Troy Baxter Jr.

Troy Leonard Baxter Jr. (born March 5, 1996)[1] is an American professional basketball player for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the UNLV Runnin' Rebels, Florida Gulf Coast Eagles and Morgan State Bears.

Troy Baxter Jr.
No. 1 – Fort Wayne Mad Ants
PositionForward
LeagueNBA G League
Personal information
Born (1996-03-05) March 5, 1996
Tallahassee, Florida
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High schoolOldsmar Christian
(Oldsmar, Florida)
College
NBA draft2021 / Undrafted
Playing career2021–present
Career history
2021–2022Windy City Bulls
2022Wisconsin Herd
2022Grand Rapids Gold
2022–presentFort Wayne Mad Ants
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-MEAC (2021)
  • MEAC All-Defensive Team (2021)

High school career

Baxter attended Oldsmar Christian School in Oldsmar, Florida. He saw his stock rise as he played for Team Breakdown in the Under Armour Association in 2015.[2][3] Baxter committed to play college basketball for the South Florida Bulls on May 1, 2015.[3]

Baxter averaged 17 points, 7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks as a senior during the 2015–16 season.[2] He was rated as a four-star recruit and ranked 90th in the ESPN 100.[2] Baxter won the 2016 American Family Insurance High School Slam Dunk Contest.[2][4] On August 27, 2016, it was reported that Baxter had been released from his letter of intent with South Florida.[2] On September 1, 2016, he committed to the UNLV Runnin' Rebels.[5]

College career

UNLV (2016–2017)

Baxter averaged 4.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game during his freshman season with the UNLV Runnin' Rebels.[6] His playing time did not meet his expectations and the Runnin' Rebels only won four games in conference play.[7] On March 30, 2017, Baxter announced that he would not return to the Runnin' Rebels.[6]

Florida Gulf Coast (2017–2019)

On June 20, 2017, Baxter committed to play for the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles.[8] He had to sit out the 2017–18 due to National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) transfer rules.[8] Baxter treated practice sessions as his game time and credits the period with helping him develop a better feel for basketball.[7]

Baxter averaged 7.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.1 blocks per game during the 2018–19 season.[7] On April 5, 2019, he declared for the 2019 NBA draft.[9] He did not sign with an agent and was eligible to return to college.[10] Baxter elected to return after not liking his draft chances but announced his intention to transfer.[7]

Morgan State (2019–2021)

Baxter desired to transfer to a team with coaches that had experience sending players to the National Basketball Association (NBA).[7] He chose the Morgan State Bears for their head coach Kevin Broadus who had coached 12 future NBA players during his college career.[7]

Baxter averaged 10.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game during the 2019–20 season.[11] His 1.9 blocks per game were the second highest in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).[11]

Baxter averaged 15.5 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game during the 2020–21 season.[12] He was selected to the All-MEAC First Team and the All-Defensive Team.[13] He won the 2021 Great Clips Slam Dunk Championship and became the first player to win slam dunk titles in high school and college.[14] On August 9, 2021, Baxter was named as the MEAC Male Student-Athlete of the Year for his academic and extracurricular work.[15]

Professional career

Windy City Bulls (2021–2022)

After going undrafted in the 2021 NBA draft, Baxter joined the Chicago Bulls for the 2021 NBA Summer League.[16] On October 15, 2021, he signed a contract with the Bulls,[17] but was waived the next day.[18][19] Baxter joined the Windy City Bulls as an affiliate player.[20] He was then later waived on February 1, 2022.

Wisconsin Herd (2022)

Baxter was acquired by the Wisconsin Herd of the NBA G League on February 2, 2022, but was waived on February 6.[21]

Grand Rapids Gold (2022)

On February 14, 2022, Baxter was acquired by the Grand Rapids Gold.[22] Baxter was then later waived on March 3, 2022.[23]

Fort Wayne Mad Ants (2022–present)

On March 18, 2022, Baxter was acquired via available player pool by the Fort Wayne Mad Ants.[24]

Personal life

Baxter is the son of Dianna and Troy Baxter Sr.[7] He has a daughter who was born in June 2020.[11] Baxter cites LeBron James as his idol due to his activism.[25]

References
  1. "Troy Jr". UNLV Athletics. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  2. Knight, Joey (August 27, 2016). "Heralded freshman Troy Baxter won't join USF". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  3. Phillips, Scott (May 1, 2015). "South Florida lands top-150 Class of 2016 wing". NBC Sports. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  4. "South Florida signee Troy Baxter wins dunk contest at High School Slam". USA Today High School Sports. April 1, 2016. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  5. Bern, Taylor (September 1, 2016). "Four-star forward joins UNLV's 2016 recruiting class". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  6. "Troy Baxter Jr., Zion Morgan, Jalen Poyser leaving UNLV after 1 season". ESPN. March 30, 2017. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  7. "Troy Baxter Plays Key Role in his First Season for the Bears". Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. February 13, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  8. Caldwell, Dana (June 21, 2017). "FGCU men add UNLV sophomore forward Troy Baxter with last scholarship". Naples Daily News. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  9. "FGCU's Baxter declares for NBA Draft". FGCU Athletics. April 5, 2019. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  10. Hardwig, Greg (April 5, 2019). "College basketball: FGCU's Troy Baxter declares for NBA Draft; Scott, Ernst at new schools". Naples Daily News. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  11. Ashley, Mike (December 16, 2020). "After Winding Journey, Troy Baxter Finds Hoops Home At Morgan State". PressBox. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  12. Davies, Spencer (July 30, 2021). "Troy Baxter Jr. had to learn to fall in love with the grind". Basketball News. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  13. "MEAC Announces Men's Basketball All-Conference Honors, presented by TowneBank". Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. March 5, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  14. Sharrock, Rory (April 6, 2021). "Tallahassee native Troy Baxter Jr. leaps over foes as NCAA slam dunk champion". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  15. "MEAC Names Troy Baxter, Jr. 2021 Male Student-Athlete of the Year". Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. August 9, 2021. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  16. Schaefer, Rob (August 4, 2021). "Bulls' Summer League roster headlined by Patrick Williams". NBC Sports Chicago. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
  17. Chicago Bulls [@chicagobulls] (October 15, 2021). "Transaction: We have signed Troy Baxter Jr" (Tweet). Retrieved October 23, 2021 – via Twitter.
  18. Chicago Bulls [@chicagobulls] (October 16, 2021). "Transactions: We have waived forwards Stanley Johnson and Troy Baxter Jr" (Tweet). Retrieved October 23, 2021 – via Twitter.
  19. Johnson, K. C. (October 17, 2021). "Bulls waive Stanley Johnson, keep Matt Thomas". NBC Sports Chicago. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  20. Brown, Kyle (October 25, 2021). "Windy City Bulls Announce Opening Night Roster". NBA.com. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  21. "2021-22 NBA G League Transactions". gleague.nba.com. February 7, 2022. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  22. "2021-22 NBA G League Transactions". gleague.nba.com. February 14, 2022. Retrieved February 14, 2022.
  23. "2021-22 NBA G League Transactions". gleague.nba.com. March 3, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  24. "2021-22 NBA G League Transactions". gleague.nba.com. March 18, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
  25. Hughes, Chase (July 9, 2021). "Why NBA Draft prospect looks up to LeBron". NBC Sports Washington. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
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