Charles Baker, who brings more than two decades of coaching experience to the job, is in his third year with the Fighting Camel program.  He was promoted to Associate Head Coach in June 2010.

Since his arrival on campus, Baker has been instrumental to the Fighting Camels’ success.  A year ago, Campbell won the Global Sports Hoops Showcase, knocking off Middle Tennessee and host Auburn in the process.  Campbell also set school records for most victories before Christmas as well as for most blocked shots in a season.

During his first year in Buies Creek, the Fighting Camels won the 2010 Atlantic Sun Conference regular season championship.  Not only did Campbell set a school Division I era (since 1977-78) record for regular season (19-11) and conference wins (14-6), but the Camels also ranked second in the country in steals per game and eighth nationally in turnover margin.

In addition, Campbell’s 2010 recruiting class was ranked in the top 64 nationally.

Baker is involved in all phases of the Fighting Camel program, including on-floor coaching, recruiting, and assisting Coach Laing in the daily operation of the basketball office.

“The 2010 season was our most successful year,” said head coach Robbie Laing, “and certainly our players’ maturation had a lot to do with that.  In addition, the bench help Coach Baker provided gave a big boost to our program’s development.  Charles has an exceptional sense of personnel evaluation, whether it’s our own team or the opposition.  His sense allows us to exploit mismatches, cover weakness and enhance our strengths.”

Before joining the Camel staff in Sept. 2009, Baker spent the previous two seasons at the University of Colorado.  His Big-12 Conference experience also includes six years at Kansas State (2000-06), where he served on the same staff as Coach Laing before he was hired by Campbell in April 2003.

During his two years at Colorado, Baker helped develop a unit that posted its best free throw percentage (in 2008-09) ever since the Big-12 was formed and one that averaged the fewest turnovers per game (2007-08) during the same span.

Baker, 45, joined the Colorado staff after spending the 2006-07 season at Louisiana Tech where he was also an assistant from 1998-2000.  While at Louisiana Tech, Baker helped guide the Bulldogs to the 1999 Sun Belt title.

He spent six seasons from 2000-2006 with the Kansas State University program under former head coach Jim Wooldridge, three campaigns while sharing the bench with Laing.

“I am thrilled to be part of a program that is on its way up and clearly has a chance to compete year-in and year-out at the highest level in our conference,” said Baker, a native of North Little Rock, Ark.  “The opportunity to work with Coach Laing, who is a man I know and trust, a good person, and who wants to win, is a chance I could not pass up.”

During his tenure at K-State, Baker helped assemble three Top-25 recruiting classes during his last five seasons, including the nation’s best class in 2002-03 according to Hoop Scoop magazine. Baker has helped recruit three consensus Top-100 players to Kansas State his last three years, including former Parade All-American Cartier Martin (second team All-Big 12 in back-to-back seasons and the Big 12’s inaugural Sixth Man of the Year in 2006-07).

He also played a major role in recruiting Jeremiah Massey, who was an All-Big 12 second team selection by both the coaches and media in 2004-05, after earning Big 12 Newcomer of the Year honor from The Associated Press and Dallas Morning News as a junior.

Baker was originally hired at Louisiana Tech by Jim Wooldridge in 1998 before Wooldridge left to coach the Chicago Bulls. He stayed on to serve under coach Keith Richard for the next two years, helping tutor the Bulldog post players and leading the program’s recruiting efforts.

During his two-season stint, Baker helped guide the Bulldogs to their first Sun Belt Conference regular-season championship since 1991-92. Overall, Baker helped Louisiana Tech post a 40-17 (.702) record from 1998-2000, including a 23-9 mark in Sun Belt Conference play.

Before Baker’s tenure at Louisiana Tech, he coached at Shorter (Ark.) Junior College for five seasons – turning a 1-29 team into a consistent winner.  At Shorter, he led his teams to four consecutive Arkansas State Junior College championships, four straight 20-win seasons and a 121-31 (.796) record.

Baker started his coaching career in 1990 as an assistant coach at Middle Tennessee State in Murfreesboro, Tenn. During his short time at MTSU, he helped guide the Blue Raiders to a 21-9 overall record.

Born May 27, 1966 in North Little Rock, Ark., Baker is a 1990 graduate of Eastern Kentucky, where he lettered for the Colonels and earned a bachelor’s in physical education.  He was also named Arkansas junior college player of the year in 1986 at Westark Junior College.  He has a son, Rojae (25).