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Jerryd Bayless profile
Drafted #11 in the 2008 NBA Draft by the Trailblazers
RCSI: 8 (2007)
Height: 6'3" (191 cm)
Weight: 204 lbs (93 kg)
Position: PG/SG
High School: St. Mary's High School (Arizona)
Hometown: Phoenix, AZ
College: Arizona
Current Team: Timberwolves
Win - Loss: 5 - 0

Articles

Las Vegas Summer League Day Five

Matt Williams
Matt Williams
Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt
Jul 16, 2008, 10:23 pm
Bayless followed up his debut with a performance very similar to that first outing. He did knock down a three pointer today in addition to going to the line, which was nice to say since he failed to connect on one in his first contest. Bayless doesn’t seem keen on taking a lot of jumpers, and takes the ball to the rim on almost every possession. Unlike last game, Bayless didn’t do a good job distributing the ball, and gave up the ball on a number of occasions. Fortunately, he won’t have to do a ton of ball handling in Portland with Brandon Roy able to effectively handle pressure and Steve Blake as a pure assist man. Bayless showed some poor body language late in the game, but that’s because he is a very serious competitor who hates to lose. This level of performance seems like the norm for Bayless, as both of the games he’s played have been eerily similar.

Las Vegas Summer League Day Four

Matt Williams
Matt Williams
Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt
Jul 16, 2008, 12:06 am
Bayless started his NBA career by showing off his amazing first step off the dribble, and was rewarded with 23 free throw attempts. He showed very impressive leaping ability and body control inside, and was able to convert a number of lay-ups while taking the contact. Though he shot a good number of outside jumpers during his career at Arizona, Bayless didn't attempt a single three pointer on the day, though you can hardly blame him considering the success he had attacking the paint. The rookie spent the majority of his day playing off the ball, and didn't pick up a single assist. His role in Portland will start with scoring, and he certainly had this ability on full display throughout the day. Defensively, Bayless played very well at times, but was forced to be less aggressive in this area by the refs who were calling things very closely.

Bad News for Those Who Didn’t Do Their Homework Early...

Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
Mar 26, 2008, 11:06 pm
Bayless is in a bit of a tough situation: when he’s extremely aggressive looking for his own shot, people say he’s selfish, but when he lets things come to him, he’s criticized for being too passive. He definitely leaned more towards the latter in this particular contest, doing some nice playmaking setting up teammates, but never showing that extra gear we’ve seen numerous times during the course of the season where he just takes over a game and refuses to let his team lose. Part of that has to do with the fact that Arizona’s starters played a combined 190 out of a possible 200 minutes (with Bayless going the distance), a lot of that had to do with the fantastic team defense West Virginia played. But part of that was on Bayless too—who had favorable matchups he could have exploited at times thanks to his far superior physical tools, but for some reason showed little urgency trying to do so. He in fact only got to the free throw line twice in this game, which is tied for the second lowest total of the season for him. He was fantastic finding spots to operate in the mid-range, where he pulled up off the dribble beautifully in trademark fashion. The problem was he seemed to settle for these long-range jumpers too often, not taking the ball particularly strong to the basket, and not finishing very well or drawing contact when he did, showing a certain lack of toughness in the process—something that’s somewhat of a concern with him.

Bayless did not make up for his lack of aggression offensively with his play on the other end of the floor unfortunately. He struggled to fight through screens on numerous occasions, giving his matchup plenty of time to set his feet and get a clean shot off. When he was defending players head on, his lack of length, height and energy was clearly a poor mix in terms of contesting shots. It’s pretty obvious that Bayless is going to have problems defending the 2-guard position—unless he improves dramatically here, that is probably something his next coach will have to live with. We’re still talking about a supreme talent obviously, a virtual lock to be drafted in the top 10, but it’s pretty clear that Bayless peaked midway through the season and not at the very end. We must keep in mind that he’s only a freshman, though.

