By Tommy Mitch, Staff Writer
It all started with a ball and a dream for a kid in the Dominican Republic. Fast forward about 20 years, and he finds himself on the biggest stage in college basketball.
Chad Baker Mazara, born in Santo Domingo, has had his love for the game of basketball take him all over the world. Chad moved to Colonia, New Jersey in 2017 for a better opportunity to showcase his talents, and boy did he turn heads in a hurry.
Our first glimpse of how special this kid could be was in the Greater Middlesex County Championship game at the RAC, where he scored 10 points alone in the second half to spark a huge comeback for the Patriots, but ultimately falling short courtesy of a half court buzzer beater to the hands of St. Joes. He followed that game up with a monstrous senior season, scoring 551 points, 19 ppg, leading his team to a 24-5 record and winning a sectional championship. Coming out of high school, Baker decided to take a different route from most other athletes, and made his way out to Geneva, Ohio to play for Spire Academy. There he was able to take his game to the next level, as he led that Spire team full of stars to a 23-4 record, qualifying for the 2020 National Prep Championship, and being ranked 8th nationally. Following a very successful season at Spire, Baker started to gain the attention of many college coaches and was given the opportunity to play Division 1 basketball in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at Duquesne University. Shocking to no one, he found much success at this level as well, appearing in 15 games (started in 13) and averaging 9.5 points throughout those games. Chad’s long journey took another stop following his lone season at Duquesne, touching down in San Diego, California, to further his academic and athletic career at the prestigious San Diego State University, home to 2x NBA Champion Kawhi Leonard. Chad had a slightly different role on the Aztecs than what he was used to, as he was asked to come off the bench and provide a spark on both sides of the ball. Not only did he do that, but he did it better than anyone else in his conference, being awarded as the Mountain West Sixth Man of the Year following the season. In 31 games played this season and 13 minutes per game, Baker averaged 6.4 PPG, shooting 42% from the field and 40% from 3, which is extremely efficient. Perhaps his biggest game of the year came on the grandest stage of them all, the NCAA tournament, March Madness. San Diego State opened up with Creighton in the first round, and Baker erupted for 17 points in the first half and the Aztecs were on their way to a first round win, but for reasons still unknown, Chad barely saw the floor in the second half as he was forced to watch the lead disappear and later lose by 3 in overtime. One can’t help to think that the game could’ve ended differently had he gotten more of an opportunity in crunch time. But that will not hold Baker Mazara down, as he has his eyes set on an even bigger 2022 season. Whether it be in San Diego or elsewhere, he will always have his town and supporting cast rooting him on.
