? There are only 2 players in the whole NBA that are from the MVC & they both avg. less than 9 minutes a game.

You're right. 0% chance Cleanthony Early gets drafted either.

Play Angry wrote:You're right. 0% chance Cleanthony Early gets drafted either.

Obviously, Early will get drafted. I was basing my information off of the current NBA rosters. But your 0% is relevant. 0.6% = the MVC representation NBA (That number includes Early)