Baker enjoying head start at Duke
Fayetteville native loving ‘every second’ of experience with Blue Devils
By Rodd Baxley
Staff writer FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER
Joey Baker isn’t a fan of summer school.
But in order to attend Duke University this fall and play college basketball for the Blue Devils under head coach Mike Krzyzewski, the Fayetteville native and former standout at Trinity Christian needed an English course to fulfill his high school requirements.
“At the time, I was like, ‘Ah, I gotta go to class when everybody else is out for summer,’” said Baker, who committed to Duke last October before deciding to reclassify in May to join the Blue Devils a year earlier than expected.
“Then, a couple of weeks later, I’m at Duke learning from Coach K and getting better with my teammates, bonding with them. In the long run, I knew what I was doing, so that just kept me going and motivated.”
The reassurance of that choice to join the Blue Devils’ 2018 recruiting class, heralded as the top group in the nation, came in August ahead of Duke’s threegame exhibition tour in Canada.
“After the first practice in Canada, Coach K came over to me and said, ‘You should be in History class right now,’” Baker said with a smile.
“I’ll just be in practice sometimes, Coach (Krzyzewski) will be talking to us, then I’m like, ‘I’m really here. I wasn’tsupposed to be here until next year. So yeah, it’s crazy.”
Baker, who was ranked No. 15 nationally in the class of 2019 by ESPN before deciding to sign with the Blue Devils in May, said the decision to join the 2018-19 squad became “an actual thing” in April during conversations with his family and the Duke coaching staff.
“I was ahead in classes and we felt like this would be the best move to help me prepare to get better every day,” he said.
So Baker, an 18-year-old, 6-foot-7 small forward, became the fifth piece to the nation’s top recruiting class, joining the top three prospects in the country — R.J. Barrett, Zion Williamson and Cam Reddish — and fivestar point guard Tre Jones.
Baker said he’s enjoyed playing with — and learning from — a group of guys that will likely hear their names called during the 2019 NBA draft. Barrett, Williamson and Reddish are projected to be top-5 picks next year.
“It’s been pretty cool,” he said.
“They’re special players on the court, obviously, but off the court they’re great people. If there’s something that they’re doing that I don’t understand they just come over and tell me.”
Baker got his first taste of life as a Blue Devil early in the summer during a not-so-normal trip to the mall with his freshmen teammates.
“It’s actually pretty crazy,” he said. “... Zion got stopped like every couple of steps. It took us a while to get through the mall that day.”Williamson remembers a fan stopping them and saying, “Are you guys the five Duke freshmen?”
“Joey’s right,” Williamson said. “We went to the mall our first week during the summer just to get around Durham. We went through like JCPenney. Through like two hours in the mall we got stopped every five or 10 steps.”
While he’s enjoyed bonding with his teammates off the court, Baker’s main focus remains on “just getting better.”
Before Duke’s trip to Canada, Krzyzewski said that Baker was moving too quickly as he tried to adjust to the speed of the college game.
“He’s doing well,” Krzyzewski said in August. “It’s a little bit fast for him right now. He’s got a great attitude; he’s going to be a great player. He’s just going a little bit faster than he should right now. That’s better than going slower. He’ll be a good player here. We’re very happy that he’s here.”
Baker didn’t play in the first game of the tour, but he made a splash in the final two contests with 21 points in 44 minutes off the bench. He scored 11 points in his first action and 10 in the final exhibition against McGill University. He knocked down 7 of 14 shots, including five 3-pointers, and gained valuable experience. Along with sophomore Alex O’Connell, Baker could be Duke’s biggest threat from behind the arc this season.”After the final game in Montreal, the whole team just went out and thanked the crowd,” Baker said. “That was a crazy experience just because I didn’t expect to be there. I thought I would be at home, going to school or something like that.”Baker credited the Blue Devils’ coaching staff and teammates with helping him adjust.“It wasn’t a super smooth transition,” he said.
“You’ve just got to kind of get used to it. I think I was going through that during the summer. It’s a faster speed, a lot more physical. But it’s been great. I’ve learned so much since I got here and I’ve gotten a lot better. As a team, we’ve been working hard in practice so it’s been awesome.”
As he thinks about his first game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, an exhibition on Tuesday against Virginia Union, the thought of summer classes will be a distant memory.
“I think I’ll be locked in, ready to play, but it’ll be surreal. It’ll be an exciting moment forsure,”he said.
