Biography
Baker Career Summary (2012-16):
An unheralded recruit from Western Kansas who blossomed into one of college basketball’s premier guards… Helped lead Wichita State to a golden age of prosperity with three conference titles and nine NCAA Tournament wins in four trips, including a 2013 Final Four appearance… A year later, played a key role on a 2013-14 Shocker squad that opened the year with a (then) national record 35-straight wins and claimed the program’s first-ever No. 1 seed… Alongside teammate Fred VanVleet, became the first Shockers in over three decades to be named first team All-Missouri Valley Conference in three-consecutive seasons… Earned John R. Wooden and USA Today All-America honors and was an honorable mention selection by the Associated Press as a junior in 2014-15… One of the most versatile guards to ever wear a Shocker uniform… Despite missing 20 games as a freshman to a stress fracture injury, finished high on WSU’s all-time list in nearly every meaningful category… Ended his career ranked in the top-10 in scoring (8th, 1,636 points), wins (5th, 106), three-point makes (2nd, 242), three-point attempts (1st, 655), assists (9th, 345) and steals (4th, 163)… Also ranked high on the list for field goals (11th, 522), free throws (11th, 350) and blocks (13th, 76)... Received little attention from D-I recruiters out of Scott City High School, where he was a three-sport standout… Began his career as a walk-on in 2011-12, agreeing to pay his own way for a season until a scholarship came open… Started the first 10 games as a redshirt-freshman season in 2012-13 before a December stress fracture injury but was cleared to return during the week of the MVC Tournament… Re-joined the starting lineup for the NCAA Tournament and provided a crucial spark, helping the ninth-seeded Shockers reel off four-straight wins to reach the Final Four… Picked up right where he left off as a sophomore in 2013-14, as WSU became the first team in 23 years to enter the NCAA Tournament with an unblemished record (34-0)… Averaged a career-high 14.7 points as a junior and led the Shockers to a third-straight 30-win season in 2014-15 with NCAA Tourney wins over Indiana and Kansas to reach the Sweet 16… Opted to forgo the NBA Draft for one last go-around in 2015-16 and once again led the team in scoring (14.1 points), while pacing the Shockers to a third-consecutive Valley title… Finished out his career with NCAA wins over Vanderbilt in the First Four and Arizona in the Round of 64… Team went 104-17 with him in the starting lineup… After missing the entire 2012-13 conference slate as a freshman, led WSU to an incredible 51-3 MVC mark over his final three years… Finished with 242 career three-pointers - just six triples shy of the school’s career record… Connected on at least one trey in 112 of his 124 games, toppling the old mark of 104… Owns the two longest three-point streaks in school history, hitting at least one trey in 27-straight games as a junior in 2014-15. He also had a 25-gamer as a sophomore. Prior to that, no other Shocker in history has had a string longer than 16... As an upperclassman, became just the 12th player in school history to tally 1,000-or-more points over a two-year span (1,007 from 2014-16)… Just the fourth Shocker to top 450 points in three-straight seasons, joining WSU greats Xavier McDaniel, Cleo Littleton and Cheese Johnson... Alongside VanVleet, has appeared in more NCAA Tournament games than any player in program history (13 in four trips) and is WSU’s career NCAA leader in several categories, including points (165), free throws (t-1st, 48), free throw attempts (t-1st, 57) and rebounds (74).
Team Success:
4 NCAA Tournament appearances (2013, 14, 15, 16)
2 NCAA Sweet 16’s (2013, 15)
1 NCAA Final Four (2013)
3 Missouri Valley Conference regular season championships (2013, 14, 15)
1 MVC Tournament championship (2014)
National Honors:
2015 John R. Wooden Award 2nd Team All-American
2015 USA Today 2nd Team All-American
2015 Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American
2015 Jerry West Award Finalist (shooting guard of the year)
2015 Lute Olson Award Finalist
2015 Oscar Robertson Award Finalist
2016 NABC Reese’s College All-Star Game selection
Regional Honors:
2x USBWA All-District VI (2015, 16)
3x NABC 1st Team All-District 16 (2014, 15, 16)
Conference Honors:
3x 1st Team All-Missouri Valley Conference (2014, 15, 16)
1x MVC All-Defensive Team (2016)
5x MVC Player of the Week
Team Honors:
2x Wichita Eagle Most Valuable Player (2015, 16)
2x Shafer Dart Most Inspirational Player (2014, 15)
1x Shocker Radio Outstanding Defensive Player (2016)
1x Ralph Miller Captain’s Award winner (2016)
Other:
Joined the 1,000-point club as a junior
2015 Pan American Games bronze medalist (United States)
2015-16 (Senior)
First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference for the third-consecutive year and named for the first time to the MVC’s All-Defensive Team… A USBWA All-District VI selection for the second time… Was one of 20 senior participants in the 2016 Reese’s College All-Star game at the Final Four in Houston and scored 14 points (4-of-7 from three) to go with six rebounds to help the West squad to an 89-85 win over the East.
