UNCW grad Ganon Baker trains NBA stars
Posted by Angie Diamond at 1:50 pm
By Tyler Heffernan
Sports@StarNewsOnline.com
Published: Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 11:28 p.m.
Ganon Baker used to go into YMCA gymnasiums and ask the local kids if they wanted to do a basketball workout with him. He’d drop down on the floor and crank out pushups on four basketballs – two under his hands and two under his feet – and shoot three-pointers effortlessly with either hand.
“The first workout is free,” he’d tell them. “But, next time you have to pay me.”
About a decade later, NBA All-Star Amar’e Stoudemire asks Baker to train him before every regular season. Since 2008, the star forward of the New York Knicks shares his home with Baker for two months to receive personal training.
“One of my favorites (clients) is Amar’e, because he works so hard with such passion,” said Baker, who’s also worked with Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Chris Paul.
The former UNC-Wilmington men’s basketball point guard (1993-95) has built an empire of hoops training and motivational speaking. It’s a combination that has helped him become a pioneer in the specialized industry.
Lori Drake, the new head coach of the Cape Fear Community College women’s basketball program, worked alongside Baker at the 2011 Nike Skills Academy in Hampton, Va.
“He just has a voice about him,” Drake said. “He’s not just a coach, and he’s not just a trainer. He’s a mentor for these athletes, and I think that’s really important to the youth, but obviously it’s become even more important to NBA stars too.”
While his references include the top professionals in the world, Baker hasn’t ditched the abnormal training regimens that got him noticed in YMCA gyms.
“My training methods are unconventional at times. I want to break the monotony of normalcy,” he said. “They’ve done pushups before, but they’ve never done them on a ball. Every kid dribbles, but not every kid uses a tennis ball… A coach tells them what to do, and I show them. My training methods and drills are different from what they’ve ever seen. If I’m a so-called professional at this, I have to go above and beyond.”
Baker credits former UNCW coach Kevin Eastman and current UNCW professor Dr. John Bennett as two of his primary influences for creating and sustaining Ganon Baker Basketball, a business that recently celebrated its 10th-year anniversary. It remains to be seen how much longer he can maintain the fiery passion that his audiences relate to.
“I’d love to do it when I’m 80 (years old),” he said. “I think I have another 10 years of me going hard and doing the demonstrative stuff and being active. I’m not relying on just my spirit and what’s in my mind. I still have to be physical.”
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