Billy Baron
American basketball player
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William James Baron (born December 11, 1990) is an American former professional basketball player. He is a 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) tall shooting guard.
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High school
Baron born in Altoona, Pennsylvania,[1] attended and played high school basketball at Bishop Hendricken High School, in Warwick, Rhode Island, and at Worcester Academy, in Worcester, Massachusetts.
College career
University of Virginia
In November 2010, it was announced that Baron was going to be joining University of Virginia for his freshman season.[2]
On February 3, 2011, it was announced that Baron was leaving the Virginia men's basketball program and was planning on transferring to University of Rhode Island that semester where his father was the men's head basketball coach. He had played in 17 games and averaged 3 points.[3]
University of Rhode Island
On June 2012, Baron decided to leave the program after his father was fired as coach.[4] He had two years eligibility remaining at whichever school he chose. In 20 games with Rhode Island, Baron averaged 13 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.[5]
Canisius College
In July 2012, Baron followed his father to Canisius College to finish out his collegiate career.[6]
In August 2012, Canisius announced that Baron had submitted the necessary paperwork to enroll at Canisius. Additionally, Canisius waiver to allow Baron's immediate eligibility for the fall of 2012 was granted by the NCAA.[7]
During the 2012-2013 season, he played in 34 games, making 33 starts. He was named to the All-MAAC First Team and became the first Griff to earn that distinction since Darren Fenn in 1999-2000. Baron scored a total of 584 points, the most for a Canisius player in 28 seasons. He led the team and ranked third in the MAAC with his 17.2 points per game. He also led the MAAC with 5 assists per game, which ranked 62nd nationally. Baron was named the Canisius Male Student Athlete of the Year.
During the 2013-2014 season, Baron was an AP All-America Honorable Mention, just the fourth player in program history to earn All-America honors. He was named the Pepsi MAAC Player of the year and earned All-MAAC First Team honors for the second straight season. Baron played in 34 games and started in 34 games. He led the team and ranked second in the MAAC with 24.1 points per game. He is the third Canisius player to average better than 24 points per game for a season. Baron was the first male athlete at Canisius to win the Male Athlete of the Year award in back-to-back academic years.[8]
Professional career
Chicago Bulls (2014 July)
In June 2014, it was announced that Baron would be joining the Chicago Bulls for NBA Summer League after going undrafted.[9] He played in 5 games and averaged 5.6 points, 2.4 assists and 3.4 rebounds per game.
Lietuvos Rytas Vilnius (2014-2015)
On July 22nd, 2014, Baron announced that he had signed a contract with BC Rytas of Lietuvos krepšinio lyga.[10]
Detroit Pistons (2015 July)
In June 2015, Baron became a member of the Detroit Pistons NBA Summer League team.[11] He played in 2 games and averaged 4 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist.
Proximus Spirou Charleroi (2015-2016)
In August 2015, Baron signed with Spirou Charleroi where he joined his brother who was signed to the same team.[12]
Universidad Catolica de Murcia CB (2016-2017)
In July 2016, Baron signed with UCAM Murcia CB.[13]
Eskisehir Basket (2017-2018)
In July 2017, Baron signed with Eskişehir Basket.[14]
KK Crvena zvezda MTS Beograd (2018-2020)
On July 14, 2018, Baron signed with KK Crvena zvezda. He became the first signing of the club for the season.[15]
On June 10, 2019, Baron extending his contract with the team to stay for a second season. In his previous season, he helped the team win the ABA League and clinch a spot in the 2019-2020 EuroLeague by averaging 11.6 points, 2.7 assists, and 2.3 rebounds per game.[16]
Zenit Sankt Petersburg (2020-2022)
On July 15, 2020, Baron signed a two year deal with BC Zenit Saint Petersburg of the VTB United League after finishing the 2019-2020 season with an average of 11.6 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game.[17]
On July 2, 2021, Baron and the club decided to commit for one extra year ahead of time. During the 2020-2021 season, he was recognized as MVP of September-October in the league. He played 25 matches in the tournament and averaged 10.4 points, 1.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists.[18]
On December 31, 2021, Baron was named the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season Round 18 MVP after leading his team by scoring 25 points, 6 assists and 4 rebounds.[19]
AX Armani Exchange Milano (2022-2024)
On June 28, 2022, Baron signed with Olimpia Milano of Lega Basket.[20]
In November 2022, Baron suffered a hamstring injury in his left thigh after a game against Real Madrid which had him sidelined for two weeks.[21]
In May 2023, Baron was named Eurobasket.com All-Euroleague Honorable Mention.[22]
In June 2023, Baron underwent surgery in his right elbow one day after helping his team in the best of seven finals of the league.[23] In October 2023, Baron had to undergo another surgery on his right elbow followed by a six-week rehabilitation period.[24] In February 2024, Baron was sidelined indefinitely after undergoing treatment and more evaluations for his injury. In January 2024, he had been ruled out for two to three weeks following more medical tests on his elblow.[25] In March 2024, Baron had been ruled out for the remainder of the 2023-2024 season as he was expected to undergo a further surgery procedure to his right elbow. In his second year with the club, he averaged 1.8 points, 2.3 assists and 1.8 rebounds.[26]
Shanghai Sharks (2024)
On September 26, 2024, Baron signed with Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association. [27]
Retirement
On October 12, 2024, Baron announced his retirement from basketball on social media stating that he had been struggling with injury issues over the last couple of seasons.[28]
National team career
Baron has been a member of the senior United States national team. He was a member of Team USA at the 2017 FIBA AmeriCup, where he won a gold medal.
