Yusuf Baker a Tulsa Golden Hurricane

[Velcro]

Tulsa Basketball Inks Two JUCO Players

Phillips signs two 6'8' forwards for Hurricane

April 26, 2004

Tulsa, Oklahoma - University of Tulsa Head Basketball Coach John Phillips announced today the signing of two junior college forwards -- Yusuf Baker (Orlando, Fla.) and Vernell Davis (Broken Arrow, Okla.) -- to national letters-of-intent.

Baker is a 6'8", 220-pound post player from College of Southern Idaho. He played one season there after transferring from the University of South Florida.

He averaged a team-leading 12.4 points and 8.9 rebounds in helping his team post a 24-11 record and advance to the NJCAA national tournament. He had a team-leading .603 field goal percentage and also averaged 1.5 blocks and 1.0 steals per game. Baker led the team in scoring eight times and was the team-leader in rebounds in 15 games.

Baker had a season-high 21 points twice, and a high of 18 rebounds once. He also had 11 double-figure rebounding games. He earned first-team all-Scenic West Conference merits in 2003-04.

 

At South Florida, Baker played in 29 games and started the final 17 contests. He averaged 4.9 points and 4.8 rebounds, while leading the Bulls in scoring twice and rebounding six times. He reached double-digits in scoring in six games and in rebounding four times with high games of 16 points and 12 rebounds.

He played his prep basketball at Maynard Evans High School in Orlando, Florida, where he was rated as one of the nation's top-100 players by several national publications. Baker averaged 14 points and 10 rebounds as a high school senior while helping Evans to a 26-3 record and a No. 1 state ranking in 6A during the entire regular season.

Baker was named the Florida Gatorade Player of the Year, and was a first-team Class 6A all-state selection his senior season. As a senior, he was widely considered as the second best big man in the state of Florida behind NBA first round draft pick Amare Stoudemire.

"Yusuf is an unbelievable athlete. He rebounds as good or better than any player I've ever seen. He's a Dennis Rodman-type rebounder," said College of Southern Idaho Assistant Coach Brian Dolan. "He can block and alter shots. Yusuf has a 7'3" wingspan and an unbelievable vertical jump. He can also score better than people think. He led us in scoring this year against an extremely competitive schedule."

"Yusuf is extremely strong around the basket. He can rebound, alter shots and score. He's a big-time athlete who has an opportunity to play at the next level as he continues to improve and work hard," said Phillips.

Baker chose Tulsa over Alabama and Nebraska.

At 6'8", 220-pounds, Davis comes to Tulsa after spending the past two seasons at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M. A two-year starter, Davis averaged 9.7 points and 6.8 rebounds this past season.

"Vernell is very active on the boards and is an excellent shot blocker," said NEO A&M Head Coach Jason Turk. "He's very athletic and very coachable."

He was a three-year starter at Broken Arrow (Okla.) High School. As a senior, Davis averaged 13.2 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.7 blocked shots. He also shot 60.6-percent from the field as his senior season.

Davis entered his senior campaign as a Tulsa World All-State Blue Chip prospect. He helped lead his high school team to the state semifinals both as a junior and senior. In his final two years, the Tigers posted a combined 46-8 record. Davis earned all-metro and all-conference honors and was s McDonald's All-America nominee. He was named to the 2001 Class 6A state tournament team.

In his prep career, Davis scored at a 9.3 clip per game, averaged six rebounds and blocked 3.3 shots, while shooting 59-percent from the field.

"Vernell is a local product who we really liked when he was in high school. He has progressed to where we're really excited with what he brings to our program," said Phillips. "He is a versatile player who can score from 18-feet and runs the floor well. He has really improved his offense since high school. Vernell is a good rebounder and really good shot-blocker."

Davis chose Tulsa over Texas State, Oral Roberts and San Jose State.

[Velcro]

Baker chose Tulsa over Alabama and Nebraska.

[BullDoug]

rolls a mean Jay too...alledgedly  :

[dabull80]

Low blow Bulldoug.

[bulls96go]

good riddence.

why even post about this joker.

[Velcro]

why not

[Guest BasketBull.]

In the very near future USF basketball will have the kind of talent that will make us forget all the good players who have left us.

I'm waiting for the first All-American to sign with USF basketball.

[Markeymark]

good riddence.

why even post about this joker.

Let's keep football players who get arrested, but throw out the best basketball player on the team on the off chance that he MIGHT have done something wrong.

[Velcro]

good point MM

[dabull80]

Is it really a good point Velcro ?  I don't know the facts in this case but it does make me wonder if Baker had so many problems/trouble here why is he able to go Juco then go to a well established D-I team ?