When Reed Baker got received the call informing him of his Michigan scholarship
offer late Tuesday morning, he could hardly believe his ears. He had already
suffered through so much disappointment, that the news seemed too god to be
true. The Fort Myers (FL) Bishop Verot standout had initially signed with The
Citadel in November, but the resignation of his would-be coach caused him to
reconsider. After being released from his letter of intent, he cast his lot
with Birmingham Southern in May. Shortly after making that decision he learned
that the program would be moving down from Division I to Division III during
his sophomore year. Baker once again obtained a release and was back on the
market. Air Force then came knocking with a scholarship offer, but he soon learned
that his peanut allergy would prevent him from being admitted into the Academy.
After going through all of that, Baker can hardly shake the shock from learning
that his circuitous journey is finally over.
"Oh man, it feels great," Baker exclaimed! "It still hasn't
really set in yet. I'm going to play in the Big Ten. It's a great conference
and I'm going to play at one of the best sports programs in the nations. Geez
man, words can't describe how happy I am right now!"
"I found out 11:00 Tuesday morning," Baker continued. "I got
home a 2:00 in the morning (from his visit to Michigan) and I had a good feeling
about things after talking to them when I left. My dad got a call from coach
Amaker, and him and coach talked for a while. I got a quick call from my father
early in the morning saying, 'Reed…HOLY COW…they're going to offer
you…they're going to offer you!' I was just like, 'WOW!' As soon I hear
that, I'm committed. Coach Amaker called a little later and made things official."
Baker reportedly received an endorsement from the Michigan players with whom
he played during an open gym on his visit. During those informal scrimmages
the youngster believes he displayed the skills that will make him valuable to
the Wolverines.
"They're bringing me up because I have good ball-handling skills,"
Baker explained. "Coach Amaker really likes my court savvy. I've got a
good basketball IQ. I come from a really good high school program with a good
coach so, I know how to play basketball. I just have a good knowledge of the
game. I can knock down open shots. I scored a lot in high school. That won't
be my role in college, but I can knock down open shots when they're there."
"They told me that they're short on point guards," continued Baker.
"I know they've got some really good guards there already, but they needed
another guy that could really be a good ball handler, a good distributor, have
a really good knowledge for the game, and have a good court sense. They saw
that in me. They saw the way I moved in my high school offense and the way I
scored through that. It's really similar to the way they run their offense and
their secondary breaks and stuff. I already have a feel for how they do things."
Baker indicated he will likely make his way to campus sometime within the next
week.
During his final prep campaign Baker reports he had averages of 23 points,
five rebounds, and five assists per game.