Chad Baker-Mazara welcomes father to Auburn as he grows on and off the court

AUBURN — Derrek Baker, the father of Auburn starting guard Chad Baker-Mazara, remembers watching his son play basketball in the second grade going against kids in the fourth and fifth grade.

He remembers watching Baker-Mazara get “crunched” going up for a layup. His son popped up and continued to play. It was in that moment when he saw an element of fearlessness in Baker-Mazara and visions of what the future could be.

“I knew he could play,” Baker told Auburn Live.

Fast forward to when Baker-Mazara turned 16-years-old and his father decided it was time for Baker-Mazara to move on from the Domincan Rebublic, where the family grew up. Baker sent his son to live with Baker-Mazara’s grandfather and play at Colonia High School in New Jersey.

It wasn’t an easy decision, but one Baker felt was necessary.

“I told him before he left, at 16, you have to go to the States,” Baker said. “You have to study. You’re going to play Division 1 basketball. I don’t know where yet, but I’m telling him this story and he’s looking at me like, ‘yeah right.’ If you go ask him later, he’ll tell you, my dad planned my life out.”

From the moment on, Baker, a high school coach and athletics director in the Dominican Republic, has not been able to spend considerable time with his son, barely watching him play in person.

Until now, as Baker moved in with his son part-time starting in December.

“It’s really a form of relief,” Baker-Mazara told Auburn Live, smiling at the thought of his dad being with him more often.

“My dad really hasn’t seen me play consistently since I was probably in the fourth grade. He always dreamed for me to play somewhere like the SEC. And we’re thinking this might be my last year in college and he just wanted to try and see me fulfill these dreams. I haven’t seen my parents consistently in so many years, so it’s been really joyful for him to be with me.

“It’s been nice being able to have that support in there with you, just throughout the struggles, good and bad. I just know things will be better all of a sudden. Me and my dad have a very special connection. By us living together, we can have more mature discussions, stuff like that. It’s actually pretty fun to get even closer with him.”

Baker can’t stay in Auburn all the time, obviously, needing to travel back to the Dominican Republic fairly often. Baker-Mazara’s mother, Carmen Mazara, still lives in the Dominican Republic, too.

“He still gets his safe space,” Baker joked about living with his son. “We’ll meet in the kitchen or living room. I don’t bother him too much. I’ll ask if he got his shots up, stuff like that. We’ll talk a little bit about basketball. I don’t want to be that basketball person all the time though. Basketball will be over soon and you have to have something else to hold on to. We talk about that stuff, life.

“Kids normally want to go away from home, and I think maybe because I haven’t been here for there, he’s been kind of on his own since he was with my dad. My dad went to every home game. He was taking up that father and grandfather role. So, my dad did a great job. But, (Baker-Mazara) wanted me here. This is time you can’t get back and I’m going to cherish it with my son.”

Meanwhile, Baker-Mazara is adjusting to having a new, but welcomed, roommate.

“The first few minutes after a game or practice, we’re at the crib, and we’ll talk about the game or practice, stuff I could have done better. He’s always in coach mode, but he knows when to turn it off and be in dad mode. He’s gotten way better, before that he was in straight coach mode,” Baker-Mazara said.

Following playing at Colonia High School, Baker-Mazara transferred to SPIRE Academy in Ohio. Then in college, Baker-Mazara’s first stop was Duquesne for one year, then on to San Diego State for his second year, Northwest Florida State College for his third year, before arriving at Auburn last season and now going through his second year with the Tigers and fifth overall in college.

Baker admitted his son didn’t put the work in academically at Duquesne and San Diego State, ultimately leading to the junior college route. Baker looks back on his son’s struggles in a positive light though, all things considered.

“I snatched him out and put him in junior college, which is the best thing that happened to him,” Baker said. “He wasn’t really listening. He wanted to do it his own way. Kids are like that sometimes. Sometimes you fall on your face and I just wanted to be there to pick him back up.”

A stellar season in Florida landed Baker-Mazara at Auburn, where the Tigers were looking for a standout “three-and-D” guard. Baker-Mazara chose Auburn over Texas A&M and Kentucky, to name a few programs. The Aggies were recruiting Baker-Mazara all season, while Auburn offered after the season, and then Kentucky offered after that.

Baker said the visit to Auburn ultimately sealed the deal, as head coach Bruce Pearl, associate head coach Steven Pearl, assistants Ira Bowman and Corey Williams, plus Dylan Cardwell and Denver Jones were all impactful on making the decision an easy one.

“This is the way he told Bruce,” Baker said laughing. “I sat there listening and he told Bruce, ‘thank you for the visit, you have a nice program, I appreciate the time you spent with me parents and myself. But, my decision is I’m going to end up going to Auburn.’ Bruce said, ‘I’m going to kick your ass when I get you here.’ That was a hell of a way to find out, but he wanted to come to Auburn.”

For Baker-Mazara, it’s hard to speak more highly of Pearl than what he conveyed during our interview.