“Honestly,it’s been awesome. I’ve just been learning from the coaching staff and the players here, on and off the court how things work. So
Fayetteville native loving ‘every second’ of experience with Blue Devils
By Rodd Baxley
Staff writer FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER
Joey Baker isn’t a fan of summer school.
But in order to attend Duke University this fall and play college basketball for the Blue Devils under head coach Mike Krzyzewski, the Fayetteville native and former standout at Trinity Christian needed an English course to fulfill his high school requirements.
“At the time, I was like, ‘Ah, I gotta go to class when everybody else is out for summer,’” said Baker, who committed to Duke last October before deciding to reclassify in May to join the Blue Devils a year earlier than expected.
“Then, a couple of weeks later, I’m at Duke learning from Coach K and getting better with my teammates, bonding with them. In the long run, I knew what I was doing, so that just kept me going and motivated.”
The reassurance of that choice to join the Blue Devils’ 2018 recruiting class, heralded as the top group in the nation, came in August ahead of Duke’s threegame exhibition tour in Canada.
“After the first practice in Canada, Coach K came over to me and said, ‘You should be in History class right now,’” Baker said with a smile.
“I’ll just be in practice sometimes, Coach (Krzyzewski) will be talking to us, then I’m like, ‘I’m really here. I wasn’tsupposed to be here until next year. So yeah, it’s crazy.”
Baker, who was ranked No. 15 nationally in the class of 2019 by ESPN before deciding to sign with the Blue Devils in May, said the decision to join the 2018-19 squad became “an actual thing” in April during conversations with his family and the Duke coaching staff.
“I was ahead in classes and we felt like this would be the best move to help me prepare to get better every day,” he said.
So Baker, an 18-year-old, 6-foot-7 small forward, became the fifth piece to the nation’s top recruiting class, joining the top three prospects in the country — R.J. Barrett, Zion Williamson and Cam Reddish — and fivestar point guard Tre Jones.
Baker said he’s enjoyed playing with — and learning from — a group of guys that will likely hear their names called during the 2019 NBA draft. Barrett, Williamson and Reddish are projected to be top-5 picks next year.
“It’s been pretty cool,” he said.
“They’re special players on the court, obviously, but off the court they’re great people. If there’s something that they’re doing that I don’t understand they just come over and tell me.”
Baker got his first taste of life as a Blue Devil early in the summer during a not-so-normal trip to the mall with his freshmen teammates.
“It’s actually pretty crazy,” he said. “... Zion got stopped like every couple of steps. It took us a while to get through the mall that day.”Williamson remembers a fan stopping them and saying, “Are you guys the five Duke freshmen?”
“Joey’s right,” Williamson said. “We went to the mall our first week during the summer just to get around Durham. We went through like JCPenney. Through like two hours in the mall we got stopped every five or 10 steps.”
While he’s enjoyed bonding with his teammates off the court, Baker’s main focus remains on “just getting better.”
Before Duke’s trip to Canada, Krzyzewski said that Baker was moving too quickly as he tried to adjust to the speed of the college game.
“He’s doing well,” Krzyzewski said in August. “It’s a little bit fast for him right now. He’s got a great attitude; he’s going to be a great player. He’s just going a little bit faster than he should right now. That’s better than going slower. He’ll be a good player here. We’re very happy that he’s here.”
Baker didn’t play in the first game of the tour, but he made a splash in the final two contests with 21 points in 44 minutes off the bench. He scored 11 points in his first action and 10 in the final exhibition against McGill University. He knocked down 7 of 14 shots, including five 3-pointers, and gained valuable experience. Along with sophomore Alex O’Connell, Baker could be Duke’s biggest threat from behind the arc this season.”After the final game in Montreal, the whole team just went out and thanked the crowd,” Baker said. “That was a crazy experience just because I didn’t expect to be there. I thought I would be at home, going to school or something like that.”Baker credited the Blue Devils’ coaching staff and teammates with helping him adjust.“It wasn’t a super smooth transition,” he said.
“You’ve just got to kind of get used to it. I think I was going through that during the summer. It’s a faster speed, a lot more physical. But it’s been great. I’ve learned so much since I got here and I’ve gotten a lot better. As a team, we’ve been working hard in practice so it’s been awesome.”
As he thinks about his first game at Cameron Indoor Stadium, an exhibition on Tuesday against Virginia Union, the thought of summer classes will be a distant memory.
“I think I’ll be locked in, ready to play, but it’ll be surreal. It’ll be an exciting moment forsure,”he said.
“Honestly,it’s been awesome. I’ve just been learning from the coaching staff and the players here, on and off the court how things work. So
