Libertyville sophomore Nick Baker is ready for this moment.
Making the leap from the lower level to the varsity team’s starting lineup, the 6-foot guard understands the challenge he faces and has the skill set to meet it.
“It’s an adjustment, and I can help that with how I carry myself,” Baker said. “I’m glad I made this team, and I need to act like I’m supposed to be here.”
Baker is proving he belongs.
“He’s made a big jump,” Libertyville coach Brian Zyrkowski said. “He excelled this summer, and we had a conversation with him and said, ‘Keep working on your game, keep getting better,’ and he did.
“Coming into the season, when he made varsity, I told him, ‘You’re a varsity player now,’ and he’s playing like it.”
Indeed, Baker stood out during the Wildcats’ 63-38 win over Amundsen in the St. Viator Thanksgiving Classic last week. His shooting touch was on display early as he hit three consecutive 3-pointers in the first quarter. He finished with 12 points.
“That was pretty great,” Baker said. “Once I hit one, then it starts to get going. We get some more energy, and I hit those other two, and then we’re rolling.”
Baker’s shooting was obvious as the Wildcats (1-2) raced to a 19-0 lead. But he also had eight rebounds in that game.
“He (Zyrkowski) definitely emphasized in the summer that you don’t have to jump the highest, you just have to be up to the ball first and getting tips and tipping it to an open spot and corralling it,” Baker said. “It can definitely have a big impact. I’m sneaky, so I think I can get some more boards and affect the game that way too.”
Baker also continues to learn. At one point during that game, he thought he had an opportunity for an uncontested layup, but the ball was swatted away. On another possession, Baker blew through the lane off the dribble and attempted a baseline kickout to a teammate in the right corner, but the ball was intercepted.
“There are split-second decisions that have to be made because it’s so much faster,” Baker said of the varsity level. “So I just need to get used to it. There are bigger guys, and I just have to make faster decisions. You have to make decisions on the spot.”
Ups and downs are inevitable. But Baker will not be deterred.
“He has that little edge, that confidence that’s good to see from a sophomore player who has zero experience at the varsity level,” Zyrkowski said. “This early, to see the confidence that he has is pretty impressive.
“A lot of guys at his age, they take a step back in these games. They try more to facilitate, or they’re afraid to assert themselves, and he’s not.”
Baker’s progress is even more important for the Wildcats in the wake of star sophomore guard Terrence Davis Jr.‘s finger injury, which is expected to sideline him for several weeks.
“He’s taken so many leaps in his game since the summer, and I know he’ll be up to taking on a big role on this team,” Libertyville senior center Bryce Wegrzyn said. “He’s tough, he’s hard-nosed and he gets our offense going.
“Our conference is tough with a lot of tough guards, and I have faith that he’ll help us out a ton. He’s picking it up now and starting to get there. By the time he’s a junior and a senior, he’ll be really, really good.”
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.