“That man right there, he’s been a lot of things to me. He’s been a father, coach, good friend, best friend. He and I have had many conversations that he’s just not coach, he gives me advice after I’ve messed up. I can come to him for anything. To have the connection, not just a coach that’s yelling at me. He’ll always be the greatest coach I’ve ever had for sure. No doubt,” Baker-Mazara said.

Baker sees Pearl’s influence in his son’s life in the same light.

“Number one, he’s just a great person,” Baker said. “‘BP’ calls me and says he’s just calling to say Chad is doing OK. I used to only get calls when Chad was doing something wrong. I didn’t like that. If you’re going to call me, tell me the good and the bad. I never had to ask ‘BP’ about that. It’s just his nature. Steven, all the coaches, ‘BP’ surrounds himself with good people.”

And now, Baker-Mazara is only a handful of hours away from graduating from Auburn, something his dad takes tremendous pride in.

“I hate to say I could die now,” Baker said. “I don’t want to say it like that, but I told him, ‘you’ll be the death of me, if you don’t graduate from college.’ Bruce and the whole crew, Steven, they have just been so helpful as far as I’m concerned.”

Two seasons after arriving, Baker-Mazara is currently the second-most valuable player on the team according to Torvik analytics, behind only All-American Johni Broome. Just ask Pearl, who said earlier this season, “Chad Baker is a special player and he impacts the games at, at both ends of the floor, offensively and defensively. … Unbelievable length, unbelievable instincts, unbelievable feel.”

Baker-Mazara didn’t start the first 26 games of his career at Auburn, but started the final nine games of last season and 23 of the first 24 games this season. Baker-Mazara’s scoring average rose from 10 to over 12 points per game this season, with his rebounding numbers hovering over three per game and assists averaging over two per game.

“He didn’t start the (first 26 games) because he messes up like all kids do,” Baker said. “I said, as long as you do the right things in school, you can go to Bruce and ask about starting. He’ll give you a chance one day. I’m proud of him, believe me. I always had these dad moments with him before the game. I get emotional when I think about it. It’s my firstborn.”

However, Baker-Mazara’s time at Auburn hasn’t come without bumps in the road. His emotions sometimes overshadow his considerable on-the-court value.

During his first season, Baker-Mazara picked up a handful of technical fouls, culminating in picking up a flagrant foul for elbowing that disqualified him from Auburn’s first-round NCAA Tournament game against Yale last season.

It was an unfortunate moment for Baker-Mazara and his father, and of course Auburn, who was upset by Yale. Prior to pregame warmups, Baker-Mazara found out his father flew from the Dominican Republic all the way to Spokane, Washington to watch the game. The jubilation was short lived, as Baker-Mazara was ejected minutes into the game.

Baker remembers the moment and admits it was hard. He also believes in his son and his desire to do the right thing, seeing the incident against Yale as an opportunity for personal growth.

“He’s a better person right now because of, maybe because of what he did last year,” Baker said. “He’s learned. He heard what people said about him all summer. He’s still a young kid. Sometimes, people from overseas grow up a little bit later than people here in the States. I just think, he comes from a good family and he’s trying to do the right thing. His mom tries to do the right thing and we support him. His heart is good and that’s what I appreciate about him.”

Looking back, Baker-Mazara understands the gravity of what happened and how it’s shaped him moving forward.

“After what happened in March Madness, having my dad fly all the way there, that was heartbreaking. I promised that I needed to change because he flew all the way there to see me play for three minutes. That broke my heart,” Baker-Mazara said.

“I felt bad we lost, I was heartbroken we lost, but my dad flying all the way there for that… When I saw him, he came to the locker room and I didn’t even know where to put my head. I was so embarrassed, shocked. Since that moment, I hugged him and apologized to him and said, there’s just no need for me to do that anymore. It isn’t worth it.”

Pearl has certainly seen growth this year, saying recently, “Chad’s done a great job not taking the bait, and he’s really, really, really improved, playing with passion and energy and emotion.”

For Baker-Mazara, there is thankfulness that his father is around right now as he works to channel his emotions into positive action. Actions, so far, that have helped Auburn go 22-2 in their first 24 games and earn the No. 1 ranking in all of college basketball.

“He has helped me for sure,” Baker-Mazara said. “Not just him, the coaching staff, everyone. To have that support form my dad and parents is tremendous. I’ve tried to learn to calm myself down in heated moments and that comes from being able to talk to my dad while he’s here.”

Baker-Mazara hopes he can use his journey so far to help guide other young players on Auburn’s roster.

“I’m a guy that’s been through four or five colleges, considered a crash out. I have had my ups and downs where I’ve been through many situations,” he said.

“I tell other guys, younger guys, you might not see it right now, but we’re in a great situation (at Auburn). And I was in the shoes of these freshmen and I’m just like, stay the course. As long as you don’t cheat the game, put in the work, you’re going to be good.”

Ultimately, Baker is happy his son made it to Auburn and that Auburn found his son.

“He needed a family atmosphere and I think he found it,” Baker said. “And I’m glad I’m here to witness it.”