NBA Trainer Teaches Hoops at St. Agnes

If anyone walked by the St. Agnes gym on Wednesday and Thursday night, they may have thought there was an ROTC drill instructor inside screaming at soldiers.

Instead, it was Ganon Baker running a two-day basketball camp for Rockville Centre's Game 7 Sports.

Baker, who's trained NBA stars like LeBron James, Amar'e Stoudemire and Chris Paul, visited Long Island for the first time to show both local and out-of-town athletes some of the training exercises he does with his NBA pros. Players and coaches from as far as Philadelphia took the trip to the St. Agnes gym for a chance to work with Baker.

During the two-and-a-half hour sessions, Baker conducted a series of ball handling, dribbling and finishing drills – emphasizing the basics to the young athletes, who were between 10 and 18 years old.

"I want people to look at how I attack basketball, and attack just one thing like that in their life," Baker said. "It's all about working your tail off – imagine if everyone worked this hard and had this much passion for something in their life."

Over the squeaking sounds of sneakers on the hardwood and the heaving chests of exhausted players, Baker could be heard shouting words of encouragement and motivation to players. If players slacked off then they were scolded, but if they performed well, they were met with a high fives and positive reinforcement. Baker is like a martinet, drill sergeant and motivational speaker all rolled into a six-foot basketball maven.

Brian Laux, of Lincroft, New Jersey, came for the chance to experience one of Baker's sessions.

"I'm hoping to get some things here that I can teach and show my kids [at St. Leo's High School]," he said. "It's very exciting – I hope to carry some of his energy back to New Jersey."

Jon Wiesenberg, the basketball coach at South Side Middle School, said this was a unique opportunity.

"It's an incredible experience for kids this age to be introduced to this level of basketball," Wiesenberg said. "The chance to work with the trainer of the NBA MVP is a rare experience that likely won't come around again for awhile."

If the kids got anything out of the two and a half hour sessions, Baker said he wanted to help them find themselves.

"God gives us all a gift and it is our responsibility to honor him through that gift and through his playbook," he said. "Game 7 serves the community and gives an outlet for the kids to learn and apply what their parents and teachers are telling them.  I just hope to show these kids who they are through basketball."