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Geo Baker will be entering his name into the 2021 NBA Draft process. The announcement came via Twitter on Wednesday afternoon. Baker will not hire an agent at this time which means the option is still there for a fifth year at Piscataway, which he specified in his statement.
I am declaring for the 2021 NBA Draft pic.twitter.com/PmtpaVnhXE
— Geo Baker (@Geo_Baker_1) April 7, 2021
Baker becomes the second Scarlet Knight to make this announcement, along with Ron Harper Jr. who declared for the draft on April 2. Baker, and the rest of the early entrants, will have until July 19 to pull their name out of consideration. The combine will take place from June 21 to June 27 and the draft will be on July 29.
During his senior year, Baker averaged 10.2 points and 3.1 assists per contest. He has been labeled as the face of Rutgers basketball and led the Scarlet Knights to their first NCAA Tournament in 30 years and first victory since 1983.
Over the course of his career, Bakers has put up some big numbers and finds himself on the all-time program leaderboard in many categories. Baker currently is fifth in assists with 376, seventh in made 3-pointers with 183, and eighth in steals with 145. His 1,269 points is good for 20th on the all-time list.
On the court, Baker is known for making some big-time shots in a Rutgers’ uniform. Off the court, he is known for much more.
Prior to the NCAA Tournament, Baker began tweeting using the #NotNCAAProperty hashtag. He has not hidden the fact that he is against the NCAA owning the image and likeness of athletes and was even apart of the group that met with NCAA President Mark Emmert last week.
Baker joins Harper Jr. as Rutgers’ members who will test the waters of the NBA. Myles Johnson, Jacob Young, Montez Mathis and Mamadou Doucoure have all entered their names into the transfer portal.
For Baker, this decision seemed logical. He has nothing left to prove in Piscataway after leading the Scarlet Knight to the tournament and picking up a victory.
If he does decide to keep his name in the draft, Baker will forever be one of the great Scarlet Knights and an all-time fan favorite.