Jemarl Baker embraces featured role, pours in 33 points as Arizona clobbers NAU, 96-53

With Nico Mannion running the show and Josh Green scoring acrobatically from the wing, the Arizona Wildcats didn't need Jemarl Baker for a lot of shooting last season.

When Baker hit 4 of 7 3s to help the Wildcats pull out a 75-72 win at Washington last January, that was his high point. He averaged just 5.7 points on the season.

This season, judging by the seven 3-point bombs he threw in Monday en route to a career-high 33 points in Arizona’s 96-53 win over Northern Arizona, at least three or four 3s might be the expectation for Baker.

"He's been a consistent of a shooter as we've had," UA coach Sean Miller said. "But it's hard to be a really consistent shooter when you have the role that he had on last year's team, although it was a very important role.

Arizona Wildcats guard Jemarl Baker Jr. (3) breaks out of a double team while looking to pass the ball during the first half of Arizona Wildcats vs NAU Lumberjacks men's basketball game at McKale Center, 1721 E. Enke Dr., in Tucson, Ariz. on Dec. 7, 2020.
Rebecca Sasnett / Arizona Daily Star

"You need opportunity, and he has it on this year's team. Quite frankly, our team needs him, not necessarily to play exactly like he did tonight, but being a guy who plays with great offensive confidence."

In what was one of the best 3-point shooting performances in Arizona history, Baker hit his first seven from beyond the arc before missing his final two. He actually could have thrown up another miss and tied UA’s single-game 3-point percentage record for 10 or more attempts set by Michael Dickerson (1996-97) and Kyle Fogg (2009-10) both of whom were 7 for 10.

As it was, Baker’s 5 for 5 3-point shooting in the first half tied the UA record for single-half 3-point percentage, set also by Salim Stoudamire twice and by Jawann McClellan during games played late in the Lute Olson era.

Not that any of that registered inside Baker’s head, the way he put it.

“I wasn’t really thinking about it,” Baker said. “I was just going out there and playing basketball. I mean, I knew I was feeling good after the first shot went in. I started the game with a layup and that felt good as well. But we have a really unselfish team and I was just able to keep hitting shots.”

There were plenty of shots to go around, as it turned out. While the Wildcats shot 66.7% overall, four players scored nine or more points and 12 players scored at least one. Forward Jordan Brown pulled out a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, while wing Bennedict Mathurin had 11 points, five rebounds and four assists.

Miller also cleared his bench and played freshman wings Tibet Gorener and Tautvilas Tubelis for the first time this season, with Gorener responding by hitting 2 of 3 3-pointers over his six minutes.

“As he gets bigger and stronger down the road, he’s going to be a very good player for us,” Miller said of the 6-8 Turkish freshman.

The only Wildcat who had a rough night might have been freshman forward Azuolas Tubelis, who limped off the court midway through the first half for a brief trip to the locker room with a sore ankle, and eventually fouled out after 10 minutes.

But before the Wildcats could have all that fun, they had a pregame COVID-19 scare. The school announced 14 minutes before tipoff that assistant coach Jason Terry would not be present because of an “inconclusive” test result.

UA said Terry would be retested Tuesday morning but if the test is a confirmed positive, and if contact tracing determines enough players had at least 15 minutes of cumulative close contact with Terry since his previous test, the Wildcats' next two games could be in doubt.

UA is scheduled to host Bakersfield on Wednesday and UTEP on Saturday, although Miller expressed optimism that the Wildcats will be able to move on without issue.

“It is what it is – it’s inconclusive,” Miller said. “I think we have a lot of positive thoughts that he’s fine.”

Once the game was started Monday, there was never a doubt which way it was going. The Wildcats took an early 15-0 lead, keeping NAU scoreless until Green’s older brother, Jay Green, made a reverse layup with 15:12 left in the half.

To that point, the Lumberjacks had missed their first six field goals and committed four turnovers while Baker and James Akinjo each hit early 3-pointers.

Baker actually beat his previous career high of 17 in the first half alone, scoring 21 to help UA take a 53-27 halftime lead against the Lumberjacks, who were playing their first game after resuming practices just three days earlier following a 14-day COVID-19 pause.

During his postgame Zoom interview, Baker said UA coaches had been prodding him to stay aggressive and take his shots. Especially without freshman guard Kerr Kriisa, who remains ineligible and is also in isolation after returning from Estonia, the Wildcats aren’t as deep with shooters as in guys who can drive to the basket or, as Brown did Monday, dominate in the post.

Two days after Miller complained about his players' seven offensive fouls against Eastern Washington, Brown returned with 17 points and 11 rebounds, going perfect both in the field (6-6) and at the free-throw line (5-5). He only fouled twice.

“So much of it was about Jamal and the great night he had, but Jordan came ready to play,” Miller said. “He’s adjusted to taking the charge in the post…. And he gets the ball in and around the paint. He’s got a great touch.”