Ron Baker has a good idea why he’s a Knick and Chasson Randle is in the D-League, lighting it up with Westchester. Coach Jeff Hornacek sees himself in Baker, the undrafted 23-year-old rookie from tiny Scott City, Kansas.
As Derrick Rose wallows in back misery, Baker has stepped into the limelight as the Knicks’ backup point guard after earning cult status in his four years at mid-major power Wichita State. When Hornacek informed Baker he had made the team out of training camp over the injured Randle, the coach brought up their commonalities, starting with both playing four years of college ball.
“Our stories are very similar,’’ Baker told The Post. “I tell people we’re very similar and I’m his doppelganger.’’
Baker has a quirky sense of humor, but he’s not far off. Baker believes he and his coach are cut from the same cloth. Hornacek came out of Iowa State 30 years ago, selected 46th overall in the second round by Phoenix. He turned into an NBA All-Star and a Jazz legend.
“Obviously I grew up hearing about him, though I didn’t see him play a lot,’’ Baker said. “At my [pre-draft] workout in Salt Lake, I saw his name in the rafters. We’re very similar. Some of the things he harps on in practice, I really catch on [to] and understand how he coaches.”
Similar to Hornacek’s team success at Iowa State (two straight NCAA Tournament berths for the first time in school history), Baker won 83 percent of his games with the Shockers. The mid-major made a Final Four, a Sweet 16 and had another season when it was 35-0 before Kentucky knocked it off in a second-round thriller.
“When we sat down with Phil [Jackson] to let me know I made the roster, he said some things I need to improve on were the same things he needed to when he got in the league,’’ said Baker. “He kind of compared us. He said I was a better shooter than he was [out of college], but he made the relationship.’’
Baker had a pre-draft workout with the Knicks and thought they’d buy a late second-round pick. But when the cost rose to $2 million, Jackson gambled Baker would fall out of the draft. According to Baker, the Knicks were the first to call, but the Nets, Bulls and Cavaliers also offered him a partial guarantee and invitation to summer league.
“New York was one of the first teams to get a hold of my agent [Aaron Mintz],’’ Baker said. “I thought that was very important. But New York had all those roster spots. Nine of them. [Mintz] told me straight up it was the best place for me to succeed in the league. So far he’s proven his point. I’m not here to prove teams wrong. I found one team that loves me and I love the way we handle business here.’’
With Rose’s uncertain health, Baker’s role has been attached to a smattering of controversy because of Randle — who remains an option for the Knicks to sign and who has scored 38 and 36 points in back-to-back D-League games. However, Baker showed glimmers on last week’s trip.
He was their best performer in Golden State (career-high 13 points, 6-of-7 shooting). In Phoenix, Baker spearheaded a defense that led the Knicks back from 12 points down after three quarters — even if Hornacek went a couple of minutes too long with him in the OT loss.
“We know he’s a good player,’’ Hornacek said. “He can run the offense. Not the prototypical point guard. But you saw the other night at Golden State, you wouldn’t think he could keep guys in front of him, but he does a very good job at that — with his size and strength.”