Amari Bailey

Amari Bailey (born February 17, 2004) is an American college basketball player for the UCLA Bruins of the Pac-12 Conference. He was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2022 class.

Amari Bailey
No. 5 – UCLA Bruins
PositionShooting guard
LeaguePac-12 Conference
Personal information
Born (2004-02-17) February 17, 2004
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High schoolSierra Canyon (Los Angeles, California)
CollegeUCLA (2022–present)
Career highlights and awards
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing  United States
FIBA Americas U16 Championship
Gold medal – first place2019 BrazilTeam

Early life and high school career

Born in New Orleans,[1] Bailey grew up in Chicago, and was raised by a single mother.[2][3] He and his mother were featured in Bringing Up Ballers, a Lifetime reality show that follows Chicago-area entrepreneur mothers of basketball players.[3][4] He moved to the Los Angeles area to play for Sierra Canyon School in Chatsworth.[3][5] As a freshman, Bailey helped his team win the California Interscholastic Federation Open Division state title.[5] He had nine points, three rebounds and four assists in a 76–52 finals win over Sheldon.[6] As a junior, he averaged 29.2 points, 9.1 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game.[7] He was named California Mr. Basketball, Los Angeles Daily News All-Area Player of the Year and Gold Coast League MVP.[8][9]

Recruiting

Bailey was a consensus five-star recruit and one of the top players in the 2022 class, according to major recruiting services. At age 13, while in eighth grade, he committed to playing college basketball for DePaul, but he decommitted before starting high school.[10][11] He later committed to UCLA as a high school freshman, before decommitting again eight months later when their coach, Steve Alford, was fired.[12][13] On February 17, 2021, Bailey recommitted to UCLA and their new coach, Mick Cronin.[13][14] Bailey was seen as the number one player by every recruiting service entering the summer off his senior season before suffering an injury which resulted in Bailey to miss playing in the AAU circuit and early parts off Sierra Canyon season . [15]

247Sports ranked Bailey as the third-best combo guard in his high school class.[16]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Amari Bailey
SG		 Chicago, IL Sierra Canyon (CA) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Feb 17, 2021 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports:5/5 stars    ESPN:5/5 stars   ESPN grade: 93
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 13  247Sports: 10  ESPN: 5
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "UCLA 2022 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  • "2022 UCLA Bruins Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  • "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 25, 2022.

College career

In his college debut, Bailey scored 10 points against Sacramento State.[17] He began the 2022–23 season winning the Pac-12 Conference's freshman of the week award twice.[18] He was injured against Kentucky when the Wildcats' Oscar Tshiebwe stepped on his left foot. Bailey aggravated the injury the following game against UC Davis.[19] From December 30, 2022, against Washington State, until January 26, 2023, he was sidelined for seven games due to discomfort in his foot.[18][20][21][22] On February 9, Bailey scored 24 points in a win against Oregon State.[23] After UCLA's best defender, Jaylen Clark, suffered a season-ending leg injury in the regular-season finale against Arizona,[24] Bailey assumed the task of defending the opposition's top perimeter player,[25] and he also increased his scoring.[26] In the Bruins' opener in the 2023 Pac-12 tournament, Bailey scored a career-high 26 points in a win over Colorado.[27] He had 19 points and seven rebounds in the finals, which UCLA lost 61–59 to Arizona.[28] He helped the Bruins advance to the Sweet 16 of the 2023 NCAA tournament, averaging 15.5 points and 6.0 assists while converting 49.5% of his field goals and 38.9% of his three-pointers. In the six games after Clark's injury, Bailey averaged 17.3 points and shot 56.1%. He ended the season with averages of 11.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 30 games.[29] He was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team.[30] After the season, he declared for the 2023 NBA draft.[29]

National team career

Bailey represented the United States at the 2019 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship in Brazil. He averaged 13.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and three assists per game, helping his team win the gold medal.[31]

Career statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2022–23 UCLA 302826.9.495.389.6983.82.21.1.311.2

Personal life

Bailey's father, Aaron, played football for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League.[32]