Led the Shockers in scoring (14.0) and rebounding (4.8)… Averaged a team-high 31.6 minutes…Finished top-10 in the MVC in scoring (9th, 14.0), assists (5th, 3.2), free throw percentage (5th, .793), steals (4th, 1.5), three-pointers (5th, 64), blocks (t-10th, 21), assist-to-turnover ratio (2nd, 2.1), defensive rebounds (7th, 4.3).
In an NCAA First Four win over Vanderbilt, became just the eighth Shocker to top 1,600 career points… Knocked down a three-pointer in 32 of 35 games, and set a new WSU record with treys in 112 of his 124 career games (besting the old mark of 104 set by Randy Burns from 2001-05)… Matched his career-high with six treys against USC on 10 attempts... Hit five triples in an MVC quarterfinal win over Loyola to match WSU’s single-game MVC tourney record… Hit 21-straight free throws over a four-game stretch from Jan. 9-20…. Scored in double-figures in 28 of the 35 games and finished the year with a run of 13-straight double-digit performances… Matched his career-high with 42 minutes in an overtime battle with UNI in the MVC semifinals and snagged a season-high nine rebounds… Tallied five 20-point games during the season, including a run of three-straight in November with 23 at Tulsa (Nov. 17), 23 against Emporia State (Nov. 21) and 25 vs. USC (Nov. 26)…
Had one of the most clutch performances of his career in an MVC quarterfinal win over Loyola, with 13 of his 25 points coming in the final 5:34 to help WSU come back from a seven-point deficit…Just the second Shocker in the last 20 years to score 25+ in an MVC Tournament game… Had a career-high six steals in the Jan. 27 win over Loyola and had four thefts on three other occasions… Snagged at least five rebounds on 17 occasions... In the MVC semifinals vs. UNI, grabbed a season-high nine boards to become the 39th member of WSU’s 500-rebound club.
Opted to forgo the NBA Draft for one last go-around at WSU and was a trendy favorite for October accolades, landing on the Sporting News’ preseason All-America second team and the preseason All-MVC squad…
2015 Pan American Games:
Put on an impressive performance over the summer at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto, helping lead the United States to a bronze medal… Started all five games for the U.S. and averaged 8.0 points to go with a team-high eight steals... Played the entire second half of the bronze medal games and helped the Americans come back from 21 points down in the third quarter to defeat the Dominican Republic.
2014-15 (Junior): A John R. Wooden Award All-American who was a finalist for several national player of the year awards, including the Wooden Award, the Lute Olson Award, the Oscar Robertson Award and the inaugural Jerry West Award (top shooting guard)… Also earned second team All-American honors from USA Today and an honorable mention nod from the Associated Press… Repeated on the first team of the All-Missouri Valley Conference squad and finished runner-up in the conference player of the year voting… NABC’s All-District team and USBWA’s First Team All-District… A three-time MVC Player of the Week and the first Shocker since Xavier McDaniel to win the award five times in his career… Named WSU’s co-MVP and took home the Shafer Dart Most Inspirational Player honor for the second time at the team’s postseason celebration…
A statsheet stuffer who averaged a team-high 14.7 points to go with 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.8 blocks… As a shooting guard, led the team in defensive rebounds (157) and blocks (27)… Led the conference in three-pointers and ranked in the top 10 in percentage... Reached doubles figures in 31 of the team’s 35 games... Scored his1,000th career points on Feb. 7 in a home win over Missouri State... Tallied his first double-double with an 18-point, 15-rebound performance against Evansville on Feb. 22... Scored 19 second-half points in a win at Drake to open the MVC schedule... Averaged 12.3 points over three games to help the Shockers to a runner-up finish at the Diamond Head Classic and made the All-Tournament team...
