Ace Bailey’s debut, the fifth draft pick, in the Utah Jazz jersey, was characterized more by his defensive work than by flashes of his scoring potential, which did not disappoint his new coaches. Bailey finished with eight points, hitting 3 of 13 shots in the Jazz’s 93-89 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers in the Salt Lake City Summer League opener.
Although he didn’t shine as much as VJ Edgecombe, the third selection, who scored 28 points, managed 10 rebounds and dished out four assists, with 13 of 27 in field goals.
However, in the crucial moment of the game, Edgecombe missed a three-pointer that would have tied the score. Bailey grabbed the defensive rebound with four seconds remaining and made a two-point free throw to secure the Jazz’s victory.After a few days after the draft where there was doubt if Bailey wanted to play in Utah, the 18-year-old player impressed his coaches with his defensive effort, his activity on the court and by capturing seven rebounds in his 25 minutes of play.“It was great,” commented Bailey, whose best moment was a spectacular block. “We won, which is a plus. It was fun.”
Ace Bailey
The Jazz intended to facilitate Bailey’s transition to the NBA by having Omar Cooper Jr., the son of Bailey’s advisor, as an unpaid guest coach during the summer league. That plan was canceled after the league office contacted the Jazz to express their concerns. Bailey arrived in Utah last weekend and expressed his enthusiasm to join the Jazz, saying he feels “blessed to be in the position I’m in.” The Jazz have been encouraged by his work ethic during training and individual summer league sessions. It was also notable that Bailey remained involved while he was out in the final moments of a close game on Saturday. He was standing in front of the Jazz bench and energetically cheering on his teammates during that stretch. Bailey got the aforementioned defensive rebound on the play immediately after returning to the game after a long rest. Utah selected Bailey, who averaged 17.6 points during his only season at Rutgers, even though he refused to work out for the Jazz because they believed he was the best player available and had star potential, particularly as a scorer. But Bailey never got into an offensive rhythm during his first summer league game and forced some questionable shots.“Not enough is said about all that,” said Jazz coach Will Hardy, referring to Bailey’s ability and willingness, at 2.03 meters and 95 kg, to defend and rebound. “The offense will come. He’s learning a new system and new people and has worked hard the last four days [in training]. He is an NBA-caliber athlete and a great teammate. I’ve only received positive feedback from all the coaches and his teammates this first week.”
Will Hardy
“Offensively, we can do a little better job of getting him involved,” said Scott Morrison, the Jazz assistant who is serving as Utah’s head coach during the Salt Lake City Summer League. “We’ll get better at it. The good thing about summer league is that the result doesn’t really matter. It’s more important that he has some things to watch on video tomorrow morning. These two weeks are basically a crash course in the NBA, and when you come from the college level, especially as an 18-year-old kid, all those things that have nothing to do with scoring or shooting are much more important for establishing yourself on the court. Then, once you establish those things, where you can help the team in a positive way without scoring, we can worry about his shot selection.”
Scott Morrison
