JAKE’S TAKE: Baston’s departure proves it’s all about ‘me’ with some student athletes

TROY — Shame on Maceo Baston.

Shame on the 6-feet-4 sophomore, who left Troy for Birmingham Detroit Country Day this week without a word to his coach, Gary Fralick, or his teammates, James Young and Zak Noor.

Shame on Baston for fleeing Troy after all the Colts have fought through this season.

Shame on him for leaving his team midway through the season without a farewell to his teammates.

No thank-you. No good-bye. No “It was nice playing with you.” Just left.

Young and Noor found out from a friend at Country Day.

Fralick just found out Thursday, the day before his team’s league game against one-loss Rochester Adams, but not from Baston.

The second-leading scorer was out of Troy faster than the Colts push the ball down the floor. Fralick never heard from him or his parents.

Baston declined to comment on his transfer.

He’d scored double figures in every game this season, usually putting up scoring totals in the high teens.

So why now? Last year, he stuck it out as a freshman. Early this year, Troy started 2-3. Now, the Colts have won seven of their last eight (five of six at the time he transferred).

In hindsight, Baston made one of his best games at Troy his last, and Fralick told him so that night. Baston scored 18 points and seven rebounds in a 74-55 pasting of Berkley Jan. 26.

Still, Young wasn’t even surprised. “I saw the look on his face,” Young said, “and I knew he wasn’t happy being here.”

Baston didn’t appear to even be in a tough spot. He started every game while three, sometimes four, seniors sat. He got lots of opportunities and was at an advantage every game because opponents had to pile defenders on junior sensation James Young. Fralick put him on varsity his freshman year and did everything for Baston except supersede Young, which wouldn’t have been fair.

Even if he had a solid reason — the system, teammates, or coaching — he still shouldn’t have just taken off. That’s not how you say good-bye to people who have helped you for two years. You say your thanks, you say your good-byes, you make them feel like their effort was worth it, and then you go.

“Maceo made a decision to leave,” Fralick said. “He did not communicate anything to me, his parents did not communicate anything to me, so it’s a dead matter as far as I’m concerned.”

What a slap in the face Baston dealt Troy. Still, the thing is, the Colts don’t seem to mind it. They’re 2-0 in his absence with an average victory margin of 19 points and an average scoring defense of 45 points, the two best defensive efforts of the season. Without their second-leading scorer, they’re doing just fine. Young posted 36 points Friday.

And most importantly, this team is having fun.

“You know what? This team is a bunch of hard-working, nice kids, and they handle adversity better than I do, probably,” Fralick said. “They just decided that they were going to be a team, they were going to be together no matter what happened, and they did.

“They’re having fun, they’re playing loose, they’ve got each other’s back. It’s huge right now.”

So to Baston, the Colts say “Go ahead.” They’ll have people forgetting about the guy who didn’t even say good-bye.

(Jake Lourim is a junior at Troy High School and a member of the AdaVan Media Group / www.northoaklandsports.com Student Correspondence Program.)

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