Maceo Demond Baston (born May 29, 1976) is an American former professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

player. He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. At a playing height of , and a playing weight of , he played at the

power forward The power forward (PF), also known as the four, is one of the five traditional Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. Traditionally, power forwards have played a role similar to center (basketball), centers. When on Of ...

position.

High school

Baston attended

H. Grady Spruce High School H. Grady Spruce High School is a public school in the Spruce Square Development of Southeast Dallas in the state of Texas. H. Grady Spruce High School, which covers grades 9–12, is a part of the Dallas Independent School District. Spruce serve ...

, in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, where he played basketball.

College career

After graduating from high school, Baston played

at the

. At Michigan, he was part of an all-star recruiting class that included

Maurice Taylor Maurice De Shawn Taylor (born October 30, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He played power forward and center positions. Originally from Detroit, Taylor played college basketball at Michigan and was selected by the L ...

, Travis Conlon,

Jerod Ward Jerod Davanta Ward (born May 5, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player, who played shooting guard, small forward, power forward and center positions. Currently, Ward is a TEDx & Motivational Keynote Speaker, Consultant, Coach an ...

, and Willie Mitchell. He was known for his above-average dunking ability, and tenacious defense. Baston averaged 10.7 points and 6.6 rebounds a game for his Michigan career, which included NCAA Tournament appearances in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

and

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

, and the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...

Championship in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

. Michigan later forfeited its entire 1996–97 season schedule, after

Robert Traylor Robert DeShaun "Tractor" Traylor (February 1, 1977 – May 11, 2011) was an American professional basketball player. He got his nickname because of his hulking frame. Traylor was the sixth pick in the 1998 NBA draft and played seven seasons in th ...

, and

Louis Bullock Louis "Lou" Bullock, Jr. (born May 20, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. Although his records have officially been vacated, due to the University of Michigan basketball scandal, his vacated records are unsurpassed for mo ...

were found to have taken money from a Michigan booster.

Professional career

Early career

Baston was drafted in the second round (58th overall), by the Chicago Bulls, in

, but he did not appear in any games for them. He then played for the

Quad City Thunder The Quad City Thunder was a Continental Basketball Association franchise that was based in the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. They played in the CBA from the 1987–88 season until the CBA folded in 2001. The Thunder were successful on the co ...

in the CBA from 1998 to 2000, where he was a CBA All-Star in 2000. He was honored as the CBA Defensive Player of the Year, and selected to the All-CBA First Team and All-Defensive Team in 2000. After that, he played in Europe. He played in Italy ( SC Montecatini), and in Spain (

Joventut Badalona Club Joventut Badalona, S.A.D. () is a Spanish professional basketball club based in Badalona, Catalonia, Spain, playing in the Liga ACB and the EuroCup. Known to their fans as ''La Penya'' (in English, ''The Club''), it is one of only two teams ...

Toronto Raptors

After playing in Europe, Baston played with the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Atlantic Division. They play their home games a ...

(February–April 2003).

Maccabi Tel Aviv

After playing with the

, Baston moved to the Israeli League club

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

. While with Maccabi, Baston set the

EuroLeague Final Four The EuroLeague Final Four is the final four format championship of the European-wide top-tier level EuroLeague professional club basketball competition. The Euroleague Basketball Company used the final four format for the first time in 2002, f ...

record for blocks in a game, with 6 versus

Tau Ceramica Club Deportivo Saski-Baskonia, S.A.D., commonly known as Saski Baskonia (), also known as Cazoo Baskonia for sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team that is based in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB and the ...

, in the 2006 EuroLeague Semifinals.

Indiana Pacers

On July 28, 2006, the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The Pacers were first esta ...

signed Baston to a two-year deal, worth $1.8 million, with the second year being a player option. He appeared in 47 games with the team, and averaged 3 points per game.

Return to Raptors

On July 11, 2007, Baston signed an offer sheet to return to the Raptors, worth roughly US$3.8 million, over two years. The Pacers declined to match the offer.

