Player Previews: Reed Bailey

To kick off our Player Previews I am starting with Reed Bailey. The 6’11 210 lb Freshman comes from Prep School powerhouse Brewster Academy with more than his fair share of hype and anticipation. Bailey is a talented basketball player, evidenced by his 4-star rating on ESPN and offers from P6 programs such as Xavier, Iowa, Maryland, Kansas State, Virginia Tech, and more, but he is also incredibly intriguing because he has guard skills at 6’11. In fact, he is even listed as a guard on Davidson’s official roster.

If you watch his highlight tapes a few things are apparent. Immediately you can see that he is a very good 3-point shooter with a smooth stroke. That much is expected from a Davidson recruit, even the ones who are pushing 7 feet, but he does so much more. He creates off the dribble time and time again, especially but not limited to attacking close-outs and in transition. He finishes well around the rim, often with dunks in traffic. The dunks coupled with his ability to block shots illustrate his plus-athleticism, something that Davidson can always use more of. Another exciting thing that pops out at you is his willingness and ability to make smart, hard cuts, a staple of the Davidson Motion Offense, and then finish when he gets the ball. And while not a bruiser by any means down low, he does have low post moves and can be seen banging down low when the moment calls for it. All of this bodes very well for Davidson because, as I have often been told, the 4 spot is the most important in Davidson’s offense AND defense. Davidson often asks its 4s to be a guard on offense and a big on defense. Peyton Aldridge was able to do this spectacularly and Mennenga did a really good job there as well this past season even though he might be suited better for the 5 position.

A comparison I have seen and really like is current NBA Forward Jake Layman, a multi-time All-Big Ten honorable mention and eventual NBA Draft pick. At Maryland, Layman was a tweener between the power forward and small forward positions who preferred to play on the perimeter (with much success). Bailey seems similar and while obviously we will not know for sure until we see him play for the Cats if he has the career Layman did in the Big 10 and gets drafted that means Bailey had a phenomenal career at Davidson. A more Davidson-centric comparison would be Peyton Aldridge. While I loathe ever comparing a freshman or recruit to an all-time Davidson Legend and A10 POY, it’s impossible to not see the similarities in their game.

I expect Reed Bailey to start immediately at Davidson at the 4 position (his best position in my opinion) and play the bulk of his minutes there but also play some spot minutes at the 3 as well. He is a freshman and will need to put on a lot of weight long-term so to expect him to compete at an all A10 level immediately would be unfair, but I think Peyton Aldridge’s Freshman year per-game stats, 9 points, 5 rebounds, 1.5 assists, on 39% 3pt shooting, are a fair target. On defense I think his athleticism will allow him to effectively guard and switch on the perimeter and his length will make him a problem all over the court, but he could get overpowered at times in the post if he has to guard experienced centers. Ultimately Bailey’s talent and skillset make him an extremely exciting prospect and his freshman year will just be a sampling of his upside.