Dec. 04--Deerfield coach Dan McKendrick stared at his computer and clicked with angst wondering about some of the responses from his players.
Soon after the conclusion of last season's 20-10 campaign, McKendrick had his returning varsity players fill out an online end-of-the-season questionnaire prior to individual meetings.
McKendrick had grown accustomed to being on the same page with then-junior point guard Jordan Baum, often allowing him creative freedom to run the offense.
"I feel like I have an ongoing dialogue with Jordan during a game," McKendrick said. "He's a very cerebral basketball player. In my 13 years coaching (including) being a head coach for four years at Deerfield, Jordan's definitely got the best basketball IQ that I've coached."
McKendrick's worries were squashed when he read Baum's answer to the biggest area of improvement required for his senior season: more scoring.
"I didn't have to tell him," McKendrick said. "He already knew. He said he has to be more aggressive next year and look to score more. He really focused on finding a good balance. He could probably shoot more. He's still an unselfish player, but he does a really good job looking for his offense without forcing it now."
The 6-foot-4, 180-pound Baum preferred to play a complementary role for most of his junior season on a team filled with talented seniors. The Warriors won the Central Suburban North for the second straight season.
Baum, who scored a 34 on his ACT, was the only returning starter from last season's team, and just one of four players with varsity experience.
"I knew most of our scoring came from our seniors last year, and I didn't need to score as much," Baum said. "This year at the beginning of the year, we didn't have as much experience.
"Going into the year, I knew one way to get everybody more confident was to get the easiest shots I could to help them. In conference, we'll need a different guy to step up every night."
The left-handed Baum refined his game over the summer to become a threat with both hands, forcing defenses to respect his right hand on drives.
"I think teams started to pick up that I'm really dominant with my left hand and love going that way," he said. "Using my right hand, not even always to go that way, but to show I can use it, gives defenses something to think about.
"Being able to go both ways will not only create more opportunities for me, but get teammates more open and get them easier shots."
Through five games, Baum has a major uptick in all his numbers. The three-year varsity starter is averaging 18.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists this season for the undefeated -- -- and undersized -- Warriors (5-0).
Baum displayed his new-look offensive game in the opener by pouring in 23 points against Rolling Meadows. He scored 24 points in a 66-62 triumph against Jacobs in the title game of the Ed Molitor Thanksgiving Classic at Palatine.
The University of Chicago recruit added 12 points and six rebounds in Tuesday's 50-44 road victory against Waukegan, and he's enjoying playing with his classmates, such as forwards Jeremy Sernick and Jordan Sherman, after years of playing with older teammates.
"Being able to play with the guys that I've known since kindergarten is so much fun," Baum said. "The one thing we've talked about is to not get complacent now. The highest thing on our list since the summer has been to win another conference championship."
Bob Narang is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
