GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - While much of the story in Green Bay's 71-69 win over
North Dakota State last Saturday was the play of seniors Rahmon Fletcher (Kansas City, Mo.) and Bryquis Perine (Milwaukee, Wis.), junior Steve Baker (St. Paul, Minn.) quietly had the biggest game of his
young Phoenix career.
In
a career-high 35 minutes, Baker posted career highs of 14 points and seven
rebounds while adding three assists and two blocks. He hit 5-of-7 shots from
the field and both of his three-point attempts, Green Bay's lone makes from
long range in the game.
After
Fletcher picked up his fourth foul and went to the bench with 10:43 to play,
Baker drilled his second three of the game to tie the score at 52-52. A few
minutes later, he put an end to a 9-0 NDSU run, and with just under four
minutes to play, he knocked down a pair of free throws to cut the deficit to
one.
"Bake
is just one of those high-energy winners," said head coach Brian Wardle.
"He is a tough kid who just knows how to make plays. He doesn't always do
everything technically right, and if you wanted to coach him technically you
could stop every practice and correct him, but you just have to let a kid like
that play, and he made some huge plays for us [against NDSU]. That is what he
does, and that is why he is on the floor."
While
he had a double-digit scoring effort against the Bison and is shooting 44.4
percent from three-point range this season, Baker's top priority for Wardle is
playing defense and rebounding. The junior college transfer regularly guards
the other team's best player, and as a 6-foot-2 guard who is often playing the
three, that often means giving up four to six inches to his opposition. Baker
welcomes the challenge.
"[Guarding
the other team's best players] is what I came here to do and what I ask to do.
Doing that night in and night out is only going to make me better in the
end," Baker said. "It is a challenge [guarding taller players], and
it can be tough when they want to post, but if they try to play on the
perimeter, that is to my advantage because I am quicker. Either way, I just try
to get stops."
While
Wardle has not yet handed out defensive assignments for Thursday's Horizon
League opener against Cleveland State at 7 p.m., expect Baker will at times try
his hand at slowing the conference's leading scorer, Viking guard Norris Cole.
At 6-foot-2, Cole will not have a size advantage on Baker but enters the
contest averaging 21.5 points per game.
Regardless
of the matchup, Fletcher knows Baker will be bringing his toughness while
trying to help the Phoenix start the Horizon League season at 1-0.
"He
is just a tough and physical player," said Fletcher. "He is a tough
defensive guy and that is what we need from him. He rebounds, he defends, and
he just gets the job done."
