DGB.com's Great Players of the Past
Michelle Baker - Brandywine High School
Photo courtesy of St. Joseph University Athletics Department
Inducted August 17, 2009
Notable:
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1,972 career points for Brandywine
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First Team All-State, 2008
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Second Team All-State, 2006, 2007
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Honorable Mention All-State, 2005
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Scored 534 points in her senior year alone.
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Currently plays for St. Joe's University in Philadelphia.
Additional:
How does a player end up 4th on the state’s all-time scoring list, falling just shy of 2,000 points, and yet hardly anyone who’s not an avid girls basketball fan knows about her? Blame it all on Elena Delle Donne, Khadijah Rushdan and bad timing. Michelle and Elena are both high school Class of 2008 grads. As anyone who lived through that whole media whirlwind can tell you, after all the reporters did their duty and wrote about Rushdan and Delle Donne, there just wasn’t a whole lot of time or space available to cover any of the other great players of the era. No one else did this neglect impact more upon than on Michelle Baker. Not helping matters was that she opted to play for a school that, during her 4 years there, never made it to Final Four nor ever seriously challenged for a spot there. So, for four years, Baker toiled away, playing peerless basketball, out of the limelight. But people in the know were well aware of her. When NCAA Division 1 schools came a courtin’, she decided to commit to St. Joe’s, where she is about to enter her sophomore season.
Where Is She Now?
Michelle is a Lady Hawk playing for St. Joe's. In her freshman year, she played in 30 games (started 8), and averaged 5.4 ppg.
Photo courtesy the (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal
Going around UA's Shannon O'Hanlon at The Bob.
Photos courtesy the (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal
Michelle in action against rival Concord.
Michelle finds time to help out as a volunteer during spring AAU tournaments hosted by the AAU Chesco Lightning and the WCU Rams. With her, at right, is her step-father, John Panichelli, who is the tournament director for the Rams/Lightning events.
Go to Great Players of the Past, 2009 Edition Index Page.
Go to Great Players of the Past, 2008 Index Page.