Woj: Knicks sign Wichita State's Ron Baker to a partially guaranteed 1-year deal

[CJackson]

Ron Baker loves the gabbagool

[CBB_Fan]

Seen Baker probably close to a hundred times. If you are interested in an actual breakdown:

He played mostly a secondary scoring role in his first two years, letting Cleathony Early and Carl Hall/Malcolm Armstead take the majority of the defensive attention. In this role he was very efficient and took primarily catch-and-shoot 3s. As a junior and senior he shifted to a primary scoring role, where his efficiency dropped by a fair amount, particularly his last year. He did shoot pretty often from NBA range though, at a decent clip when uncontested.

He started shooting a lot of late in the shot clocks contested off-the-dribble threes, and turnaround 2s (this is not a BBIQ problem necessarily, Wichita State didn't have many guys that wanted to make shots so it just ended up in his hands). His efficiency in those shots was not particularly high and he is almost certainly better as a 3&D role player than as a primary scoring threat.

His defense was excellent. For instance, he led his team in blocks his junior year and averaged around 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. He had roughly average athleticism (below average for the NBA) in terms of ups, but decent lateral mobility and got most of his blocks running down people in fast break situations. His wingspan of around 6'10 is unusual for a white guy, most of whom seem to have a wingspan near their height or even T-Rex arms.

Why did he go undrafted? He had zero hype his freshmen year as a walk-on redshirt (and was injured), and didn't show massive improvements years 3-4. He's also old, even for a senior because he took a redshirt year. He has a good record playing with and against top college guards. In the Pan Am games, which are a little higher level than college, he out-performed every other college player playing for Team USA (Denzel Valentine and Malcolm Brogdan included) and was second only to Jamal Murray (#7 draft pick) in the field.

He's probably a fringe NBA level player with a ceiling of solid back-up or low-level starter, and no one wants to pick a 23 year old player like that. But for the Knicks, he probably is worth a shot. He theoretically fits the Steve Kerr role in a triangle offense, as his college career suggests he is most efficient in a low-usage, 3&D role. Not only does that fulfill a role, the Knicks need a little more guard depth (want to keep Rose healthy) and don't really have enough signed bodies as-is, so he'll probably get a few more chances than a normal UDFA.

Overall he's a funky looking guy that is old for a rookie, with a fairly low ceiling. But he probably will fit in to the best of his abilities in the role the Knicks look to play him at. And in some ways, he is better suited than a typical rookie. The age could be a bonus if you want to win this season, as the extra preparation means he might be able to easily slot into a back-up role, whereas a more talented/less polished recruit might get played for development, sucking as a back-up to justify possibly blooming into a starter.

And anyone that has looked at Jackson's old triangle offense teams can easily see that he likes having one white roleplayer that basically just shoots 3s when the stars pass it out.

[Mr_Perfect]

20 pages on Ron Baker. I assume most of it is trolling.

[El Poochio]

20 pages on Ron Baker. I assume most of it is trolling.

Yeah just look at the post above yours, what a troll

[Gus McCrae]

I'm a lakerfan, Knicks are my second favorite team as I have family in NY. Anyways, Baker was one of my favorite players to watch on the NCAA tournament the past few years. I'm hoping the best for him (and his teammate Cleanthony).

[JBreezeNY]

Seen Baker probably close to a hundred times. If you are interested in an actual breakdown:

He played mostly a secondary scoring role in his first two years, letting Cleathony Early and Carl Hall/Malcolm Armstead take the majority of the defensive attention. In this role he was very efficient and took primarily catch-and-shoot 3s. As a junior and senior he shifted to a primary scoring role, where his efficiency dropped by a fair amount, particularly his last year. He did shoot pretty often from NBA range though, at a decent clip when uncontested.

He started shooting a lot of late in the shot clocks contested off-the-dribble threes, and turnaround 2s (this is not a BBIQ problem necessarily, Wichita State didn't have many guys that wanted to make shots so it just ended up in his hands). His efficiency in those shots was not particularly high and he is almost certainly better as a 3&D role player than as a primary scoring threat.

His defense was excellent. For instance, he led his team in blocks his junior year and averaged around 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. He had roughly average athleticism (below average for the NBA) in terms of ups, but decent lateral mobility and got most of his blocks running down people in fast break situations. His wingspan of around 6'10 is unusual for a white guy, most of whom seem to have a wingspan near their height or even T-Rex arms.

Why did he go undrafted? He had zero hype his freshmen year as a walk-on redshirt (and was injured), and didn't show massive improvements years 3-4. He's also old, even for a senior because he took a redshirt year. He has a good record playing with and against top college guards. In the Pan Am games, which are a little higher level than college, he out-performed every other college player playing for Team USA (Denzel Valentine and Malcolm Brogdan included) and was second only to Jamal Murray (#7 draft pick) in the field.

