Jenna Vitamanti and Taylor Nettle
28 minutes ago
RUSTON, La. (KTAL/KMSS) — Louisiana Tech men's basketball has looked to Daniel Baccio as a key weapon this past season.
The Bulldogs lost to Middle Tennessee in the C-USA Tournament Championship, ending the season with 22 wins and 10 losses. However, Daniel Baccio was a big factor in Los Angeles Tech's advance to the conference title game.
Daniel Baccio, a native of Paris, France, decided to play in the NBA when he was 10 years old and had no intention of stopping until he got there.
France is traditionally a soccer-focused country. However, Baccio's mother played for Russia's national basketball team, and he was 6'11 tall, so he had a basketball in his hands from an early age.
“When I was a child, my mother didn't play with me,” Baccio explained. “But now I understand why she didn't.”
Daniel moved to the other side of the world at the age of 18 to stay on track to achieve his goals.
He started his college basketball career at the University of Arizona, but it wasn't the ideal start to his journey in America.
Due to COVID-19, he suffered a season-ending knee injury just a few weeks into practice. That injury caused Baccio to miss his entire freshman year.
“I was a ghost,” Baccio recalled. “No one on the coaching staff talked to me. I got injured. I was depressed, but I realized my dreams were bigger than that.”
Looking for a fresh start in his second season, Baccio moved to Texas to play for the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
After two seasons, he joined Louisiana Tech head coach Talvin Hester in his fifth and final year of college basketball.
“Because I knew I could go back to the NCAA Tournament after all these years,” Baccio explained. “Everyone wants to do it. That's all we're talking about.”
It's clear that this 6'11 star forward leads Conference USA in several categories, but you may be wondering what has made him so successful. Who made him the best basketball player? Well, his biggest critic just happens to be himself.
“Sometimes bad plays happen,” the forward explained. “The next few plays stay in my head. I feel like I'm being selfish. I shouldn't be. I have to think about the next play and be here for the team.”
Even after four years living in the United States, it still feels surreal for Daniel to realize his dreams, some of which he set for himself 12 years ago.
“I can't even believe it's true,” Baccio recalled. “Sometimes it feels like a dream because I've been thinking about it all this time.”
