SHELBY — There are so many special ingredients to the Shelby boys basketball district championship run.
A historic player like Alex Bruskotter, Casey Lantz's second half surge, Kasen Homan deciding to play basketball instead of sitting out to focus on baseball, Issaiah Ramsey overcoming his fear of failure and every single role player doing his job night in and night out.
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Yet, the most important might be the inanimate object sitting in Bryson Baker's basement.
The Baker Family poker table is exactly where the Shelby Whippets won the Division II district championship, not Ontario High School.
"It has a lot to do with it," Shelby coach Greg Gallaway said. "You cannot force your kids to hang out after practice, but I tell you what, if you have guys who are with each other as soon as practice is over creating that chemistry outside of the two hours we go, it just creates a special team. We thrive on that. Our team separates itself from others by how connected it is. Whether it is dinner or poker at each other's houses every single night, it creates that chemistry. It is also fun to hear the chirping between them at practice about who wins in poker. It is special."
The Shelby Whippets gather at least once at week at senior Bryson Baker's house for a team meal which routinely turns into a competitive game of poker by the end of the night. It is there where Baker sits back and enjoys the company of his teammates as they build a bond that will last much longer than basketball season. The grow close together, laugh with each other and make friendships for life. And the poker game may never end.
Baker, whose sisters Olivia and Haylie guided the Shelby girls basketball team to a perfect 22-0 season, a regional championship game berth and to a tie for the most wins in a singe season in program history during the 2021-22 season, got the idea to host his teammates once a week from that historic girls basketball team.
"My sisters' senior year, they held team meal once a week and before the season started, I talked to my parents about hosting my team because I wanted to help bring the team together," Baker said. "So, we started having team meal once a week and then, all of a sudden, we found ourselves at the poker table and that is where we really bond. We get to be competitive with each other but there are so many laughs and jokes shared that it really builds our chemistry."
Baker sees some good poker players among the Whippets.
"Alex is a good bluffer," Baker said. "Once he wins once, he likes to bet a lot of chips whether he has a hand or not. Eli is pretty good and Brayden is a nice player. Ramsey and I have won a few times. We play so much that it feels like a different person is winning every time."
A senior, Baker isn't the highest scoring player on the team. He doesn't lead in rebounds, assists or steals. But what he does is felt much deeper than the stat sheet. He is the glue guy, the guy who is as selfless as they come and the guy who makes sure his team is in sync at all times of the day.
"There are so many little things he does that people do not see," Gallaway said. "We are not here without him. It is not even a question. I could argue that he is the most important piece to this team. He understands the game so well and understands what we are trying to do beyond the Xs and Os. He is like another coach out on the floor."
Bruskotter agrees.
"It is 100% true," Bruskotter said. "He couldn't care less if he scores 10 or 0. He knows that, at this point, the most important thing is winning and that is all he wants to do. He is the ultimate glue guy. After the Lex game, we all went over to his house and hung out. He is the glue guy on and off the court."
Baker averaged five points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and has just 21 turnovers during the regular season. Not the most eye-popping stat line, but the only thing he cares about is the 23 victories the Whippets piled up this season, which is a new program record for wins in a single season. He cares about the fifth straight Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference championship and the fourth district championship in Shelby boys basketball history. He cares about getting his guys their first regional tournament win in 67 years.
Not how many points he scores on a nightly basis.
"I just want to win," Baker said. "And I want to do whatever it takes for us to win. It can be scoring 10 points or two points. Or, I could set good screens and score no points. Whatever it is, I am going to do what helps us win."
One major way he helps his team is with his poise. In a game against River Valley on Feb. 1, the Whippets needed a win to clinch an MOAC championship. The Whippets were locked in a tight one and needed a boost and Baker was there. He recorded a near triple double with 10 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for arguably the best game of his career.
"We have an extremely talented team so my focus was to figure out a way to impact this team in one way or another," Baker said. "I am very level headed compared to most people so I want to be that calming influence for my guys."
Lantz felt Baker's poise in that game.
"He is always calm, cool and collected and is there for everyone," Lantz said. "He does his job very well and holds the team together on and off the court."
Baker also rises to the occasion. In the Whippets' Division II district championship victory over Lexington, he was tasked with guarding 6-foot-8 Elijah Hudson giving up a solid eight inches to his defensive assignment. He held Hudson to just six points on 2-of-9 shooting and forced him into five turnovers.
"Defensively, we will ask him to guard a point guard and then go out and guard Hudson in the district championship game," Gallaway said. "And he excels at it. He does what he is asked and couldn't care less about his points. He makes such an impact that we are not in a regional game without Bryson Baker."
For the record, Baker had five points on 2-of-3 shooting with three rebounds and five assists in the title game.
And yet, he didn't care about a single stat. He cared about the piece of net he cut down and the district championship trophy going in the case.
He also cared about what the Whippets were going to have for a postgame meal he and his family hosted after the game and he cared about who all was going to join in on the happiest poker game of his life.
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: The Glue Guy: Baker's team-first mindset, poker table the key to Shelby's success
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