New Michigan forward Joey Baker discusses decision to choose Wolverines: 'I felt it right away'

Former Duke forward Joey Baker visited George Washington and Georgia in addition to Michigan, but he decided playing for the Wolverines was the best fit for him, making his pledge June 17. Appearing on the Defend The Block podcast with host Brian Boesch this week, Baker detailed his choice.

“I felt comfortable here [with head] Coach [Juwan] Howard and the staff, the rest of the players on the team. It just felt like a place I could see myself thriving on the court and off the court. Ultimately, that’s what led to the decision. The level of comfort that I felt here, how they could help me and how I could help the team. Just seemed like a very good situation on both ends.”

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The 6-6, 206-pounder clicked right away with a couple Michigan players in particular — junior center Hunter Dickinson and junior guard Jace Howard, the son of the head coach. Both put their recruiting hats on this offseason when it came to the transfer portal, and they were able to land Baker and former Princeton guard Jaelin Llewellyn, a graduate transfer.

“I felt it right away,” Baker continued. “Some of the older guys — Hunter, Jace — I’ve been chatting with them a little bit leading up to coming here. Then, once I got here, meeting the rest of the team, they welcomed me and made me feel like I had been here for months already.

“That was really important. New scene, new team and everything, just being able to have that level of familiarity right away. That’ll be something that we’re able to fall back on during the season, being close with your teammates, trusting them and knowing that you guys have a close bond with each other. I’m excited. Everybody has been very friendly and just made me feel like this was the best spot for me.”

He said Michigan’s academics played a part in his decision, as well, but that basketball was the “top factor.”

Baker was part of a great Duke team last season, with the Blue Devils advancing to the Final Four. But he’s only been a part of two NCAA Tournaments, including his freshman season in which his squad made the Elite Eight. Michigan has also seen postseason success, with the Wolverines having made five-straight Sweet 16s, a Big Ten record. This past spring, the Maize and Blue knocked off Colorado State and Tennessee en route to the a regional semifinal matchup with Villanova.

The former Duke standout was watching U-M from afar.

“I definitely kept up with Michigan,” Baker said. “They’ve had some really good teams over the last couple of years. Coach Howard has had a ton of success of his early stages of his career here as a coach.

“I loved the way that they played and the success that they had late in the season. There’s been a couple of runs in March which were really fun to watch. The Big Ten as a conference has been very strong over the past few years. Some big-time teams going into the March, April time period.

“Just understanding that it’s a really high level as a conference. Michigan, as a basketball program, had a really good feel for that and what I was coming into.”

Baker played in 85 games with four starts in his last three seasons before entering the portal. He averaged 4.5 points per game last year. The former four-star, top-40 prep is a 6-6 shooter who made 38 percent of his triples in his career.

The new Michigan forward was a captain at Duke, even though he never played more than 12.2 minutes per game in a season. He maintained a great attitude and flashed leadership skills that can help U-M going forward.

“It makes you realize that you’re part of a team and when you’re on a team, you do whatever you can to make an impact,” Baker said of his time at Duke. “If that’s just being in the ears of your teammates and encouraging them, telling them things you see on the court, I learned a ton through that process.

“Navigating that across my time at Duke, I’m thankful for that. It’s made me grow as a person and as a player as well. I’ll definitely apply the lessons that I’ve learned there and use them to help this year’s team at Michigan. [We want to] be as good as we can, help these younger guys get acclimated and just get ready for a really, really good season of basketball this year.”