He's probably a fringe NBA level player with a ceiling of solid back-up or low-level starter, and no one wants to pick a 23 year old player like that. But for the Knicks, he probably is worth a shot. He theoretically fits the Steve Kerr role in a triangle offense, as his college career suggests he is most efficient in a low-usage, 3&D role. Not only does that fulfill a role, the Knicks need a little more guard depth (want to keep Rose healthy) and don't really have enough signed bodies as-is, so he'll probably get a few more chances than a normal UDFA.

Overall he's a funky looking guy that is old for a rookie, with a fairly low ceiling. But he probably will fit in to the best of his abilities in the role the Knicks look to play him at. And in some ways, he is better suited than a typical rookie. The age could be a bonus if you want to win this season, as the extra preparation means he might be able to easily slot into a back-up role, whereas a more talented/less polished recruit might get played for development, sucking as a back-up to justify possibly blooming into a starter.

And anyone that has looked at Jackson's old triangle offense teams can easily see that he likes having one white roleplayer that basically just shoots 3s when the stars pass it out.

The Delly comparisons seem to be more & more true by the day.

It's eerie how much that sounds like Delly.

[Fat]

the moment of reckoning is nigh

[captvict]

Seen Baker probably close to a hundred times. If you are interested in an actual breakdown:

He played mostly a secondary scoring role in his first two years, letting Cleathony Early and Carl Hall/Malcolm Armstead take the majority of the defensive attention. In this role he was very efficient and took primarily catch-and-shoot 3s. As a junior and senior he shifted to a primary scoring role, where his efficiency dropped by a fair amount, particularly his last year. He did shoot pretty often from NBA range though, at a decent clip when uncontested.

He started shooting a lot of late in the shot clocks contested off-the-dribble threes, and turnaround 2s (this is not a BBIQ problem necessarily, Wichita State didn't have many guys that wanted to make shots so it just ended up in his hands). His efficiency in those shots was not particularly high and he is almost certainly better as a 3&D role player than as a primary scoring threat.

His defense was excellent. For instance, he led his team in blocks his junior year and averaged around 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. He had roughly average athleticism (below average for the NBA) in terms of ups, but decent lateral mobility and got most of his blocks running down people in fast break situations. His wingspan of around 6'10 is unusual for a white guy, most of whom seem to have a wingspan near their height or even T-Rex arms.

Why did he go undrafted? He had zero hype his freshmen year as a walk-on redshirt (and was injured), and didn't show massive improvements years 3-4. He's also old, even for a senior because he took a redshirt year. He has a good record playing with and against top college guards. In the Pan Am games, which are a little higher level than college, he out-performed every other college player playing for Team USA (Denzel Valentine and Malcolm Brogdan included) and was second only to Jamal Murray (#7 draft pick) in the field.

He's probably a fringe NBA level player with a ceiling of solid back-up or low-level starter, and no one wants to pick a 23 year old player like that. But for the Knicks, he probably is worth a shot. He theoretically fits the Steve Kerr role in a triangle offense, as his college career suggests he is most efficient in a low-usage, 3&D role. Not only does that fulfill a role, the Knicks need a little more guard depth (want to keep Rose healthy) and don't really have enough signed bodies as-is, so he'll probably get a few more chances than a normal UDFA.

Overall he's a funky looking guy that is old for a rookie, with a fairly low ceiling. But he probably will fit in to the best of his abilities in the role the Knicks look to play him at. And in some ways, he is better suited than a typical rookie. The age could be a bonus if you want to win this season, as the extra preparation means he might be able to easily slot into a back-up role, whereas a more talented/less polished recruit might get played for development, sucking as a back-up to justify possibly blooming into a starter.

And anyone that has looked at Jackson's old triangle offense teams can easily see that he likes having one white roleplayer that basically just shoots 3s when the stars pass it out.

Thank you for this research

[CJackson]

[BadNewsBarnes]

If Ron Baker had any idea what he has started here....

[MaseInYourFace]

20 pages on Ron Baker? lol y'all amazing.

[captvict]

The dude will be starting by March. Mark it down

[CJackson]

If Ron Baker had any idea what he has started here....

Ron Baker is All-Knowing

[CJackson]

The dude will be starting by March. Mark it down

Ron Baker shall shock the world

[Juggynaut]

He's going to be better than Thon Maker.

[CJackson]

He's going to be better than Thon Maker.

The air of ambiguity envelopes your statement like an odor of unknown origin

[BadNewsBarnes]

So All World is not big enough for him...

[Shadylove]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2238917-the-ultimate-shocker-how-ron-baker-went-from-walk-on-to-nba-prospect

I am rooting for this guy to make the team. The 30 for 30 will be fire

[Polk377]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2238917-the-ultimate-shocker-how-ron-baker-went-from-walk-on-to-nba-prospect

I am rooting for this guy to make the team. The 30 for 30 will be fire

The Wichita State coaches were first introduced to Baker at the program’s Elite camp in the summer after his junior year. Their eyes gravitated toward him at first, not because of his game, but because of his hair. He had a perm.

It's all in the doo....

[thebuzzardman]

He's going to be better than Thon Maker.

Baker>Maker