Duke Basketball hired a former Nike exec to be its General Manager

DrewFranklinKSR

Jon Scheyer has Duke Basketball back in the news for a “groundbreaking” hire within the program.

(Groan.)

On Tuesday, Scheyer and Duke announced the addition of Rachel Baker, a former Nike exec, to be the Blue Devils’ first-ever general manager. The new GM position was created by Scheyer to assist student-athletes in NIL opportunities and other off-the-court matters that come along with being a student-athlete.

Sound familiar? Duke’s GM job description matches what TJ Beisner has been doing as Kentucky’s Director of Player Development, a position Calipari created almost a year ago, but Scheyer is still being celebrated for his innovative staffing move.

Original or not, it’s another point for Scheyer’s Duke on the offseason scoreboard.

🚨 Our new General Manager is official! 🚨

Welcome Rachel Baker! pic.twitter.com/Spg3e6Urz3
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) June 7, 2022

A familiar name

Like Baker’s job description, her name is also familiar in Kentucky because UK Athletics employs its own Rachel Baker. Kentucky’s Rachel Baker was hired away from the NCAA in 2013 to administer compliance at the University of Kentucky, where she currently holds the title of Executive Associate AD/Compliance.

Duke’s Rachel Baker may also sound familiar, but for other reasons. As @ADimeBack noted on Twitter soon after the hire, Baker was named in the FBI’s investigation into Michael Avenatti’s accusations against Nike and Zion Williamson. She’s the former Nike EYBL employee who (allegedly) traveled with large amounts of cash.

From ESPN:

– Rachel Baker, a Nike executive who led event strategy for the EYBL, allegedly expressed concern to a colleague about carrying large amounts of cash through airport security and indicated that she would lie and “just say I just sold my car” if she was stopped by security.
ESPN: “Avenatti filing: Nike OK’d payments to Zion, more“

Huh. Hmmm.