Return to Pacers

The Pacers reacquired Baston on July 9, 2008, in a trade with the Raptors, which also included

Jermaine O'Neal Jermaine Lee O'Neal Sr. (born October 13, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. The center–power forward had a successful high school career and declared his eligibility for the 1996 NBA draft straight out of high sch ...

and

T. J. Ford Terrance Jerod Ford Sr. (born March 24, 1983) is an American former professional basketball player. Having been awarded numerous top basketball accolades in high school and college, Ford entered the 2003 NBA draft and was selected eighth overall ...

Detroit Pistons

Baston, along with

point guard The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five Basketball positions, positions in a regulation basketball game. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Point guards are expected to run t ...

Chucky Atkins Kenneth Lavon "Chucky" Atkins (born August 14, 1974) is an American former professional basketball player who played for nine different NBA teams throughout his career. Basketball career Atkins played college basketball at the University of South ...

, signed non-guaranteed contracts with the Detroit Pistons, on September 28, 2009. The Pistons waived Baston on October 21, 2009.

Budivelnyk Kyiv

Despite having contract conversations with the Serbian club

Partizan Belgrade Jugoslovensko sportsko društvo Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Југословенско спортско друштво Партизан, lit=Yugoslav Sports Society Partizan), commonly abbreviated as JSD Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, ЈСД Партизан, link ...

, Baston instead signed with the Ukrainian club

Budivelnyk Kyiv BC Budivelnyk Kyiv (in Ukrainian: Будівельник Київ) is a Ukrainian professional basketball club based in Kyiv. The club plays in the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague. In June 2018, it was forced to withdraw from the Superleague due ...

, on March 1, 2010. However, he only played in one game with the club, due to physical problems he was having at the time.

Bnei HaSharon

In November 2010, Baston returned to Israel, signing with Bnei HaSharon. However, after playing in seven games with the club, he left the team in January 2011.

NBA career statistics

Regular season

, - , align="left" , 2002–03 , align="left" ,

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, 16 , , 0 , , 6.6 , , .600 , , .000 , , .833 , , 1.4 , , .0 , , .3 , , .7 , , 2.5 , - , align="left" , 2006–07 , align="left" ,

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, 47 , , 2 , , 8.6 , , .645 , , .429 , , .787 , , 1.4 , , .3 , , .3 , , .4 , , 2.9 , - , align="left" , 2007–08 , align="left" ,

, 15 , , 2 , , 6.9 , , .680 , , .000 , , .700 , , 1.7 , , .2 , , .1 , , .3 , , 2.7 , - , align="left" , 2008–09 , align="left" ,

, 27 , , 0 , , 8.0 , , .543 , , .000 , , .630 , , 1.9 , , .3 , , .2 , , .4 , , 2.5 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 105 , , 4 , , 7.9 , , .616 , , .375 , , .740 , , 1.7 , , .2 , , .2 , , .4 , , 2.7

Playoffs

, - , align="left" ,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, align="left" ,

, 1 , , 0 , , 1.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0 , - class="sortbottom" , style="text-align:center;" colspan="2", Career , 1 , , 0 , , 1.0 , , .000 , , .000 , , .000 , , .0 , , .0 , , 1.0 , , .0 , , .0

References

External links

* *
Euroleague.net ProfileItalian League Profile

Spanish League Profile

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baston, Maceo 1976 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in Israel American expatriate basketball people in Italy American expatriate basketball people in Spain American expatriate basketball people in Ukraine American men's basketball players Basketball players from Dallas BC Budivelnyk players Bnei HaSharon players Chicago Bulls draft picks Indiana Pacers players Israeli Basketball Premier League players Joventut Badalona players Lega Basket Serie A players Liga ACB players Maccabi Tel Aviv B.C. players Michigan Wolverines men's basketball players Montecatiniterme Basketball players Obradoiro CAB players People from Corsicana, Texas Power forwards (basketball) Quad City Thunder players Toronto Raptors players