NCAA Weekly Performers, 1/23/08-- Part One

Rodger Bohn
Rodger Bohn
Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
Joseph Treutlein
Joseph Treutlein
Eric Weiss
Eric Weiss
Jan 24, 2008, 01:42 am
Another in an impressive line of freshman who are backing up the hype and then some, Jerryd Bayless has established himself as the go-to guy for Arizona (the team is 11-3 with him, and 1-3 without him), and in the process is likely putting himself in a situation to be drafted in a great position, already this year.

Physically, Bayless is an extremely impressive prospect. He is certainly stuck between the 1 and the 2 positions, but has solid size at 6-3, with outstanding athleticism on top of that. Bayless is an incredibly smooth player—quick, fluid, explosive, with a terrific first step, capable of elevating off his feet with ease—the entire package as far as athleticism is concerned. He has a somewhat slight frame, but is regardless a strong player for his age, seeming to have maximized himself from a physical perspective fairly well.

Offensively, Bayless can do it all and has basically everything you look for in a scoring guard. He’s an outstanding shooter first and foremost, showing terrific shooting mechanics, superb elevation creating separation from his defender, and all the confidence in the world to fire away in any situation imaginable. His release is a bit on the deliberate side, but this is a minor flaw that surely can be corrected in time.

Bayless can come off a screen, catch and shoot, or pull-up off the dribble equally well. He has great balance and core strength setting up for his jumper, and thus gets terrific results already this early in his career. He hits tough shots going left or right or fading away, even with a man in his feet, never getting flustered regardless of the situation.

More than just a shooter, though, Bayless is also a terrific shot-creator, with an aggressive slashing mentality and a real killer instinct making his way to the basket. He’s explosive enough with his first step or wicked crossover to just beat players off the dribble going left or right, but also possesses excellent ability to change gears, stop and go, and mix in hesitation moves to keep his defender off balance. He gets to the free throw line at a terrific rate, taking contact at the rim, but possibly lacking just a degree of size and strength to consistently finish those moves at the hoop. He often just prefers to find a glimmer of daylight in which he can get his shot off from mid-range, which is a very high percentage shot for him.

Standing somewhere around 6-3, NBA scouts will want to see some point guard skills out of Bayless, and indeed he sees a good amount of time at this position for Arizona. Bayless is not a selfish player, he can certainly find the open man and is pretty gifted passing while on the move, but it’s pretty clear at this point that he’s much more comfortable as a scorer than he is as a playmaker. He has a tendency to pound the ball in the half-court, over-dribbling excessively and making poor decisions when forced to play at a slower tempo. Arizona’s offense seems to lack some fluidity at times when he’s running the show, as Bayless has a tendency to create shots first and foremost for himself and then only look to create for others. He’s still a young player and certainly has time to develop, but right now it looks like he’d be much more comfortable playing a Monta Ellis type role in the pros (alongside another strong ball-handler) rather than as a Chauncey Billups style point guard.

Defensively, Bayless shows a lot of potential, not just with his tools, but with the commitment he’s displayed to competing on this end of the floor. He has excellent lateral quickness, clearly having received some solid coaching on this part of his game early on his career. His awareness isn’t always the best (looking a bit lost trying to find his man in transition for example), and he lacks some strength to get through screens defending the pick and roll at times—taking too wide an angle to avoid contact, but considering his age and huge offensive role on the team, it’s hard to nitpick too much here.

There is a caveat, though, as considering his size, he’d almost certainly be better off guarding point guards than shooting guards, which again brings up the fact that he’ll need to be drafted by the right team (with the right guard next to him) to really reach his full potential. He won’t be a perfect fit for everyone, but if he finds the right situation, Bayless has 20 point per game plus potential in the NBA if he continues to progress. The early indications we’re getting from sources close to the situation are that Bayless is leaning towards leaving Arizona at the end of this season. The reason for that being that with the dominant ball-handling Brandon Jennings coming in next year, he won’t have as much of a chance to develop his point guard skills. It seems like he could definitely use another year of experience before he’s ready to compete for high level minutes in the NBA, but if he’s indeed the lottery pick that most NBA people we’ve spoken to feel he is, then he probably has no choice but to leave.

