JMAC3 wrote:Espn ranked him 5th, 247sports had him 10th best freshman. Guy has a ton of raw talent but played on a Veteran UCLA team so he had a smaller role most the year playing the 2 guard to Tyga Campbell.
Really what sold me was his final 6 games and how well he played at the combine scrimmages. Felt like he was one of the top 3 guys that played there. Averaged 17.5 ppg over his last 6 games which were the conf tourney and Ncaa tourney so he played his best basketball when they needed him the most.
I think long-term his best position will be point guard and if he went back to school he could of easily been a lottery pick next year. His size is iffy at 6-3 barefoot and only a 6-7 wingspan. Not a super athlete, but really skilled in the mid range game, shot 39% from three on a low number of attempts and he plays at his own speed, doesn't get sped up. Kind of reminds me a bit of Dlo and Brunson in that way. Will probably be a guy that needs some time to develop into a true pg though because he played mostly off ball this year.
I've been high on Bailey for years because of his movement skills, IQ and creativity. I think what's funny is that there was a bunch of film that showed him completely dominating high school with his all-around ability as a ball-dominating guard, but then at UCLA he did all the little things even when he was off ball. That's what sold me. But then in his NCAA run, when he finally got the opportunities to score regularly, he started dominating for stretches. His feel for accelerating and decelerating, orienting his body square to the basket, and even his vision and finishing skills are all pluses. People mention his height and his athleticism as being kind of underwhelming, but the average shooting guard that's actually good is usually 6'4" or 6'5" in shoes with an 8'6" ish standing reach. Amari has an 8'7.5" standing reach (higher than DWade's, about the same as Harden's) and a 6'7" wingspan is solid. He's not a super super high-flyer, but he's a great athlete. He's got much more burst than D'Angelo Russell, is more fluid/a bit shiftier than Jalen Brunson. He reminds me of Kyrie Irving with his athleticism, as it's continually underestimated, but they can get by people with amazingly fleet feet (running back/corner back agility) and an explosive, yet deceptive first step. He's not a 9/10 athlete, but certainly an 8/10, no major weaknesses. Great mover laterally and north to south.
I wish he'd ended up on a different team, because if he gets the minutes I could see him being a real contributor as a rookie. I've said he reminds me of a more athletic D. Lo Russell or a higher-IQ Jordan Clarkson with better intangibles and lateral movement. I've been impressed in both games so far, only proven what I already thought.
