BYU’s Dawson Baker had to celebrate his team’s win over Wisconsin alone

Denver • Dawson Baker squirmed and shouted to no one as BYU punched its ticket to the Sweet 16.

“Get a hand up, Mo,” he said to the television in the locker room. “Wall up. Good. Good. Get a stop.”

Baker wasn’t on the court for the Cougars’ final possession because he was ejected – called for a flagrant 2 foul with three minutes left. So he wasn’t in the huddle as head coach Kevin Young gave his marching orders.

“You are going to get a stop to win this game,” guard Trey Stewart remembered Young saying calmly. “KY said that two times, at Iowa State and Arizona. I told him, ‘That was tough, you have that much confidence. Keep that speech in your back pocket for some big moments.’”

This was one of those moments.

And Baker had to be by himself, hoping Mawot Mag could fend off Wisconsin’s John Tonje just long enough for the win. When the ball went up and fell harmlessly into Keba Keita’s arms, Baker let out one last scream and ran back out to join his teammates.

“It’s unreal at the moment,” Baker told The Salt Lake Tribune of the whole ordeal. “You kind of pinch yourself, realizing that you’ve gone to the Sweet 16.”

Of course, Baker would have loved to close it out himself. He had eight points in 17 minutes in a 91-89 win. He’d earned that right to be in the moment.

But what is one more sacrifice in a season full of them?

“It’s a testament to a lot of guys that had to sacrifice a lot this year,” Baker said at his locker. “Obviously, we have a lot of guys that could play a lot of minutes at other places, a lot of sacrifices take place. And this is why. Because we get a win in March.”

Baker knows about sacrifices more than most on this roster. When he signed with BYU two years ago, he was one of the most prolific scorers in the country.

He had over 1,000 points in three years at UC Irvine and was one of the best players in the Big West. He shot nearly 40% from three as a freshman and logged over 27 minutes a night. He came to Provo to test his mettle at the highest level of the sport.

But he never got a real chance.

In his first year under Mark Pope, he was injured before the season even began. He kept feeling nagging pain in his foot until an MRI revealed a crack. Doctors put a rod to speed up the recovery process, but the pain only worsened after a few games. It required a bone graft and his season was wiped away.

“You’re eager to make your first impression in a new program. You don’t want to sit the whole year,” he said. “It was a hard year.”

And to make matters worse, Pope left for Kentucky and Young’s new staff didn’t know Baker — or the player he used to be. In practice he was still working back from the injury. The burst that made him such a difficult cover wasn’t there anymore.

“There’s moments where it’s like, ‘Man, it’s still hurting.’ Or it’s aching. And that was hard knowing the player you were, and transitioning to a different phase with a new coaching staff. It makes everything a lot harder,” he said.

So when Baker did actually get back, he was averaging just about 16 minutes a night. There were days when he’d barely play. Going up against his old Big West rival UC Riverside earlier this year — a team he once dropped 23 points on — he took just three shots.

“That took me time to adjust to it because I’ve never been used to it,” Baker said.

He became a role player — knowing he could get more shots elsewhere. But after BYU started 1-3 in Big 12 play, he dug in.

His quickness slowly came back and Young moved him around schematically to attack the rim at 45-degree angles. Baker is best off the bounce, a shot creator on a team that doesn’t really have one.

So Young tried to get him coming off more handoffs, allowing him to go downhill toward the basket and put the ball on the deck. He could pull up and create a shot, or finish around the rim.

“A little bit more off-ball opportunities for me, where I can learn different angles of coming off screens, playing off a lot of handoffs,” Baker explained. “Been working a lot on pick and roll and just getting my primary defender on my back.”

But more than anything, Young wanted him to stay in scoring positions he used to work out of. “I know this is natural for you, so stick in that land,” he kept saying.

It’s worked out. Baker still isn’t scoring 30 points like he’s used to, but he’s consistently giving Young scoring off the bench. He had 15 points to end the regular season and seven to open up the NCAA Tournament.

And against Wisconsin, Young saw the perfect opening to use Baker. The Badgers were dropping their bigs in coverage and Baker could come off handoffs to punish Wisconsin. He went 3 of 5 from the field and kept giving BYU bursts of offense in the second half as the Badgers made runs.

“It was easy to get them on my back and roll out the bigs, just clear the way,” Baker said. “We knew that was going to be there. It came down to a good stretch where we needed to get some scoring. So it worked out well.”

Baker was ready when BYU needed him. He bought in when he didn’t need to. And now he’s heading to the Sweet 16.

“Am I gonna be able to compete at this level? A lot of doubts and hard moments and just practices where you don’t feel your best,” Baker said. “It’s good to know that there’s light on the other side. That we’re here in this moment.”

When Baker committed to BYU, he dreamed of playing in a Sweet 16. He thought it could happen, maybe even with him as a main scoring threat.

And now he’s going to Newark to play Alabama. Not as the star, but as the piece Young needs to keep the Cougars dancing.

“I spent my whole career with people doubting me,” he said. “Even coming out of high school. So it’s nothing new for me. It’s kind of natural to feel like I don’t belong. So it helped me stick through the hard times this year.”

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