Ron Baker writes on what being a Shocker player meant to him

Ron Baker, former Wichita State All-American and New York Knicks rookie, has a story on The Players’ Tribune website in which he writes about Shocker basketball, his time in Wichita, and his commercial acting prowess.

Here are five things we learned about Baker from his column:

1. Baker gets a lot of Sunflower State derision in the locker room from Knicks star Carmelo Anthony.

2. When he was part of Carlos O’Kelly’s commercial shoots a year ago, he texted friends to show up to be extras in the background.

3. Unlimited queso during the commercial shoots!

4. He and Fred VanVleet played, more or less, good cop/bad cop when recruits visited campus. VanVleet would give them the no-varnish truth about Wichita and the basketball program; Baker would tell his tale of how hard work paid off.

5. His favorite play in five years of being a Shocker wasn’t by him or his senior partners, VanVleet or Evan Wessel. It was Zach Brown’s diving hustle play against Kansas in the 2015 NCAA Tournament.

“That play right there says it all. In five years of being at Wichita State, there were a lot of memorable plays, but that one sums everything up for me.… That’s how you Play Angry.”

This story was originally published March 17, 2017 at 12:30 PM with the headline "Ron Baker writes on what being a Shocker player meant to him."