Story Created:
Aug 30, 2010 at 2:49 PM PST
Story Updated:
Aug 30, 2010 at 2:49 PM PST
The future of Crenshaw High School’s two-time All-City guard Reynaul Baker, up in the air most of the summer, just became clearer.
Cal State Bakersfield, an independent in its first-year as an NCAA Division I program, signed the 6-foot-2 point guard to national basketball letter of intent.
Baker, a late qualifier academically, chose the Roadrunners over several other schools, including Tim Floyd-coached Texas-El Paso and Odessa Junior College.
“Their assistant coach (John Mosley, a Washington Prep graduate) has been interested in Reynaul for a while,” Crenshaw coach Ed Waters said. “He thought he was one of the top five guards in the state.
“It’s a good fit for him, too. He wanted to stay in California. Kids always want to go to the highest visibility school and he’s going to be on a visible stage.”
Bakersfield coach Keith Brown is happy to have landed Baker, who averaged 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists per game while leading the Cougars to a 21-5 record, the City semifinals and a spot in the state regionals.
“Our patience paid off,” Brown said. “We considered a number of players, but Reynaul is a great fit and the right piece to add to our program. Ed Waters is instrumental in continuing the respect and tradition of Crenshaw basketball while mentoring and enhancing the lives of the entire community. His development and endorsement of Reynaul was a major component in our decision. In addition, Coach (John) Mosley did a great job in helping to make this happen.”
Brown is counting on Baker to contribute his first year.
“Reynaul will have every opportunity to make an immediate impact,” Brown said. “He is long and physical with great explosion in the open court. He has the makeup of a true point guard. He looks to distribute the ball first, but is a great finisher.
“I watched literally thousands of players in July and he clearly was the point guard we wanted. With our returning players (Donavan Bragg, Stephon Carter and Alex Johnson) and the addition of Reynaul, Cody Kale and Ivan Matip, we have six guys capable of playing the point at a high level. And all of them are capable of playing multiple positions, which will give us a depth and versatility we have not had in many years.”
Crenshaw’s other talented guard, Deuce Zaid, will be playing his basketball at Arizona Western JC, according to Waters.
Waters, about to start his fourth season as Cougar coach, feels the program is beginning to turn the corner.
A number of players have already moved on to the college ranks. Earlier this summer, Emmett Duvall signed with Humboldt State. Jelany White, who began his college career at Chadron (Neb.) State, is a sophomore guard at Hawaii Pacific.
Among the current Cougars, sophomore Isaac Hamilton has already received offers from Arizona and USC. Senior Darnell Taylor is being recruited by Loyola Marymount, Cal State Northridge and Cal State Bakersfield.
“This is really important for the program,” Waters said.
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