There was no fear factor to overcome for Aron Baynes when he ran onto the court this past summer for Australia at the London Games and faced the might of the United States in the Quarter-Finals.
Baynes, who had made his senior team bow with the Boomers at the 2009 FIBA Oceania Championship under Brett Brown and also competed for the national team at the 2010 FIBA World Championship, is a powerfully built 2.08m center.
On that night against a team of NBA superstars, the 8th of August, Baynes came off the bench and had four points, four rebounds and four fouls in just eight minutes.
The Americans were probably glad to see him head to the bench with foul trouble because he was playing like a very big man in a big man’s game.
Baynes played and trained under head coach Marty Clarke at the Australian Institute of Sport in 2004-05 and then moved to America to play college basketball at Washington State, where he went up against future NBA players in the Pac-12, which is another reason why he would have felt comfortable facing the USA.
For the WSU Cougars, he played a lot in each of his four seasons.
As a senior, Baynes started all 33 games and led the team in field goal percentage (58%), rebounds (247, 7.5 per game), blocked shots (43), free-throws made (113) and free-throws attempted (146).
His average of 12.7 points per game was second on the team.
Since turning professional, Baynes – who celebrates his 26th birthday on 9 December – has developed his game to such an extent that the NBA could be in his future.
Judging from his performances for Olimpija Ljubljana in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague and the Adriatic League, it’s not a matter of if, but rather when he’ll play in the NBA.
Named the top center in Greek basketball last season, Baynes parlayed that effort into a move to Ljubljana and has been a force every time that he stepped onto the court.
In the club’s 87-82 victory over Cibona Zagreb on Sunday, the big man had 19 points and 14 rebounds.
The result was that Baynes was named Player of the Week in the Adriatic League.
He’s averaging more than 14 points and 10 boards in the Euroleague.
However, Baynes isn’t getting carried away with his success.
Recently asked about his development by the Cairns Post in Australia, Baynes said: “There are always things to work on.
“I can’t be satisfied with where I’m at. I have to stay focused on getting better.”
Is this a player who could be headed back across the Atlantic to play in the NBA?
“If something comes up we’ll have that discussion,” Baynes said, “but my focus is on helping my team get better.”
He looks a sure bet to be with the Boomers when they play at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain.
That tournament is in two years, so Baynes should be even better.