References
  1. "Amari Bailey". UCLA Athletics. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  2. Yapkowitz, David (May 20, 2019). "Amari Bailey: "I want to be the best player I can be in high school"". Mars Reel. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  3. Spears, Marc. J. (April 8, 2022). "Top prospect Amari Bailey is changing perceptions on his way to UCLA, the NBA". Andscape. Retrieved May 3, 2022.
  4. Swartz, Tracy (February 1, 2017). "New Lifetime series to feature young Chicago basketball standouts". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  5. Sondheimer, Eric (March 9, 2019). "Sierra Canyon claims second Open Division state title with win over Sheldon". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  6. Fattal, Tarek (March 17, 2023). "Amari Bailey can 'morph' into what UCLA needs in NCAA tournament". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  7. Sears, Ethan (June 28, 2021). "Sierra Canyon's Amari Bailey always rises to the challenge". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  8. Flores, Ronnie (July 8, 2021). "Mr. Basketball 2021: A Notch Above". Cal-Hi Sports. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  9. Fattal, Tarek (June 25, 2021). "Sierra Canyon's Amari Bailey headlines 2021 All-Area boys basketball team". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  10. Fielding, Lisa (August 14, 2017). "Eighth Grade Chicago Basketball Star Commits To DePaul". WBBM-TV. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  11. Steeno, Paul (March 16, 2018). "Eighth grader no longer committed to DePaul". The DePaulia. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  12. Newman, Logan (July 1, 2019). "Report: Sierra Canyon 2022 star Amari Bailey decommits from UCLA". USA Today High School Sports. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  13. Bolch, Ben (February 17, 2021). "Highly coveted prospect Amari Bailey returns 'home' in picking UCLA". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
  14. Borzello, Jeff (February 17, 2021). "Amari Bailey, a highly regarded high school junior guard, commits to UCLA basketball a second time". ESPN. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  15. "Amari Bailey - Men's Basketball". UCLA. Retrieved 2023-04-12.
  16. Bolch, Ben (October 31, 2022). "High-flying Amari Bailey should make an instant impact for UCLA with skills and savvy". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
  17. Bolch, Ben (February 22, 2023). "UCLA's Amari Bailey may be goofy off the court, but freshman courts serious accolades". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 14, 2023.
  18. Fattal, Tarek (January 11, 2023). "No. 7 UCLA's 11-game win streak on the line against Utah". The Orange County Register. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  19. Bolch, Ben (January 17, 2023). "UCLA's Amari Bailey appears unlikely to play against Arizona State with lingering foot issue". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 20, 2023.
  20. Bolch, Ben (December 30, 2022). "Mick Cronin gets his comeback as UCLA fends off upset-minded Washington State". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
  21. Bolch, Ben (January 25, 2023). "Amari Bailey available to return for No. 8 UCLA's showdown with USC". LA Times.
  22. Fattal, Tarek (January 26, 2023). "No. 8 UCLA sees repeat mistakes in 2nd straight Pac-12 loss". Orange County Register. Retrieved February 5, 2023.
  23. Bolch, Ben (February 9, 2023). "No. 7 UCLA shakes off slow start to put on a defensive show in win over Oregon State". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  24. Bolch, Ben (March 22, 2023). "UCLA freshmen's stingy defense could give Bruins a boost against Gonzaga". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  25. Bolch, Ben (March 19, 2023). "Amari Bailey's moment has arrived. How far will it take him and UCLA?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  26. Bolch, Ben (March 17, 2023). "Jaylen Clark is out but still inspiring defense-minded UCLA in NCAA tournament". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
  27. Bolch, Ben (March 9, 2023). "Amari Bailey bails out Jaylen Clark-depleted Bruins in comeback over Colorado". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 10, 2023.
  28. Fattal, Tarek (March 12, 2023). "No. 2 seed UCLA opens NCAA Tournament vs. UNC Asheville". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved March 12, 2023.
  29. Bolch, Ben (April 13, 2023). "After stellar freshman season, UCLA's Amari Bailey declares for the NBA draft". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 8, 2023.
  30. "2022-23 Pac-12 Men's Basketball All-Conference honors and Annual Performance Awards, presented by Nextiva" (Press release). Pac-12 Conference. March 7, 2023. Retrieved March 7, 2023.
  31. Fisher, Chris (September 11, 2020). "Kentucky, Kansas recruiting top-5 junior the hardest". 247Sports. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
  32. "Amari Bailey". USA Basketball. March 10, 2021. Retrieved July 17, 2021.
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