NEWARK, New Jersey — You’ve probably seen the video by now.
After being controversially ejected from Saturday’s Round of 32 matchup with Wisconsin, Dawson Baker was banished to BYU’s locker room, forced to watch the game’s thrilling conclusion on television despite being just yards away from the action.
A camera in the locker room captured Baker during the game’s final seconds, showing him pacing around the room, talking to the TV and eventually screaming with joy following Mawot Mag’s defensive heroics to seal the upset.
The sequence was posted to social media via BYU’s official channels, having been viewed more than 3 million times thus far across various posts and platforms.
While the video showed a side of Baker that wouldn’t typically be visible to the general public, he said what he felt at the time wasn’t exactly unfamiliar.
“That’s kind of just how I watch Laker games in the playoffs,” Baker laughingly told the Deseret News. “That’s just how I get into the game.
“... It was stressful watching (BYU) late in that game, and just being in the locker room was kind of a surreal moment where you’re like, ‘What just happened, how am I here?’ And you know, you want to be with your team in that moment and be able to celebrate with them, so it’s hard. But I’m just happy we won the game and was just ecstatic to see the guys come back to locker room.”
With just over three minutes left to play against Wisconsin, Baker’s attempt to split a double team resulted in hitting Max Klesmit in the midsection and being called for a flagrant-two foul, which came with an automatic ejection.
Despite the ejection, Baker harbors no ill will toward the situation, calling it “unfortunate” and saying the contact happened “unintentionally.”
“Ultimately, I’m just happy we won,” Baker said. “And once you win, you kind of look past it, especially when you’re going to the Sweet 16.”
The ejection did come with a silver lining, however. Baker received a number of messages from old teammates and friends who saw the viral video and wanted to wish him well going forward in the tournament.
“A lot of people I haven’t talked to in a long time reached out and said stuff just kind of like, ‘Man, as a kid, I knew you were going to go places just knowing you,’ and stuff like that,” Baker said. “And so I was grateful for a lot of cool messages like that from people back in my childhood that reached out.”
Baker’s journey to this Sweet 16 has differed from most of his teammates. Following a full-time Latter-day Saint mission to Guam, the Southern California native landed at UC Irvine, where he played three seasons, scored more than 1,000 points and blossomed into an All-Big West talent.
He transferred to BYU prior to the 2023 campaign, but foot issues kept him off the court for all but four games. A grueling road to recovery ensued, giving Baker no true guarantees to be part of new head coach Kevin Young’s plans for the program.
However, in his improved health, the man nicknamed “shot maker” — originally by ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt — has proven valuable as a three-level scorer off the bench for the Cougars, scoring 7.6 points per game, shooting 45.9% from the field and 38.7% from 3-point range.
Baker reached double figures in scoring nine times during the regular season, and in two NCAA Tournament games has scored a total of 15 points on 4-of-7 shooting and a perfect 6-for-6 mark from the free-throw line.
“I’ve always wanted to take basketball as far as I could and get the full college experience, and this is definitely it.”
— BYU guard Dawson Baker
As BYU prepares to face No. 2 seed Alabama Thursday in the program’s third-ever Sweet 16 appearance, Baker feels nothing but gratitude for his circumstances and everything that’s brought him to this point. After what he’s been through, he refuses to take a stage like this for granted.
“I’ve always wanted to take basketball as far as I could and get the full college experience, and this is definitely it,” Baker said. “It’s something that when I look back in my whole basketball career, it would be many great moments, but this will be one that I will always look back and be like, ‘Man, that was so cool.’ My kids will be able to hear stories about this, and I’ll get to talk to the rest of these teammates for the rest our lives about this cool stuff that we just did.
“In my last last couple years, I’ve had more injuries than I’d had in my whole career, and so it is very foreign territory for me. It’s made this year very sweet, just knowing how far we’ve advanced and the amazing things that we’ve done,” Baker continued. “I’ve always wanted to be a part of a historic season for BYU and be a part of that legacy, so it’s been super rewarding to know that all those long nights and stressful moments, all those surgeries I had to go through, and all that pain and suffering, it led me to a moment like this to be around these guys.”