NCAA Weekly Performers--Freshman Edition, Part Two

Kyle Nelson
Kyle Nelson
Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt
Joseph Treutlein
Joseph Treutlein
Nov 25, 2007, 05:21 am
Known as one of the top players in Arizona high school basketball history, Jerryd Bayless was known for his scoring ability throughout his prep career. Entering his freshman year at the University of Arizona, the talented guard brought high expectations to campus along with his talent. Bayless has been asked to be a full-time point guard for the Wildcats, a challenging proposition for a freshman used to be a primary scorer. Despite some unnecessary turnovers, the young guard has displayed promise at the point this season.

Offensively, Bayless needs to learn to pick apart the defense better, but has done a fairly mature job at choosing his spots to score. An elite athlete with a sweet jumper, he’s a constant threat to utilize a well developed offensive arsenal, whether it‘s a three pointer, mid-range jumper or a slashing move to the hoop. Though not a pass-first point guard, he also shows good instincts when looking for the open man off the dribble-drive. Like many freshman guards, Bayless tends over dribble at times, and sometimes force the ball into bad spots. He has bounced back from his mistakes, however, while showing the willingness to defer to teammates. Through four games so far, Bayless has averages of 18 points, 6 assists, and 5 rebounds per game.

Defensively, the freshman has lockdown potential for an NBA point guard. In a match-up against Virginia, he forced Sean Singletary into a number of ill-advised shots while cutting off his penetration into the paint. This type of defense is coveted by NBA teams, and the fact that it came from a college freshman in his second game is particularly impressive.

Physically, Bayless must continue to get stronger, but his physical tools can already be described as freakish. This becomes obvious when watching him blow by the opposing defense off the dribble and finishing against stronger, more physically developed players inside.

Few players in college basketball possess the natural ability to put the ball in the hoop like Jerryd Bayless, and it could be downright scary to think how good he could become with polished point guard skills. Playing on an Arizona team with two other potential high draft picks (Chase Buddinger and Jordan Hill), Bayless must focus on leading Arizona to an NCAA tournament run this season. Despite their talent, the Wildcats lack depth, so it becomes particularly important for him to play the full season to his potential. Like many other freshman, we could be talking about a one and done prospect here, but quality play at the one throughout the Pac 10 season is a must for Bayless to crack the lottery in 2008.

Nike Jordan All-American Classic: Main Event Recap – Blue Team

Joseph Treutlein
Joseph Treutlein
May 03, 2007, 09:49 pm
Jerryd Bayless made some great plays in this game, and when it was all said and done, he put together a very efficient game for himself, which is hopefully a sign of things to come for the soon-to-be Arizona freshman. At times Bayless overdribbles the ball, which caused him his one turnover in the game on an Eric Gordon pick, but he did a good job playing within himself here tonight, and consistently scoring in a variety of ways.

Bayless started the game off with a long two-pointer that he hit while on the move in transition, exhibiting the excellent body control and elevation on his shot that he’s already quickly become known for. He went on to hit another long pull-up two-pointer that was contested later in the game, as well as drawing a foul attempting his shot on a similar play. He hit one other spot-up jumper from 18 feet out, but other that that, most of his damage was done around the rim, where he got to the foul line repeatedly. Bayless mostly got to the rim on right-handed, simple drives, but used his crossover when necessary, and also showed off his pretty left-handed floater on one occasion, which he converted from about five feet out. In the intersquad scrimmage the day before the game, he showed a tendency to try and pull off complex moves when simple ones would do, but he compacted his dribble-drive game here, with obvious strong results.

