Joey Baker: Duke Should "Get Into Teams"

Junior patterning his leadership after Jack White

Joey Baker knows that he’ll need to step out of his comfort zone to take on more of a leadership role this season. He’s patterning his approach after a departed senior.

“A guy I kind of looked up to in that sense was Jack White,” he said. “He was super vocal in practices, workouts, lifts. He was talking. And he wasn’t just talking a lot—you knew what was going on. I realized coming into this season, before we even came on campus, that was going to be missing—something that was there the past two years and that I’d prob have to fill his shoes little bit more. I’m typically a lead by example guy, but I definitely upped the ante on vocal leadership. I’m talking more on the court. Wendell (Moore Jr.) been great as well—super vocal guy. Matt Hurt is talking more than ever. It’s exciting. I think everybody’s growing and maturing, filling into spots that have opened up.”

Baker is excited about this year’s Duke team.

“I think we’re deep,” he said. “We’re versatile, and we’re athletic. We’ll get into teams, and we’ll play fast. We’ve got a lot of really good players that bring different things to the table. I think Coach will let that be seen. It’ll be a fun year. We’ll have a lot of good games, hopefully, on the schedule. I know that’s still in the works. I’m excited for this year. I’m excited for you guys to see the team. I think you guys will love it.”