When BYU needed to get the basketball to someone who could make clutch free throws in the final seconds against Baylor on Tuesday night, coach Kevin Young quickly thought of one particular player.
“He wakes up thinking no one can guard him.”
— BYU coach Kevin Young on Dawson Baker
That would be reserve guard Dawson Baker, the 6-foot-4 redshirt junior from California who has given the Cougars a spark time and time again off the bench in their second Big 12 season.
“Dawson is a guy who does not lack confidence,” Young said. “I feel really comfortable with him in there in those moments.”
Baker made two free throws with 6.5 seconds left in overtime to seal BYU’s 93-89 win over the Bears, then downplayed his heroics as just another day at the office in his laid-back, Southern California-vibe kind of way. He was 4 of 4 from the line and finished with eight points as the Cougars won three straight Big 12 games for the first time since they joined the league.
“Part of the (reason) for putting me in that situation was (so) I could have the ball to get fouled,” he said. “We knew they were going to press, and try to trap after the first pass. So just getting out of that first corner was big. The ball found me, and I just tried to expire as much time as possible.”
His free throws put BYU up by four points, and Baylor was finished.
After Baker’s 11-point game in 14 minutes of action helped BYU drub Cincinnati 80-52 last Saturday, Young delivered one of the best lines of the season to describe Baker’s confidence level.
“He wakes up thinking no one can guard him,” Young said.
The Cougars (14-6, 5-4) will need that kind of confidence Saturday as they travel to Orlando, Florida, to take on high-scoring UCF (4-5, 13-7). Tipoff is at 2 p.m. MST and the game will be streamed by ESPN+. BYU swept the Knights in three close games last year, including a 68-63 grinder in front of 9,137 at Addition Financial Arena that was the Cougars’ first-ever Big 12 win.
Teammates say Baker’s confidence has shown since he arrived at BYU in the summer of 2023 after a successful three-year stint at UC Irvine, where he was the Big West Freshman of the Year in 2021, an All-Big West Honorable Mention selection in 2022 and a Second Team All-Big West performer in 2023.
“I think guys innately have that, by virtue of it is either in you or not. I think as you grow up, your environment really shapes you there,” Young said. “I know he’s got older brothers that probably beat him up, and I am sure that shaped some of his personality on the court, and built his confidence.”
Baker’s father, Dave, played at Cypress (California) College and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. His brother Dusty played at Weber State and his brother Davis played at Southern Utah.
“I think for him, coming from a smaller level, and being injured last year, I am sure he had some internal questions about doing it at a higher level, and the more success he has had, I think it is growing his confidence even more,” Young said.
Due to a foot injury, Baker appeared in only four games last year. He played a grand total of 40 minutes, and averaged 5.0 points per game. He’s getting the year back via a medical hardship waiver.
This year, he’s averaging 8.4 points and has appeared in all 20 games. He’s shooting 47.4% from the field, 37.3% from 3-point range and 78.5% from the free-throw line.
Baker told the Deseret News last May that when Young was hired to replace Mark Pope he was “blown away” by the new coach’s credentials and quickly decided to stay at BYU.
“We had a great conversation,” Baker said. “As soon as I talked to him, it felt very real and he was totally sincere.”
Having averaged more than 15 points per game in his final season at UC Irvine, Dawson knew his role would change, and he’s embraced it. Young said one of his biggest headaches is finding minutes for all the talented players on the team who are deserving of them, but Baker’s attitude has been refreshing.
The first-year coach said he followed BYU “loosely and casually” when he was in the NBA with the Phoenix Suns, and so he knew a little about Baker’s game, and belief in himself.
“I remember when he transferred here and I saw a highlight film of his, I don’t remember when this was, but that caught my eye, just in terms of he is different than a lot of the guys BYU has had in the past, just stylistically,” Young said. “So that was my first introduction and then lo and behold I end up taking the job here. I knew a little bit about him, and wanted him back.”
Young said he hopes his own kids develop the kind of swagger on the basketball court that Baker has. He also hopes they develop their mid-range game like Baker has. Young said for the most part BYU is a “rim and 3” team, meaning coaches want to see 3-pointers and layups/dunks, as opposed to floaters and shots inside the arc.
However, they have made an exception for Baker, because he’s adept at them.
“We don’t want those pull-up 2s, because they don’t go in. He is a guy where they do go in,” Young said. “So he’s got (permission) to take them.”
Young said in the NBA he coached “three of the best mid-range shooters the game has ever seen” in Chris Paul, Devin Booker and Kevin Durant and never told them not to shoot long 2s.
“That wouldn’t be smart. So with Dawson, I pulled him aside and said, ‘Hey, I know we are really highlighting the rim. But when teams play this drop coverage like we have seen (you) are a guy who can make that shot at a high clip,’” Young said. “And I think it adds another weapon to our assault offensively.”