Career statistics
| 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 | PIR | Performance index rating |
| Bold | Career high |
EuroLeague
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019–20 | Crvena zvezda | 26 | 25 | 24.6 | .419 | .403 | .855 | 2.7 | 2.2 | .8 | .0 | 11.6 | 11.0 |
| 2020–21 | Zenit | 39 | 1 | 18.6 | .449 | .448 | .865 | 1.4 | 1.7 | .4 | .0 | 9.6 | 7.8 |
| 2021–22 | 23 | 1 | 20.4 | .404 | .357 | .836 | 1.7 | 2.2 | .2 | — | 11.2 | 9.9 | |
| 2022–23 | Olimpia Milano | 30 | 16 | 25.1 | .459 | .403 | .875 | 2.4 | 2.1 | .6 | .0 | 11.0 | 11.1 |
| 2023–24 | 3 | 0 | 15.7 | .273 | .000 | 1.000 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 1.3 | — | 2.3 | 3.7 | |
| Career | 121 | 43 | 21.8 | .433 | .402 | .859 | 2.0 | 2.0 | .5 | .0 | 10.5 | 9.6 | |
EuroCup
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–15 | Lietuvos rytas | 17 | 0 | 11.5 | .534 | .475 | .700 | 1.0 | .8 | .3 | — | 6.1 | 5.3 |
| 2015–16 | Spirou Charleroi | 10 | 10 | 32.7 | .446 | .459 | .846 | 3.6 | 4.2 | .7 | — | 20.7 | 17.8 |
| 2016–17 | UCAM Murcia | 14 | 12 | 25.4 | .400 | .341 | .909 | 2.2 | 2.3 | .7 | — | 13.0 | 9.9 |
| 2018–19 | Crvena zvezda | 16 | 16 | 26.9 | .500 | .494 | .816 | 2.6 | 2.8 | .5 | — | 12.9 | 13.2 |
| Career | 57 | 38 | 23.0 | .459 | .437 | .842 | 2.2 | 2.3 | .5 | — | 12.3 | 10.8 | |
Domestic leagues
| Year | Team | League | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014–15 |  Lietuvos rytas | LKL | 45 | 14.6 | .416 | .373 | .607 | 1.5 | 1.4 | .5 | .0 | 5.7 |
| 2015–16 |  Spirou Charleroi | PBL | 30 | 28.8 | .453 | .419 | .840 | 2.5 | 3.9 | 1.6 | .2 | 16.8 |
| 2016–17 |  UCAM Murcia | ACB | 32 | 22.2 | .406 | .359 | .932 | 1.9 | 1.4 | .5 | .0 | 10.6 |
| 2017–18 |  Eskişehir | TBSL | 31 | 32.1 | .453 | .439 | .895 | 2.7 | 3.4 | .7 | .1 | 15.8 |
| 2018–19 |  Crvena zvezda | KLS | 14 | 20.3 | .485 | .452 | .900 | 2.1 | 2.9 | .4 | .1 | 10.9 |
| 2018–19 | Crvena zvezda | ABA | 29 | 22.0 | .487 | .418 | .847 | 2.3 | 2.7 | 1.0 | — | 11.5 |
| 2019–20 | Crvena zvezda | ABA | 18 | 23.8 | .478 | .430 | .800 | 2.4 | 2.4 | .8 | — | 12.4 |
| 2020–21 |  Zenit | VTBUL | 25 | 20.2 | .445 | .435 | .846 | 1.6 | 2.5 | .5 | — | 10.4 |
| 2021–22 | Zenit | VTBUL | 21 | 21.8 | .446 | .426 | .931 | 1.8 | 2.3 | .5 | — | 13.5 |
| 2022–23 |  Olimpia Milano | LBA | 36 | 22.1 | .488 | .429 | .934 | 2.2 | 2.5 | .8 | .0 | 11.5 |
| 2023–24 | Olimpia Milano | LBA | 2 | 9.5 | .200 | 1.000 | 1.000 | — | — | 1.0 | — | 2.5 |
College
| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–11 | Virginia | 17 | 0 | 11.1 | .313 | .316 | .692 | .7 | .8 | .4 | — | 3.0 |
| 2011–12 | Rhode Island | 20 | 14 | 32.3 | .404 | .312 | .827 | 4.5 | 2.6 | 1.2 | — | 13.0 |
| 2012–13 | Canisius | 34 | 33 | 34.8 | .439 | .382 | .824 | 4.1 | 5.0 | 1.0 | — | 17.2 |
| 2013–14 | Canisius | 34 | 34 | 39.0 | .464 | .421 | .884 | 4.9 | 5.3 | 1.6 | — | 24.1 |
| Career | 105 | 81 | 31.8 | .439 | .384 | .850 | 3.9 | 4.0 | 1.1 | — | 16.3 | |
Personal
Baron is the son of former Canisius basketball head coach, Jim Baron, and the younger brother of the professional basketball player, Jimmy Baron.[29] Baron is married to former Canisius college softball player Valorie Nappo.[30] The two met in college when they were both student athletes at Canisius.[30]
