Originally Posted by
CDu
I think it is sort of underselling things to say that the 5th year is just an extra year of free college. It is certainly that, but it is more:
1. It is an extra year of playing major D1 b-ball
2. It is an extra opportunity to be in the big dance
3. It is an extra year to be adored on campus rather than possibly/probably just a relative nobody
4. It is one more low-risk, high-profile chance to enhance your resume for the NBA
5. It is an extra year to be a kid and just have fun
Very few guys turn down the opportunity for that 5th year when given the chance. Not all choose to come back. But most do unless their NBA dreams are met.
As for the “he didn’t plan on using all of his eligibility” idea: did Michael Gbinije plan to? How about Amile Jefferson? Mason Plumlee? Kyle Singler? Ryan Kelly? Sean Dockery? Shav Randolph? Chris Burgess? Lots of players more highly rated than Baker have not made their NBA dreams come true in under 4 years (if ever). Not saying Baker definitely won’t be NBA ready; just that it would be far from the first case of a highly-rated player not getting to the league early. Heck, given where he was rated, it should probably be the expectation that he uses all his eligibility. And the fact that he intended to redshirt suggests he understood the possibility that he would be a 4-year guy.
I guess I would say that the decision was at best only slightly negative (regardless, he lost a bunch of games played). I would venture that it turns out costly for Baker. Again, time will tell how big a negative it turns out to be.