The balance of responsibilities changed drastically for Fayetteville (N.C.) Trinity Christian freshman small forward Joey Baker when star point guard teammate Dennis Smith Jr. injured his ACL last August.

The five-star Smith learned he would miss his senior year and subsequently has enrolled at NC State for the spring semester. The new-look Crusaders are obviously drastically different, but Baker and freshman forward teammate Greg Gantt represent hope for the future.

The 6-foot-7, 190-pound Baker played with Smith last year as a reclassed eighth grader. Needless to say, another year of improvement and maturity, coupled with roster changes, and Baker’s role is completely different.

“Last year we had Junior and a couple of other D-I players, so I didn’t have as much pressure, and I just went out there and played,” said Baker, 15. “This year, I have to show up every night and that is different. It is still basketball, but not too much.

“I had a weird feeling in my stomach when I heard the news [on Smith]. It was his senior season and I know how hard he works. I know how much he wanted to win another state championship this year.”

Baker was able to watch what Smith did on the court and how he handled his recruitment last year.

“He is probably the most competitive person that I’ve been around,” Baker said. “Consistently, it is like that every day whether sprints, shooting games or anything. He wants to win and he usually did win. Just being around that, you take up the competitive nature of him he has.”

Baker was born in Fayetteville, moved to the Boston area, and then came back to Fayetteville when he was around 5 years old. He still has a close connection to Boston thanks to having family there, and isn’t overly attached to any of the colleges in North Carolina. Kansas was his favorite school growing up.

Baker has already earned scholarship offers from Western Carolina and Charlotte, along with early interest from NC State. His play during last August’s CP3 Rising Stars Camp for the class of 2019 definitely helped raise his profile.

“It made me realize I could hang with anybody in the country,” said Baker, who played traveling team basketball with Team Felton. “I went up there [to Lewisville (N.C.) Forsyth Country Day] and played pretty good ball. It gave me confidence.

“I’ve really been trying to do something every day to just get better.”

Baker hasn’t been attended a game yet at PNC Arena, but he hopes to in the future, especially when Smith is healthy in the future. NCSU assistant coach Rob Moxley watched him play Dec. 29 at the HighSchoolOT.com Holiday Invitational at Raleigh Broughton High. Baker showcased his fluid offensive game and scored 17 points in a loss against Concord (N.C.) Robinson.

“I’d definitely like to come up,” Baker said. “I’ll be texting Dennis about NC State and soaking up the information from him.”

Baker actually was on a family vacation during last year’s Holiday Invitational, but was thrilled to make his debut in the prestigious tournament.

“It’s a great event and a ton of fans and competition,” Baker said. “That is what you play for.”