Five-star center Will Baker named Georgetown as one of his final four teams he is considering in his recruiting. The 7-foot class of 2019 star narrowed down his list to Georgetown, Stanford, Texas and UCLA. The Austin, Tex. native made his announcement Wednesday afternoon.
I would like to thank all of the programs and their coaching staffs who have spent time recruiting me, but I have chosen to narrow my list. I have decided to focus on the following four schools‼️@TiptonEdits pic.twitter.com/PRQeQkFJmY
— Will Baker (@thrillbaker) August 29, 2018
Baker is the No. 19 overall player and No. 2 center in the class of 2019 per Rivals.com. He has credited Patrick Ewing and his influence and the history of Georgetown with bigs as factors in considering the Hoyas. However, Baker isn’t the back-to-the-basketball center that played of yesterday. He is a modern-day center. He can put the ball on the floor with his above average handles for a big.
He has a sweet shooting stroke that allows him to shoot from long range, including threes. He is good on pick-and-pops and step out jumpers. He plays with an aggression that along with his handles can lead breaks and break down big defenders to get to the bucket with his ability to dribble like a two-guard or wing player.
“It’s incredible, [Patrick Ewing] called me and it was surreal getting to talk to him over the phone,” Baker said about Georgetown in an interview last month with Prep Circuit. “I think it’s really cool that they are recruiting me and they are a big man school as well. They use their big men and play through them, which is important to me.”
Baker was the second five-star recruit that included Georgetown on a narrowed recruiting list.
Oak Hill Academy’s guard Cole Anthony included the Hoyas in his list of 12 schools on Sunday. Anthony is the No. 2 player overall and top guard recruit per Rivals.com.
In addition to Georgetown, the 6-foot-2 guard included Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisville, Miami (FL), North Carolina, Notre Dame, Oregon, Pittsburgh, Villanova, and Wake Forest.
#FINAL12 pic.twitter.com/OTgI5NewtT
— Cole Anthony (@The_ColeAnthony) August 28, 2018
Cole is the son of former NBA guard Greg Anthony, who was a teammate of Ewing with the New York Knicks. Cole Anthony was named the Nike EYBL MVP in July after averaging 26.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 3.5 assists in 16 games.
Looking at Anthony’s list, the Hoyas will have to contend with some of the college basketball’s powerhouses to nab a commitment from Anthony. Duke, Kansas, and Kentucky have been the hotbed of one-and-done players while Louisville, North Carolina and Villanova have a strong background in developing players for the next level over a course of multiple seasons.
Ewing and the Georgetown staff have their work cut out for them trying to get commits from Baker or Anthony, but it shows that the Hoyas have a sound voice among top recruits to at least get their attention and strong consideration. That’s going to be a big plus moving forward as Ewing makes his imprint on the same program he helped bring to relevancy over thirty years ago.
