Preparing for Tuesday night’s game against Duke, Pitt forward Au’Diese Toney is looking get the win over one of his best friends, who just so happens to be suiting up for the Blue Devils.
Joey Baker is a 6-foot-7 Duke forward who played alongside Toney for Trinity Christian Academy as well as Team Felton on the Under Armour AAU circuit. The two forwards were both four star recruits in high school, although Baker was rated much higher among national recruits. According to the 247 Sports Composite, Baker was ranked as the No. 33 prospect in the nation while Toney was ranked as the No. 117 prospect in his class.
“Me and Joey always talk a lot,” Toney said. “Even if we are not playing each other we always talk to each other, watch each other’s games, tell each other what you could’ve done better, this and that. That’s my best friend. We played high school ball together, travel ball as well, so we always stay in touch.”
In last year’s matchup at Cameron Indoor Stadium, Toney played all 40 minutes, scoring 27 points on 11-for-19 shooting. Baker played nine minutes in that game, scoring two and dishing out an assist in the Blue Devils’ 79-67 victory.
The glue guy of the Panthers team, Toney has been having a fantastic junior season, averaging 15.9 points and 6.1 rebounds in a team-high 34 minutes per game. Baker has averaged two points and 1.5 rebounds in 12.6 minutes per game for the Blue Devils.
The two will once again share the floor together on Tuesday night as Pitt takes on Duke at Petersen Events Center at 9 p.m. on ESPN.
