Kyle Goon: Baltimore's basketball up-and-comers could be a special generation.
Ace Baldwin thinks of his basketball journey as a literal climb. He probably wouldn't be one of the best guards in the Big Ten if St. Frances Academy coach Nick Myles hadn't made him run stairs every day.
Even though it has been almost five years since his heady days with the Panthers — when he was a three-time Baltimore Catholic League Tournament MVP — Baldwin still groaned this week as he thought back to scaling all the floors at St. Frances with his teammates, 10 or more times before practice.
That was what playing for the Panthers was like. Your desire for success had to be stronger than the pain you felt in your legs and sides while scrambling up the staircase.
"I think it was more competitive in there," Baldwin said. "We beat up on each other in there. We just was getting after it."
Added Baldwin: "I think it's just a Baltimore thing."
Baldwin is celebrating a homecoming on Friday night at CFG Arena, where his Penn State Nittany Lions take on Virginia Tech in the nightcap of a Hall of Fame Series doubleheader that also features Virginia and Villanova. As of Wednesday afternoon, Baldwin was still hoping for an allotment of 30 tickets to accommodate the friends and family eager to see the 6-foot-1 guard play in his hometown for the first time in his college career.
To Baldwin, however, one of the most exciting parts of this climb is how many guys from the Baltimore area (especially players with St. Frances ties) are making it with him.
In the NBA, the Washington Wizards scooped up St. Frances alum and Pitt standout Bub Carrington, who joins Toronto's Immanuel Quickley (John Carroll) and Houston's Cam Whitmore (Archibishop Spalding) as the most promising pro players from the area. The Wizards are rebuilding, but Carrington has started nine of the first 10 games of his NBA career, tallying 9.9 points, 5.1 assists and 4.5 rebounds while shooting 36.1% from 3-point range.
At Maryland, the Terps have gone 3-0 with Julian Reese and five-star recruit Derik Queen as their frontcourt starters. Reese was a standout at St. Frances and is a senior with Maryland. Queen started at St. Frances before transferring to Montverde Academy in Florida as a sophomore and going on to be a McDonald's All-American. They're two of the team's top four scorers, and Queen notably began the season with a 22-point, 20-rebound performance, a freshman debut record.
What makes these players tick? Reese, the brother of Chicago Sky star Angel Reese , said they share a common style.
"Just playing a little harder, a little gritty," he said. "A little smashmouth basketball."
This generation of gritty players has the potential to carry a new mantle for the Baltimore basketball scene. In the last two years, Carmelo Anthony and Rudy Gay retired from the NBA , bringing the end to a proud era. This vanguard might not reach those heights of stardom, but there is a renewed energy to the coming wave.
Carrington, who is Gay's second cousin, has heard many times about Gay's golden era when he played at Spalding, around the same time Anthony was coming up at Towson Catholic. Though a fan of both, he views these tales with skepticism: "Those were the good ol' days, apparently." For Baldwin, his local heroes included Aquille Carr and Josh Selby.
Carrington feels these days are plenty good, too. The 19-year-old ticked off other former teammates he's following with interest: Daquan Davis at Florida State, Bryce Baldwin at James Madison, and Jahnathan Lamothe at North Carolina A&T among them. He's not surprised so many Panthers (and other Baltimoreans) are building buzz across the country.
"Before you make it everywhere else, you gotta make it out of St. Frances," Carrington said. "It's the culture they build. They breed tough players. You gotta fight for everything you get there."
Although many of these players have come out of St. Frances, Myles said this week that the success of Baltimoreans hitting the college and pro ranks can be attributed to the strength of the Baltimore Catholic League, which produces talent even if some of the best players are siphoned off to prep schools. He pointed out Miami's Haywood Highsmith (Archbishop Curley) and Chicago's Jalen Smith (St. Joseph) as other players who are in the NBA. "We're still producing guys in Baltimore."
While Myles said Queen (who played one season at St. Frances) will "always be one of my kids" and respects the path he took through Florida, he hopes locals see Carrington's story as a viable alternative to stay playing in the city.
"It just goes back to the old-school way of doing things," Myles said. "Bub is a late bloomer who just stayed in the gym, stayed consistent. You can still make it out of Baltimore the old-fashioned way. You can still reach your dreams."
What is notable is how close to the city some of these standouts are. Maryland is slated to face No. 15 Marquette at home Friday, with five of its next six contests at home for those hoping to see Reese and Queen continue to team up for the Terps. Already struggling in the standings, the Wizards are going all in on the youth movement, meaning Carrington figures to keep getting playing time in the NBA just a short drive (or train ride) away.
Carrington's journey from St. Frances to Pitt to a lottery pick especially feels like a whirlwind, but he's starting to grasp what this generation of Baltimore-born players could do.
"We definitely have a chance to be special," Carrington said. "We want to be like that. We pride ourselves on how we play, how we rep our city. ... It would be an honor to even be classified as that kind of group."
Friday, Baltimoreans staying home will be able to get a taste of the kind of talent the city basketball scene is cranking out. Baldwin, the reigning Big Ten defensive player of the year, is excited to see whom he can inspire by showing out locally.
"It means a lot knowing the kids come out and watch me play," he said. "It also just gives me that motivation. I gotta be a good leader and show them the way."
