Built Different: Moravian Prep guard Quron Baker signs with Gordon State College
Jun. 14—VALDOSTA — Former Highland Christian guard Quron Baker has spent countless hours working on his game on the basketball court and transforming his life off of it.
Baker, who played at prominent Moravian Prep in Hudson, N.C. last season, signed a college scholarship with Gordon State College on Friday — becoming the second member of his family to go to college.
"It really means a lot," Baker said of signing with Gordon State. "I never would've thought I'd be going to college anyway, let alone playing basketball so it means a lot to me. It means a lot to my family too, because I'm only the second person in my family to even go to college. It means a lot to them too."
Baker led Moravian's regional team to a 22-12 record and averaged 13 points, seven assists and five rebounds per game. The scoring and assist marks both ranked second on the team.
According to Baker, going up to North Carolina for another year of academics and seasoning on the court was a godsend.
"Moravian was probably the best thing that could've happened to me honestly," Baker said. "There was way better talent and it just matured me more all-around. That's why I'm very mentally tough, too. It really helped prepare me for just about everything."
Baker is expected to come in and contribute right away at Gordon State, according to Gordon State head coach Bruce Capers. During an offseason workout, the Gordon State staff came away impressed with Baker's command on the floor.
During the workout, Baker directed traffic and put teammates in positions to succeed on the floor while also picking his spots to make an impact individually.
"I'm pretty much prepared because when Coach Stites brought me in (at Highland), he said the exact same thing to me," Baker said of leading a team at the college level. "I'm ready. I've been prepared for that for about two years now."
Baker joins a Highlanders team that went 5-12 under Capers last season. Baker will also join former Lanier County standout Tyquan Baker, who just completed his sophomore season with the Highlanders.
For Baker, a college opportunity was not yet a thought just a few short years ago. Baker overcame getting kicked off the team at Valdosta High School as a freshman, poverty, homelessness and house arrest before turning his life around entirely.
"I'm so happy and proud, really, because there's so few kids out there and I've had a lot of kids go off to college and I'm really proud of them," Lanier County head coach Joel Stites said. "But, Quron's been different because of his path and also our relationship. It's been very tight. He's like one of my kids and I love him for it and I'm really proud of him. This just means a little bit more. Actually, it means a lot more.
"With Quron, our relationship went from coach to player to just an all-around relationship. We talk every day and we're going to be friends for the rest our lives. I love to see a kid take the next step and he's been taking steps so it's not a start, but he's still got several steps that he can take to be even more successful and that's just something that warms my heart. In this day and age, it just doesn't happen all that often and he's just done so much and worked so hard and he's got to keep doing it. The journey is not over, it's just begun. I'm just glad to be a part of it. Blessed."
Stites preaches to his players that those that make it to the next level must be different. As Stites would attest, Baker has proven himself as a tireless worker with an obsessive affection for the gym. In the classroom, Baker shines as well — boasting a 3.0 GPA.
With high school in the rearview, Stites feels Baker's rise to becoming a college scholarship athlete is ultimately what every coach's job is at the end of the day.
"First of all, if you want to get to the next level, you've got to be different," Stites said. "You've got to be different in the classroom, in the community and on the basketball court. If you're not, then stay on the couch. You just have to be different. One of the things as a basketball coach, at Lanier County or wherever, our jobs are to try to send kids off to the next level. Not just the next level of basketball, but the next level of schooling and that's my eternal goal; to always try to create a better opportunity for my players. If I can do that at Lanier, super."
As the summertime dwindles down, Baker has been in the gym with Stites and several Lanier County players getting shots up and competing with next year's roster during drills.
For Baker, it's a chance to get better in preparation for being handed the keys to the Highlanders' offense the moment he takes the floor in the fall. For Stites, Baker's presence represents the hope that having a college athlete grinding alongside his players rubs off on the group.
"Quron's in our gym now working with our younger guys as well as Tyquan (Baker), so it's neat to have two college basketball players in our gym working with them every day," Stites said. "They're training really hard and that's one neat thing to see for high school kids and younger kids. When they watch these college guys that already have it working harder than them, then maybe they can catch on. It just gets tougher and that's life. The more prepared you are for life, the more prepared you're going to be for basketball, too. They'll go hand-in-hand and he's at that point where he can move on and keep grinding in a different place."
