Baker fits Crimson needs
Junior starts to produce for Amaker’s crew
It’s been a bit more challenging for Robert Baker to gain his footing at the college level than he may have thought, but the Harvard junior’s persistence is finally paying off.
Baker was ranked as one of ESPN’s Top 100 recruits coming out of high school, and part of Tommy Amaker’s star-studded 2016 recruiting class. But as his classmates grew quickly into critical roles for the Crimson, inconsistencies plagued the 6-foot-11 Baker, who showed glimmers of his potential but struggled to earn significant minutes as a freshman and sophomore.
As a junior, though, he’s starting to show why he was so sought after in high school.
After starting three times over his first two seasons in Cambridge, Baker has started each of Harvard’s last six games, and he’s made Amaker’s decision look good. He’s been a force on the glass, and his length on defense has caused problems for opponents.
“It’s definitely rewarding,” Baker said. “It’s definitely what you work for, what you always worked for. So, it’s awesome. I just have to make sure I don’t get complacent and make sure I keep earning the right to be in that position.”
As Harvard struggled rebounding the ball midway through the season, Amaker looked for a way to shake things up and improve in that department. Before a game at Howard in January, he called on Baker to give the Crimson “a shot in the arm,” and he delivered immediately. He produced a double-double of 11 points and a career-high 13 boards in an 84-71 win.
In his run of starts, Baker has performed better than his career averages. He’s pulled down 7.8 rebounds in 26.6 minutes per game. In a triple-overtime win over Columbia last Friday, he had five blocks including a critical swat of Gabe Stefanini’s game-tying 3-point attempt in the waning seconds of the third overtime.
The Crimson are 5-1 since Baker was inserted in the starting lineup.
“We’ve all noticed a lot of potential in the last few years for Robert and I think he’d be the first to tell you that he wants to turn that potential into production, and I think you’re starting to see signs of that,” Amaker said. “I think that’s maturity, that’s growth and certainly for Robert, to stay committed to it when at times when he wasn’t playing much and he played here and there.
“It wasn’t that we were not liking him or not wanting to play him. His production wasn’t as consistent as we wanted it to be, and he’s had an opportunity now to show he’s capable of sustaining that and earning that, so I’m very pleased and proud.”
With scorers Bryce Aiken, Christian Juzang and Chris Lewis filling it up, Baker understands he doesn’t need to put up points to be productive. Amaker touted the energy he’s provided as a starter, and noted he’s become “one of our better, if not best, defensive rebounders,” which is exactly what the coach was looking for.
Baker admitted the beginning to his college career didn’t go exactly as planned, but he used it as motivation.
“It gave me something to work toward,” he said. “It’s definitely frustrating, because obviously you want to be out there and help your team win, but at that time, coach felt me being out there, getting starter minutes, wasn’t the right move to help the team win, and I understood that, and I understood that I had to get better and just improve to be out there.”
He’s done just that, and his development hasn’t been lost on his teammates, who are happy to see the big man rewarded with success.
“It’s been amazing to watch,” Aiken said. “We came in together and we all kind of had a different way of introducing ourselves to this program, and obviously just to see his growth as a player and as an individual is amazing, man. He’s definitely matured a ton and he’s being the player he’s supposed to be. Definitely the person that coach recruited him for.
“I don’t want anyone to ever think that Rob is an undervalued piece because just having him on the floor, his presence, his length and just his intensity is a blessing, and we’re all thankful for that and just to have him out there is a huge confidence booster for us and the whole program.”