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Sports

Harriton's Marquis Baker Plays a Bigger Role for Rams

The senior leads the Rams in scoring and rebounding.

The routine was a familiar one over the summer: Repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition.

Marquis Baker was going to build the muscle memory in his left arm if it meant his left hand would fall off. The commitment was that great for the 6-foot-4 basketball player entering his senior year.

So his summer was spent shooting, and shooting, and after a break or two, shooting some more. Baker toiled as a role player his junior year, a rite of passage in some basketball programs before the yeoman work pays off with an opportunity for a sterling senior year.

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Baker hasn’t disappointed.

He leads the Rams with a 13-point average and he’s pulling down a team-high eight rebounds a game. He’s been tenacious, nonstop and essentially served as the hub of what could potentially be a final four District 1 Class AAA playoff team.

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“I had to step up--it’s something I realized over the summer, and that meant developing my shot,” said Baker, who’s receiving interest from Division III schools like Immaculata, Rosemont and Lycoming. I was trying to be an all-around player, and that meant working more on my shot. I used to like driving the lane, but I wanted to add more versatility to my game.”

He succeeded. Harriton has hit a rough spot in its season, entering this week losing three straight games. But that hasn’t deterred Baker from continuing to push and prod this team to bigger things.

“Marquis is a great athlete, he has a long wingspan from someone 6-4, he has great speed and he’s a great leaper,” Rams’ coach Jesse Rappaport said. “He’s improved his shot quite a bit since last year. It’s made him a better overall player, because Marquis struggled a lot last year. He was a role player that you could tell was on the verge of being special. He just wasn’t very consistent night-in and night-out. That was the thing. He always had the ability. He just had to show it more often. He worked hard in the weight room and on his game, and he’s been very important for us this whole season.”

What’s more is that Baker has bought into Rappaport’s high-pressure, up-tempo defensive style, designed to cause opposing teams to freeze and enable the Rams to score in transition.

“I love the way we play, when our press is working, most of my points have come off transition,” Baker said. “It’s a free and open style. But you better be prepared to run.”

Baker has gone from a player the Rams didn’t know what they would get from game to game to being someone opposing teams target to stop—if they plan on stopping Harriton.

“Marquis has been our barometer this year: He does well, we do well. It’s been like that, and he’s accepted the role,” Rappaport said. “When he gets going, he’s tough to stop. We still would like to see more out of Marquis, and I think Marquis has more in him. Because once he gets going, he’s tough to stop.”

Baker has just one huge goal to achieve before he finishes out his senior year—seeing the Rams qualify for the PIAA Class AAA state playoffs. He was a sophomore and still has the memory of Harriton’s last final four appearance in the District 1 Class AAA playoffs, losing to eventual district champion Holy Ghost Prep.

“I remember seeing the seniors' faces when they walked off the court the last time,” Baker recalled. “I’m going to do everything I can so that’s not us this year. We have a great team, filled with great guys who have each other’s back. Our goal this year is to make the state playoffs. I’d like to see that happen.”

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