A homegrown talent who made an impact in his first year, UCLA guard Amari Bailey has emerged as a standout two-way player, and he’s looking to become the 112th Bruin to make the jump from UCLA to the NBA. Luckily for Bailey, he has the skills to make that dream a reality.
College Career
A five-star recruit from elite SoCal prep school Sierra Canyon, Bailey was ranked fifth on ESPN’s top 100 and lived up to the hype despite a slow start. His averages of 11.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game on 50-39-70 splits earned him a spot on the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team. He was also named to the All-Pac-12 Tournament team, notably scoring a career-high 26 points with six threes as UCLA defeated Colorado in the quarterfinals.
Jon Christon, a sports staff writer for UCLA’s newspaper, The Daily Bruin, touched on Bailey’s stellar postseason when grading the team’s guards, noting, “Bailey arguably had the best postseason of any Bruin, averaging 17.3 points per game across six contests. He was one of the few Bruins who was able to consistently get to the rim in tournament play, with his paint attempts second to only senior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr., and he was the team’s best shooter from deep at 46.7%.”
Strengths
Standing at 6-foot-5 with a 185-pound frame, Bailey is a talented three-level scorer. He’s able to get to his spots easily, whether it’s through his crafty handles and spin moves or backing down defenders to finish at the rim. The lefty is also an adept catch-and-shooter, particularly from three.
Defensively, Bailey excels at jumping passing lanes from the help side, averaging 1.1 steals per game. He is also skilled at staying in front of his man and forcing turnovers. These are all key contributions to one of the best defenses in the Pac-12, as the Bruins led the conference in steals per game (8.38), overall steals (310), and turnover margin (+5.65). Bailey’s ability to play defense without fouling (1.7 fouls per game) is another key asset for the 19-year-old.
Don’t let the low assist average fool you because Bailey is also a solid playmaker. He’s a smart, unselfish player on offense, finding open cutters and shooters with ease. He also uses his threat as a finisher to his advantage, drawing defenses in before finding an open big man for an easy bucket. Though Bailey’s aggressiveness as a scorer cannot be denied, his passing deserves respect, a skill he can only improve on during the draft combine and in his rookie year.
Weaknesses
As great as his passing is, Bailey still needs to improve on ball security. He recorded 73 turnovers to 65 assists in his freshman year. As a facilitating two-guard, that can’t happen against NBA defenses. Additionally, that 39% mark from three is deceiving due to the fact he only took 54 triples and made 21. And even though Bailey is an effective finisher, he’ll have to become better at scoring with his non-dominant right hand if defenses take away the drives to his left.
NBA Player Comparison
Alex Caruso. Both Bailey and Caruso are scrappy defenders and crafty finishers at the rim. They also share a relatively low but effective three-point volume, though Caruso’s perimeter attempts have increased from 43 to 151 in six years, and his three-point percentage has generally hovered between 33 and 40 percent.
