MANILA, Philippines – Basketball skills coach Ganon Baker was in town for two weeks recently to conduct camps and clinics, creating an impact that has opened the doors for more engagements in the future.
Baker, 44, held a seven-day camp for the Alaska PBA team and a nine-day camp for the NU varsity. He also worked a five-day clinic for 43 coaches, including San Miguel Beer’s Leo Austria, Barangay Ginebra’s Olsen Racela, Mahindra’s Chris Gavina and Rob Wainwright, GlobalPort’s Eric Gonzales and Oliver Bunyi, FEU’s Gilbert Lao and La Salle’s Siot Tanquingcen. Among the PBA players who showed up at Baker’s clinic were L. A. Revilla, Joshua Webb, Denok Miranda and Kevin Alas. Additionally, Baker visited the La Salle practice at the Razon Building on the Taft campus and drilled the Archers on the basics of pick-and-roll offense and defense, dribbling and shooting in an afternoon session.
“I worked 11 straight days in Manila, sometimes doing four different sessions in a day,” he said. “I worked like a dog and sweat like a pig but I loved every second of it. I’m a teacher and my classroom is the basketball court. I’ve got a Master’s degree in kinesiology and a minor in math. I could’ve been a professor in school but I love basketball. I’ve played college basketball and as an import in Europe. I coached college basketball for five years. Under NCAA rules, student-athletes are restricted to 20 hours a week of in-season practice. I cherish my time with players because I’m a teacher on and off the court. So I decided to leave college basketball coaching and travel the world to teach the game to players of all ages. Now, I run a prep and post-graduate academy in Florida. I work with over 20,000 players and coaches a year and I’ve worked with over 300 NBA players including LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.”
Tropang TNT coach Jong Uichico contacted Baker during his stay and inquired about the possibility of sending at least three players to his Florida academy. Alaska and NU plan to extend their relationship with Baker who could schedule visits to Manila in between eight eight-day camps he has signed to set up in China over a year.
Baker was impressed by the Filipinos’ passion for the game in his first trip here. “I’ve travelled to 42 countries running camps and clinics since 2000 and the Philippines has to be my favorite basketball country,” he said. “Filipino players respect the game, they want to get better. They’re committed to succeed, they work hard. My approach is there is no plan B. Plan A is to win games, to win the championship and you work to get the job done. If players want to get better, I’m available to take them to the next level.”
Baker said he’s on the lookout for a Filipino investor to partner with in setting up a basketball skills school in the country. “In Florida, my Elev8 Institute goes from September to March,” he said. “I’m finishing a one-month program in Beijing with Chris Hyppa, one of my coaches and from Manila, I go over to cap it. I’ve made contact with Yao Ming, Bruce Palmer and other basketball officials in China so I’m doing a series of camps over a year. My business partner in the Philippines is Eric Banes and together, we want to continue what we started in my first visit.”
Baker said he noticed Filipino players are typically shy. “At the Alaska camp, Chris Banchero and Dondon Hontiveros were very vocal, asking questions, but the others were generally quiet,” he said. “They all worked hard, though. I’m different from Tim Grover who’s a strength and conditioning coach. I’m a skills coach. Tim and I have worked together in Jordan camps. I reach out to players and work on their mental toughness. I show them I work as hard as they should, I show them I can dribble, shoot and run like they should. I’m a competitive guy, I keep my skills sharp and I like to think I can still play at a high level. When I teach, I’m blunt. I tell the truth. If you can’t do what I want you to do, I make you work to do it. I teach players to play within a team concept, no egos. I teach character and attitude so when players turn pro, they know how to say no to distractions. It’s that way with guys I’ve worked with like Chris Paul, Amare Stoudemire, C. J. McCollum and Harrison Barnes.”
In his Florida school, Baker has welcomed Filipino enrollees. Ranton Andaya, 18, spent a week training in Florida last year. He’s graduating from Brent High School and he’ll likely enrol at Emerson College in Boston. NU sent varsity players J. P. Cauilan, J. V. Gallego and Matt Aquino.
Baker said he owes a lot to his mentors Kevin Eastman, John Lucas, Chad Forcier and Dee Brown for inspiring him to be a basketball skills teacher. Another inspiration is his wife Melissa, a former University of West Florida standout and a champion coach with two national titles. Baker and his wife adopted an African-American girl K. K. now 6, and their other child is 2-year-old son Kalel. Melissa is now on the family way. They’ve conducted camps together in Scotland, London, Australia, Israel and Russia. Baker said sports is the antidote for racism and poverty and lives by that philosophy. He has produced over 72 DVDs on his skills drills.
In 2003, Baker met coach Tab Baldwin in New Zealand. “I was there for three weeks doing clinics and camps,” he said. “I was just trying to make a name for myself. I still hadn’t worked with NBA guys.” Baldwin said he remembers Baker as a highly energized coach with a consuming passion for the game. Baker still works with passion and energy, the hallmarks of his personal approach to teaching basketball.