Sophomore Sharia Baynes is the key to Paul VI basketball dominance

Tom Rimback, Cherry Hill Courier-Post
·4 min read
Paul VI sophomore Sharia Baynes fights through the double team of Imhotep Charter guards Samya Stevens and Senaya Parker
Paul VI sophomore Sharia Baynes fights through the double team of Imhotep Charter guards Samya Stevens and Senaya Parker
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GLASSBORO — Sharia Baynes is the key that unlocks the Paul VI girls basketball team.

When Mikayla Young and Sarah McShea are dominating the paint, the Eagles point guard is an important reason. When Makenna Foder, Azaneh Campbell and Eva Andrews are spreading the floor on the perimeter, the Paul Vi sophomore is keeping the ball moving. When Hannah Hidalgo is creating magic, Baynes lays out the canvas.

The Eagles celebrated Martin Luther King Day with a 70-45 win over Philadelphia Public League power Imhotep Charter. Baynes scored eight points but otherwise had her fingerprints all over the contest.

“I’m the point guard,” Baynes said. “I set the team up. I basically have to control the game. It’s all about me being a point guard, getting my teammates involved. Hannah's a good player, so we give it to her. Just like my other teammates, they’re normally open so I have to find them.”

As a freshman, Baynes mostly backed up Hidalgo when the junior star played the point. Baynes’ emergence as the starter has freed Hidalgo to create offense without needing to run the whole show. Hidalgo was let loose to play the 2-guard, the classic score-first shooting guard.

“Once we decided to move Hannah to the 2, we knew that Sharia needed to be that point guard for this team,” coach Orlando Hidalgo said. “She's been great for us. She is developing to the point guard that looks for everybody else. Most of her life, she's been a point guard that does a lot of scoring. With the team that we have, she has to be the one that sets everything up.”

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Playing alongside a star player opens up options for everyone else on the floor. Baynes has quickly embraced that part of her role. She even finds the occasional opportunity to take over offensively when it’s there for her.

“We had, early in the year, a meeting where we talked about understanding what it means to be a point guard,” coach Hidalgo said. “There are certain players that you need to get involved. She sees the first option, the second option and there are times when she can still score the ball as a point guard. First, though, is looking to create for others. So that's been a transition for her and she's improved each time she's been on the court.”

An added benefit to being the playmaker for the Eagles has been the extra exposure Baynes has gotten most sophomores could only dream of. Every coach in the stands scouting one of her teammates gets to see Baynes show her skills as well.

Paul VI sophomore Sharia Baynes fires a 3-pointer as Imhotep Charter Anise Geiger closes in too late
Paul VI sophomore Sharia Baynes fires a 3-pointer as Imhotep Charter Anise Geiger closes in too late

“I am starting to look at a few colleges,” Baynes said. “I would like to play college basketball. I want to study sports management. No matter how basketball works out for me I still want to be involved in the game. So, I would like to study sports management. I already have my own logo, my own brand, Little Foot.”

Even among forward-thinking point guards, it would be tough to find many sophomores that have their paths so planned out. But why Little Foot?

“I grew up in Philly playing basketball with all the boys and I had little feet,” Baynes said. “One of my coaches gave me the nickname. He gave all the boys a nickname. I was the only girl so he wanted to give me a good nickname like the boys. Just called me Little Foot.”

Paul VI sophomore Sharia Baynes starts the offense against Imhotep Charter
Paul VI sophomore Sharia Baynes starts the offense against Imhotep Charter

Tom Rimback, sports reporter

Tom Rimback, sports reporter
Tom Rimback, sports reporter


Tom Rimback grew up reading the Burlington County Times and Courier Post sports sections and began writing for the BCT in 1996. He has covered everything from Super Bowls and Final Fours to Tri-County Swimming but he’s happiest on a sideline interviewing South Jersey scholastic athletes for the Burlington County Times, the Courier Post and The Daily Journal. Follow him on twitter @RimbackBCT. Email him with story ideas at trimback@thebct.com and, most importantly, support local journalism with a subscription.

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This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Sophomore Sharia Baynes is on point for the Paul VI basketball team