There was never an in-between with Chad Baker-Mazara, the guard who arrived at Auburn after spending time at Duquesne, San Diego State and Northwest Florida State.
He spent two years on the Plains hyping up Auburn fans while also letting them down at the worst moments.
In his first season, it came in the first-round game against Yale, when he took the bait of a Bulldogs player and got ejected. If he had learned anything, it didn’t show the next season in the regular-season finale when, in a tight game against rival Alabama, he once again struck at the worst possible time.Â
After transferring to USC this past offseason, many were wondering how that would work out, and for the first part of the season, it was going great for Baker-Mazara and the Trojans as he became the first player to ever win back-to-back MVP awards at the Maui Classic, and Eric Musselman’s squad was rolling.
Those events in November seem a long time ago now, as Baker-Mazara has left the USC team after the Trojans struggled this season. He won’t play another second of college basketball, and considering his age and temperament, there aren’t many people predicting him to do much when he turns pro.Â
He was always on the verge of hurting his team more than helping, and his coaches' patience wore down to the point that he had to transfer to his fifth school this season. There were times when he rescued Auburn, but more often than not, Baker-Mazara was a nuisance whom Bruce Pearl and his staff put up with because of his talent.Â
There’s no telling where he will end up now, with his college eligibility finally running its course and not many NBA teams willing to put up with his antics. This might be the last stop for Baker-Mazara, and, as most predicted, it ended badly.Â