The University of Hartford celebrates its 25th season of Division I competition in 2008-09. Today, we revisit the collegiate career of Vin Baker, the greatest men's basketball player in school history.
Over the next few weeks, we'll take a look back at some of Hartford's finest moments ... but we need your help. Click here to nominate a moment you feel is worthy for the top 15. Whether it's Vin Baker being drafted or the women's basketball team winning its first America East Championship, make your voice heard. Every Friday, we'll choose a new moment to highlight.
At the end of the year, you'll be able to vote for your top moment. Along the way, be sure to e-mail us your comments, fondest memories, stories and more.
As a freshman in the fall of 1989, Vin Baker was one of eight newcomers on the University of Hartford men's basketball team who was looking to make an impact. A local product out of Old Saybrook, CT, he caught the attention of head coach Jack Phelan and joined the Hawks after an impressive senior season at Old Saybrook High School.
His bio in the 1989-90 Hartford men's basketball media guide read:
A “lanky” newcomer with good quickness, Baker will give the team quality talent coming off the bench at the forward slot ... A player who has his best basketball in front of him and continues to improve each time he takes the court ... Very agile for a big man ... Tremendous desire.
While those words would prove to be prophetic, Baker was just another name on the Hartford roster in 1989. However, when he left Hartford four years later, he was one of the top basketball players in the country.
Baker's freshman year was solid but not extraordinary. He appeared in all 28 games and averaged 4.7 points and 2.9 rebounds per game, numbers that were good enough to earn him a spot on the North Atlantic Conference All-Rookie Team.
Baker moved into a starting role as a sophomore and saw his game flourish. He led the Hawks in scoring (19.6 ppg) and rebounding (10.4 rpg) and eclipsed the school's sophomore scoring record with 569 points. He was named to the NAC All-Conference First Team and the NABC District I First Team.
Following a summer in which he won a gold medal while representing the United States at the Junior World Championships, Baker returned to Hartford full of confidence. The results were remarkable?he ranked second in the country in scoring (27.6 ppg) and fifth in blocks (3.7 bpg), all while averaging 9.9 rebounds per game. He was named to the AP Honorable Mention All-American Team and was an NAC All-Conference First Team honoree. His highlight of the season was a career-high 44-point performance against Lamar in which he added 15 rebounds and 10 blocks for the first (and only) triple-double in school history.
Baker's senior year was equally as impressive. He garnered All-America honors for the second straight season and became the first Hartford player to be named NAC Player of the Year while earning all-conference first team honors for the third time. Baker ranked fourth in the country in scoring (28.3 ppg) and poured in a school record 792 points over 28 games, a record that still stands to this day. In four seasons he scored more points (2,238) than any player in school history.
As the eighth overall pick by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 1993 NBA Draft, Baker became only the second Hartford player ever drafted by an NBA club. He was also the highest draft pick ever from the NAC and the first player from a New England college or University to be selected as a lottery pick.
Baker spent 13 seasons in the NBA and was a four-time All-Star. He was named to the All-Rookie First Team in 1994, the All-NBA Second Team in 1998 and the All-NBA Third Team in 1997. Over 791 career games he averaged 15.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per contest.
Notables
- Baker's jersey (#42) hangs on the east wall of Chase Arena in the Reich Family Pavilion. It remains the only men's or women's basketball number to be retired by the University of Hartford.
- Baker ranks fifth all-time in the America East (formerly NAC) in scoring (2,238 points) and ninth in rebounding (951 rebounds).
- Prior to his senior season, Baker appeared in Sports Illustrated's college basketball preview issue and was touted as “America's Best-Kept Secret.” Click here to read the article.
- Baker has a long-standing history of philanthropy. He formed his own charitable organization, The Stand Tall Foundation for Children, which focuses on education, personal development and the overall well-being of children. In 1999 he was named one of The Sporting News' “99 Good Guys in Sports.”
