University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Baker Selected Preseason First-Team All-Big South Conference
10.29.2019 | Men's Basketball
CHARLOTTE – UNC Asheville men's basketball sophomore guard DeVon Baker earned selection on the Preseason First-Team All-Big South Conference Team, the league announced at its annual Basketball Media Day, Tuesday.
In a vote of the conference's coaches and media members who cover the Big South, Baker earned recognition as one of the top five players in the league heading into the 2019-20 season.
The Dayton, Ohio product led all Big South freshmen in scoring last season, averaging 16.1 points per game on his way to being named to the Big South All-Freshman Team. He twice earned distinction as the Big South Player of the Week, December 27 and January 14.
Baker finished in the nation's top 10 in scoring among freshman, ranking ninth nationally, and enters as the fifth leading scorer among this year's sophomore class nationwide.
"I think he's really deserving of the honor," head coach Mike Morrell said. "He had a great year last year. I think he understands it's a preseason accolade, but it's something we're really proud of him for, and something he should really be proud of himself about. He earned it with his play last year, and I think he's got bigger goals for our team in terms of winning."
He finished his rookie campaign in Asheville with 498 points – more than any of the other 10 men's basketball student-athletes representing their universities at Big South Media Day had in their respective freshmen seasons.
Baker led the Bulldogs in scoring in 17 of their 31 contests last season, reaching double figures in 26 games, which included nine games of 20-plus points and his career-high of 31 against Stetson, December 18. He had two streaks of 10 or more games in which he scored in double digits a season ago.
As a freshman, Baker started all 31 contests and averaged 33.9 minutes per game, which is third among returning Big South players. He is the second-leading returning scorer this season and second leading free throw percentage shooter (.817), while he is fifth among returning league players in assists per game (3.0) and steals per game (1.5).
Joining Baker on the first team are Preseason Player of the Year Carlik Jones of Radford, Hampton's Jermaine Marrow, Jose Perez of Gardner-Webb and Charleston Southern's Phlandrous Fleming.
As a team, the Bulldogs were picked to finish ninth by the league's coaches and media. UNC Asheville finished 10th in the conference standings a season ago.
"Our goals do not change in terms of trying to better tomorrow than we are today and trying to be better today than we were yesterday," Morrell said. "That's our goal every day, to be a little bit better. Preseason rankings don't affect that goal whatsoever."
The Bulldogs will host a home exhibition, 5 p.m., Thursday, against Bob Jones University as a final tune up before the season begins. The exhibition will be free to the public, and doors to Kimmel Arena will open at 4 p.m.
The regular season gets underway for UNC Asheville as it travels to Tennessee for the 11th all-time meeting between the Volunteers and Bulldogs in a 7 p.m. contest, Tuesday, November 5 at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville. Highland Brewing Co. is hosting a FREE watch party for the season opener set to begin at 6:30 p.m.
Season tickets are on sale and start at just $125 for general admission seating, while reserved seating tickets are $250. Season tickets grant ticketholders access to all 14 men's home games and 13 women's home games at Kimmel Arena. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit HERE or call (828) 258-7900.
In a vote of the conference's coaches and media members who cover the Big South, Baker earned recognition as one of the top five players in the league heading into the 2019-20 season.
The Dayton, Ohio product led all Big South freshmen in scoring last season, averaging 16.1 points per game on his way to being named to the Big South All-Freshman Team. He twice earned distinction as the Big South Player of the Week, December 27 and January 14.
Baker finished in the nation's top 10 in scoring among freshman, ranking ninth nationally, and enters as the fifth leading scorer among this year's sophomore class nationwide.
"I think he's really deserving of the honor," head coach Mike Morrell said. "He had a great year last year. I think he understands it's a preseason accolade, but it's something we're really proud of him for, and something he should really be proud of himself about. He earned it with his play last year, and I think he's got bigger goals for our team in terms of winning."
He finished his rookie campaign in Asheville with 498 points – more than any of the other 10 men's basketball student-athletes representing their universities at Big South Media Day had in their respective freshmen seasons.
Baker led the Bulldogs in scoring in 17 of their 31 contests last season, reaching double figures in 26 games, which included nine games of 20-plus points and his career-high of 31 against Stetson, December 18. He had two streaks of 10 or more games in which he scored in double digits a season ago.
As a freshman, Baker started all 31 contests and averaged 33.9 minutes per game, which is third among returning Big South players. He is the second-leading returning scorer this season and second leading free throw percentage shooter (.817), while he is fifth among returning league players in assists per game (3.0) and steals per game (1.5).
Joining Baker on the first team are Preseason Player of the Year Carlik Jones of Radford, Hampton's Jermaine Marrow, Jose Perez of Gardner-Webb and Charleston Southern's Phlandrous Fleming.
As a team, the Bulldogs were picked to finish ninth by the league's coaches and media. UNC Asheville finished 10th in the conference standings a season ago.
"Our goals do not change in terms of trying to better tomorrow than we are today and trying to be better today than we were yesterday," Morrell said. "That's our goal every day, to be a little bit better. Preseason rankings don't affect that goal whatsoever."
The Bulldogs will host a home exhibition, 5 p.m., Thursday, against Bob Jones University as a final tune up before the season begins. The exhibition will be free to the public, and doors to Kimmel Arena will open at 4 p.m.
The regular season gets underway for UNC Asheville as it travels to Tennessee for the 11th all-time meeting between the Volunteers and Bulldogs in a 7 p.m. contest, Tuesday, November 5 at Thompson-Boling Arena in Knoxville. Highland Brewing Co. is hosting a FREE watch party for the season opener set to begin at 6:30 p.m.
Season tickets are on sale and start at just $125 for general admission seating, while reserved seating tickets are $250. Season tickets grant ticketholders access to all 14 men's home games and 13 women's home games at Kimmel Arena. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit HERE or call (828) 258-7900.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's BasketballMonday, March 18
Monday, March 18
Thursday, March 14
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