Bayless dished out a few assists in transition and made a nice entry pass to the post in the halfcourt, but he wasn’t showing off much in terms of a point guard game here, and he’ll probably be more of an off-guard at Arizona, at least early in his career. He showed off his anticipation and length well on one nice transition steal, but this wasn’t a defense-heavy game. Bayless’ most impressive play on the night was probably a reverse alley-oop catch he made in the halfcourt, slipping through the back door and going up high and strong to jam the ball down, something he does very well while being just 6’3.

Nike Jordan All-America Classic: Friday Practice

Joseph Treutlein
Joseph Treutlein
Apr 21, 2007, 01:59 am
This was a disappointing game for Jerryd Bayless, showing us how streaky his scoring can be, especially following his impressive performance in yesterday’s practice. Bayless did manage to have a few nice contributions for his team in the game, hitting a spot-up three-pointer, making two transition jams in which he showed off his explosive leaping ability and showing off good body control on twoup-and-under lay-ups in which he elevated high on and drew contract for the and-1 opportunities. He also hit a spot-up three-pointer and made a nice assist in transition for a spot-up outside shot.

For the most part, though, Bayless was taking ill-advised shots and dribbling into ill-advised areas, missing shots and turning the ball over. He caught the ball at the top of the key on many opportunities, and tried to get to fancy with the ball, using crossovers and spin moves that weren’t very tight, rather than trying simpler approaches such as adjusting his speed and changing directions to get his man off balance, which would have given him the first step to get into the lane where he can put up a floater with either hand, something he never tried to do in this scrimmage. Bayless missed on some pull-up jumpers in the game as well, including a spinning 15-footer that was blocked and a pull-up shot from behind the three-point line. Bayless is going to need to become more efficient with his shot selection and dribble-drive selection, though that’s something that Lute Olson should help him with next year at Arizona, having molded plenty of combo guards during his tenure there.

Nike Jordan All-American Classic: Thursday Practice

Joseph Treutlein
Joseph Treutlein
Apr 20, 2007, 02:22 am
Bayless was one of the more impressive players here at the first day of practice, showing off an impressive array of scoring ability while not really forcing the issue. The biggest thing to notice about Bayless is his body control, which he exhibits on both his long and mid-range game. He hit a large assortment of shots from 15-18 feet in his team’s scrimmage, coming off curls, pulling up off-the-dribble, shooting with a hand in his face, or fading away from his defender. He has excellent elevation and a high release point on his shot, keeping his upper body square the whole time to ensure a consistent shooting motion. Bayless also got into the lane well here, though he didn’t finish at the rim many times, rather settling for floaters, which he hit with both his left and right hand, which is very impressive for a high school senior. Bayless also showed off his athleticism on one play, getting high above the rim for an alley-oop jam in transition.

Nike Hoop Summit: USA Thursday Practice

Apr 06, 2007, 11:07 am
It wasn’t a good practice for Jerryd Bayless. The Arizona-bound combo guard wasn’t hitting from the outside, and doesn’t have the physical strength to really force the issue against other elite members of this class. He was playing mostly off the ball in this one, but didn’t show the ability to contribute in other ways when his offense isn’t clicking. Adding some weight is a major priority heading into 2008.

2007 McDonald's All America Game: Player Breakdowns

Rodger Bohn
Rodger Bohn
Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
Mar 29, 2007, 02:04 am
After an outstanding week of practices, Bayless came out a bit flat in the McDonald’s game. He was forced to play off of the ball for the majority of the game, giving him little opportunity to show his point guard skills. The Arizona recruit was able to show off his beautiful jumper on two successful three point attempts, which has better lift then any player the class of 2007 has to offer. Aside from that pair of trifectas, he never really seemed to get in the flow of the game and looked to shoot each and every time he got his hands on the ball, not exactly what you’d like to see out of a 6’3 guard. Jerryd will have the opportunity to put his offensive repertoire on display next year for the Wildcats, given their lack of a true point guard and Marcus Williams likely early entry to the NBA Draft.

