Virginia’s Baker toughs it out

Many times, when Virginia guard Calvin Baker winds up with the ball in his hands as the shot clock is running down, a collective groan reverberates throughout John Paul Jones Arena.
What some fans tend to forget is that Baker himself has been groaning on the inside this entire season.
From the very first game, Baker has been playing with a stress fracture in his left foot that has hampered him from playing as well as he did last season when he came out of nowhere as a walk-on to finish as the team’s fourth-leading scorer, while ranking second on the team in assists, steals and 3-point field goal percentage.
Sure, the graduation of Sean Singletary — who allowed Baker to play more off the ball as a spot-up shooter — has lessened Baker’s effectiveness, but the bottom line is that Baker hasn’t been 100 percent healthy at any point this season.
Following Virginia’s 72-67 loss at N.C. State on Saturday, Baker – who had 13 points, five assists and three steals — told The Daily Progress that he definitely plans on having surgery as soon as the season is over.
“It’s still a big deal,” said Baker, talking about the severity of his injury. “It’s started to flare up a little bit here toward the end of the season. That’s what they told me it would do, but I treat it every day, twice a day. [Athletic trainer Ethan Saliba] has been doing a good job trying to monitor it.
“Going straight ahead, I’m fine. It’s just cutting — that really bothers me, but it’s a decision that I made before the season. I could have had the surgery before the season, but I wanted to play on. There isn’t anything I can do but keep treating it, and hopefully it will get better by the time the season is over.”
Even with the injury, Baker has managed to be one of the team’s better defensive players. He’s also, arguably, after freshman Sylven Landesberg, the team’s most clutch shooter. Baker’s basket in the final seconds gave Virginia its first ACC win of the season versus Georgia Tech. Baker, a junior co-captain, is also one of the team leaders.
When you add all that up, UVa has certainly gotten a pretty decent return on its investment in the former walk-on transfer from William & Mary — despite his sometimes maddening decision-making at point guard.
“At times, you can tell he’s hurt,” Landesberg said, “but Calvin’s a tough kid. He tries not to show it and just plays throughout everything.
“I respect him a lot for that – just being able to play through his foot injury. It shows his dedication to the team.”
Sidney headed to USC
Renardo Sidney, a five-star basketball prospect who Virginia was highly interested in, committed to hometown USC on Sunday night.
Sidney, who visited UVa in November, is considered one of the top high school players in the country. The 6-foot-11 big man chose the Trojans over Virginia, UCLA, Texas, UNLV and Mississippi State, among others.
“I’m very excited,” Sidney told the Los Angeles’ Times. “It was a hard decision. After I heard my dad and mom had the same school as I had, it was a relief.”
UVa, which was considered a dark horse for Sidney, still has point guard Jontel “Bub” Evans and swingman Tristan Spurlock in its 2009 class.