Named First Team Preseason All-American by the Basketball Times… Made the Second Team in Sports Illustrated, Bleacher Report and USA Today’s preseason All-America listings with additional Third Team honors from Blue Ribbon and CBSSports.com… Honorable Mention Preseason AP All-American… Voted First Team Preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference by the league’s coaches, media and SID’s… Named one of the top 20 guards in college basketball by Sports Illustrated prior to the season… Spent the summer attending elite camps: Joined teammate Fred VanVleet at Chris Paul’s CP3 Skills Academy in August… In June, briefly guarded LeBron James while attending the Kevin Durant Skills Academy in Washington D.C… Also in June, appeared with teammates VanVleet and Tekele Cotton in throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at a Kansas City Royals baseball game…
2013-14 (Sophomore): One of three Shockers to earn First Team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors… Voted First Team All-Division 16 by the National Associated of Basketball Coaches… Winner of WSU basketball’s “Shafer Dart Most Inspirational Player Award”… Two-time MVC Player of the Week… Started all 36 games despite an ankle injury that hampered him throughout the year… Averaged 13.1 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists… Scoring average ranked 13th in the conference… Hit a team-high 68 threes on 179 attempts (.380), placing him fourth on WSU’s all-time single-season list… Led the team in scoring 10 times, including a career-high 26 points in a Feb. 16 win at Evansville that helped earn him MVC Player of the Week honors for the week of Feb. 10-16… Shared the team lead in rebounding (7.0) and was WSU’s second-leading scorer (13.5) during two NCAA Tournament games, hitting 9-of-15 from the field (.600) and 5-of-8 from deep (.625)… Appeared with teammates VanVleet, Cotton, Lufile and Early on the cover of the Feb. 24 edition of Sports Illustrated as talk of WSU’s unbeaten status gained increasing national attention… Hit 22-consecutive free throws and 33-of-36 over an eight-game run from Dec. 29 to Jan. 22…Went the entire season without missing more than two free throws in a game, knocking down 112-of-133 (.842) for the season, a percentage that ranked him third overall in the MVC… Quietly piled up 112 assists while serving as backup point guard for VanVleet, ranking fourth in the Valley in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.8)… Connected on at least one three-pointer in 34 of the 36 contests… Scored 20+ points in four straight games, beginning with a 21-point effort on Nov. 20 at Tulsa, followed by 21 vs. DePaul and 23 vs. BYU at the CBE Classic in Kansas City, and 22 at Saint Louis… Was 26-of-45 from the field (.578), 10-of-23 from deep (.435) and 25-of-28 at the line (.893) during that four-game stretch and earned MVC Player of the Week status (Nov. 25-Dec. 1)… Selected Preseason All-MVC selection by the league’s coaches, SIDs and media…
2012-13 (Redshirt Freshman): For the season, averaged 8.7 points and 3.2 rebounds in 18 games… Injured his foot 10 games into the year but returned in early March to help lead WSU on its run to the Final Four… Came off the bench for three games to get acclimated during the Valley Tournament before starting the final five NCAA Tournament games of the season … Averaged 11.0 points and 4.8 rebounds in NCAA play, shooting 40 percent (12-30) from the field, 42.9 percent (9-21) from beyond the arc, and 88 percent (22-25) from the foul line… Went a perfect 9 for 9 at the free throw line in the regional championship victory over Ohio State… Shared the team lead with 16 points in a tournament with over No. 1 Gonzaga… Got his first start since returning from injury against Pitt in the first round of the NCAA Tournament... Returned to practice the week of the Valley Tournament and averaged 19 minutes per game off the bench… Chipped in 9.7 points over the three games while shooting 50 percent from the field (10-20)… Notched his second double-figure game of the season in his first return game with 15 points against Missouri State ... Averaged 7.3 points and 2.6 rebounds while starting the first 10 games of the year… A stress fracture in his left foot sidelined him from game action from Dec. 18 to March 8 (21 games)… Team was 14-2 overall in 2012-13 with him in the starting lineup… Doing a little of everything, had nine points and two boards at VCU; eight points, five assists, and four steals against Tulsa; eight points, three rebounds, one assist, one block and two steals against Northern Colorado; and six points, four rebounds, an assist and a steal at Tennessee… In the first game of his Shocker career, against North Carolina Central, scored a season-high 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting, which included a 4-of-7 effort from the arc... Led team in scoring two times, the 18 in the season-opener and the 16 against Gonzaga.
2011-12 (Freshman): Added 12 pounds while working with the WSU strength and conditioning staff to go from 197 to 209… Requested a redshirt in order to get himself acclimated to college basketball… Appeared in one exhibition game against Emporia State, scoring six points in 16 minutes of action…
High School: Named 3A first-team all-State after leading his team to a 25-1 record and a state title... Helped the Beavers to a 58-11 three-year record while scoring 1,103 points... Averaged 20.4 points a game as a senior, 19.6 ppg as a junior and 9.5 ppg as a sophomore... Also averaged 7.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.0 blocks and 4.6 steals his final season... Scored the winning basket in the 3A title game with a put-back at the buzzer against Minneapolis High when he scored 26 points, had nine boards, and made 8-of-9 free throws... Also quarterbacked the football team and played baseball.
Personal: Full name is Ronald Delaine Baker… Son of Neil and Ranae Baker...Has one brother, Sloan, and one sister, Audrey...Born March 30, 1993 in Hays, Kan.... Also had offers from South Dakota State and Arkansas-Little Rock... Graduated with a B.A. in Business Finance in May of 2015.
