Maceo Demond Baston (born May 29, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player.
College career
After graduating from Dallas' H. Grady Spruce High School, Baston played college basketball at the University of Michigan. At Michigan, he was part of an all-star recruiting class that included Maurice Taylor, Travis Conlon, Jerod Ward 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 and 1998 and the National Invitation Tournament Championship in 1997. Michigan later forfeited its entire 1996-97 schedule after Robert Traylor, Maurice Taylor and Louis Bullock were found to have taken money from a Michigan booster.
NBA and Euroleague career
He was drafted in the second round (58th overall) by the Chicago Bulls in 1998, but he did not appear in any games for them. He played for the Quad City Thunder in the CBA, in Italy (SC Montecatini) in Spain (Joventut Badalona), the NBA's Toronto Raptors (February-April 2003 and 2007-2008) and Indiana Pacers, and Maccabi Tel Aviv. Baston was a CBA All-Star in 2000.
Baston holds the Euroleague Final Four record for blocks with 6 versus Tau Ceramica, in the 2006 finals.
On July 28, 2006, the NBA's Indiana Pacers signed Baston to a two-year deal worth $1.8 million with the second year being a player option. He appeared in 47 games and averaged 3 points. 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. But the Pacers did reacquire him in on July 9, 2008 involving a trade with the Raptors which included Jermaine O'Neal and T. J. Ford. Baston, along with point guard Chucky Atkins, signed non-guaranteed contracts with the Detroit Pistons on September 28, 2009. The Pistons waived Baston on October 21, 2009. Despite conversations with KK Partizan, he signed for Budivelnyk Kyiv on March 1, 2010, but he only played one match due to his physical problems. In November 2010 Baston returned to Israel, signing with Bnei HaSharon. However, after playing seven games, he left the team in January 2011.
After basketball
After his playing days ended, Baston opened a cupcake shop in Royal Oak, Michigan, with his wife and another business partner.
NBA career statistics
Legend | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Regular season
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2002-03 | Toronto | 16 | 0 | 6.6 | .600 | .000 | .833 | 1.4 | .0 | .3 | .7 | 2.5 |
2006-07 | Indiana | 47 | 2 | 8.6 | .645 | .429 | .787 | 1.6 | .3 | .3 | .4 | 2.9 |
2007-08 | Toronto | 15 | 2 | 6.9 | .680 | .000 | .700 | 1.7 | .2 | .1 | .3 | 2.7 |
2008-09 | Indiana | 27 | 0 | 8.0 | .543 | .000 | .630 | 1.9 | .3 | .2 | .4 | 2.5 |
Career | 105 | 4 | 7.9 | .616 | .375 | .740 | 1.7 | .2 | .2 | .4 | 2.7 |
Playoffs
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2007-08 | Toronto | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .0 | .0 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 |
Career | 1 | 0 | 1.0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .0 | .0 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 |