On Feb. 22, Gebereal Baitey (19C) began his job as one of Emory men’s basketball’s assistant coaches, replacing former assistant coach Kevin Sullivan, who left for a non-coaching job in the private sector. From 2015 through 2019, Baitey played for the Eagles as a guard. While myriad candidates were interested in the position, head coach Jason Zimmerman acknowledged that Baitey’s passion for Emory separated him from the others.
“There may be some people more experienced in coaching; there may be people that are better coaches than us,” Zimmerman said. “But I don’t think there is anyone that cares more about Emory or Emory basketball than [Baitey] or I or our players.”
After graduating from Emory in 2019, Baitey went on to play professional basketball in Australia for the Central District Lions. However, after the coronavirus pandemic shut down his season, Baitey returned home to New Jersey. With his future as a professional basketball player uncertain, Baitey accepted a job at his old high school, Newark Academy, where he taught Spanish and helped coach the football and basketball teams.
While Baitey always knew he wanted to teach, he ultimately felt most fulfilled when he was coaching. A few months into coaching at Newark Academy, Baitey reached out to Zimmerman to discuss what it would take to coach at the collegiate level. When Sullivan left Emory at the end of January, Zimmerman offered Baitey the job, which he quickly accepted.
“It was a no brainer,” Baitey said. “As far as the basketball piece of it, I know this program; I know our guys … But also I personally love this program. I'm deeply connected to it and to the city.”
Baitey will be coaching some of his former teammates. Senior guard Nick Stuck, a sophomore during Baitey’s senior year, is looking forward to playing under him after having played alongside him for two years on the court.
“It's gonna be an experience for both of us because we both know each other really well and are great friends, so it's gonna be a different dynamic,” said Stuck. “We're looking forward to it, but I think we'll just kind of play it out as it goes. And we'll learn how to make each other better as a coach-player kind of dynamic.”
While Baitey appreciates coaching some of his former teammates, he believes his new job won’t vary much from his time as a player on the team.
“It’s a different role, but it isn’t really that different from what I was doing when I was here,” Baitey said. “I was Coach’s eyes and ears and mouth on the court; I was an extension of him.”
In a typical season, an assistant coach may be involved in recruiting, coaching and management. However, COVID-19 has greatly diminished what assistant coaches do. Despite these challenges, Baitey believes there may be a silver lining to starting his collegiate coaching career at an unpredictable time.
“I can learn a lot of those processes a little bit slower, and Coach Zimmerman — he's freed up a little bit,” Baitey said. “He has more time to help bring me along. So the perks of it is that I'm not getting thrown into the fire very quickly.”
Currently, the men’s basketball team is in phase one of practices, meaning teams can only have up to 10 players practicing together at once. Although the possibility of a season remains up in the air, Baitey made clear what he is looking forward to the most.
“It’s got to be game day,” Baitey said. “I want to be back out there. I want to play. I want to be a part of that process, a part of that preparation and a part of that playing and execution that goes into those battles that I love so much.”
