He 7’0” finessing pic.twitter.com/OinWZFwHHl
— Brad Ballislife (@BradBallisLife) July 25, 2018
On the latest episode of the very entertaining One Shining Podcast, former NBA big man Greg Oden talks about everything from being the No. 1 pick over Kevin Durant in the 2007 NBA Draft to the embarrassment of sitting in the green room and not being selected in Ice Cube's 2018 BIG3 draft. Besides conversations about his wrinkled "Shane Battier head" and his dominant AAU team, my favorite moments from the pod were discussions about the modern big man and the frustration Oden feels watching some young bigs who don't realize how easy it is to just make a power move and dunk on shorter competition.
Now let me introduce you to Class of 2019 big man Will Baker. He's a 240-pound, 7-0 lefty who isn't afraid to dribble down the court, go between his legs, then pull up for a jump shot or go to the rack for a poster dunk or circus layup that will have Brad Ballislife South celebrating behind the camera. Besides being comfortable with behind the back and between the legs dribbles in 1-on-1 situations, he's also capable of throwing down between the legs dunks; Can you imagine Greg Oden pulling off an Eastbay dunk or a move like this?
Baker plays at Austin Westlake, which is in the backyard of Kevin Durant's Alma mater, which means you can bet Texas head coach Shaka Smart, former Texas center Jarrett Allen and former Texas unicorn Mo Bamba have had a few conversations with the undeclared, 5-star center. I personally would like to see Baker keep his talents in beautiful Austin, but, he's also reportedly considering Texas A&M, Stanford, North Carolina, Baylor, Kansas and UCLA (Shareef & Will Baker sounds like a fun duo to watch).
“I honestly haven’t thought about it for a while just because I have been focusing on USA Basketball and my travel season,” Baker said to Rivals.com about making a college decision. “Sometime after this event but it will probably be right after this, sometime soon I will cut it down.”
As for the position he will play in college.
"I think I can play the four in college," Baker said to FloHoops.com. "I play the five right now, but I can stretch the floor. I can dribble the ball down if necessary. I can pass really well and provide other opportunities for my teammates. I think I can post up and also shoot the 3."
While we wait for his decision, let's check out some highlights of Baker's game and discuss the evolution of the big man.
THROWBACK: ODEN & MIKE CONLEY IN HS