McDonald's All America Game Practices: Day Two

Rodger Bohn
Rodger Bohn
Mar 27, 2007, 10:03 am
Bayless came out playing with a fire unmatched by any of his teammates on the West squad. He looked to score each and every time he got the ball, and this could have possibly been to show the coaching squad what they were missing out on by not starting him. The Phoenix native shot the ball consistently from three, got to the rim at will via his explosive first step, and played solid defense against the duo of Rose and Gordon. Look for Bayless to put up big numbers come Wednesday, despite the fact that he will be starting the game on the bench for his west team.

McDonald's All America Game Practices: Day One

Rodger Bohn
Rodger Bohn
Mar 26, 2007, 01:23 am
DraftExpress: You’re a guy whose played both the point and shooting guard positions throughout your high school career. What position are you going to play next year at Arizona?

Bayless: Coach Olson said that I’m going to be playing a little bit of both. Just whatever the team needs out of me. If the team needs a little more of a scorer, they’ll put me at the two. If they need me to get the ball around, they’ll put me at the one. He definitely said though that he’s going to be playing me at both.

DraftExpress: Do you have any preference personally as to what position you’ll play?

Bayless: Not really. I’m comfortable with both. It just depends on the situation and what I want to run at the time.

DraftExpress: Now you committed early to Arizona, de-committed to Arizona, before eventually deciding to sign with them. Can you tell me a little about what was going on in your mind around that time?

Bayless: I just wasn’t comfortable at that time. I was comfortable at first and then the more I thought it over, I became uncomfortable and told them that I wanted to rethink it over. They supported me with that and stayed with me, which is why I decided to recommit to Arizona.

DraftExpress: What would you personally say that the strengths of your game are?

Bayless: My ability to score and my athleticism are probably my biggest strengths.

DraftExpress: Now what aspects of your game do you think you really need to improve on, before you can make it to the next level?

Bayless: Definitely my rebounding. That’s the biggest thing that I want to improve on. I think I’ve improved on my point guard skills a lot within the last year or so, so the main thing that I want to improve on for the next level is definitely my rebounding.

DraftExpress: Can you tell me what it’s like being a guy who has consistently scored 30 plus points per game throughout your high school career to have to come off the bench in this game? You have Derrick Rose, Eric Gordon, Kyle Singler, Michael Beasley, and Kevin Love starting…is it going to be kind of tough for you coming off the bench?

Bayless: I’m just going to go out there and play. I might not start…I probably won’t start. I mean, it’s the McDonald’s All American Game. I’m just going to go out there and play my game and hopefully everything goes well.

Spalding HoopHall Classic Player Report

Eric Weiss
Eric Weiss
Jan 18, 2007, 09:00 am
Bayless had a big game against below average competition for his level of skill, but still showed why he’s so highly regarded. His ball-handling and first step allow him to get to where he wants on the court and he can score in a variety of ways.

Bayless’ game is reminiscent of Gilbert Arenas to some extent. He can hit the outside shot or dribble into a pull-up jumper and make it look easy at times, but its not quite consistent. His form on his release is solid with little wasted arm movement, but he tends to drift on his jumper when in motion. This makes Bayless somewhat streaky with his perimeter game. Bayless moves fairly well off the ball, though he didn’t spend much time without it in his hands. He shows good ability to slide laterally through the lane when attacking the basket and this allows him to free himself up for the finish.

Bayless has the ability to finish explosively at the rim, which he displayed with an unbelievable two-handed windmill jam. He is slight of build, though, and needs to improve his overall body strength or he won’t be able to finish after contact as well as he does now. Bayless did show the ability to readjust after contact, however it typically ended in a move away from the basket where he would jump away to re-correct for the fall-away shot.

Bayless has the ability to pass, but is naturally inclined to score first and set up others afterward. How his game recalibrates will be determined when he has better teammates to play off of. Right now he doesn’t appear to be a point guard, but the success that Arenas and Monta Ellis have had in the NBA as combo guards should be a good sign for Bayless because he does posses uncanny ability to fill it up offensively.

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