Arizona's gifted 2023 Class of prospects got much better this fall when 6-foot-3 sophomore guard Chuck Bailey moved to the state of Arizona from the Mid-West. A native of Detroit, Michigan, immediately upon entering the state of Arizona, Bailey became one of the state's elite talents and college prospects. Recently, Division-I college programs are taking very serious notice, as Bailey has caught fire in his college recruitment - receiving numerous big scholarship offers for himself.
Bailey is coming off a superb sophomore season for himself, where he was among the elite scorers in the 2023 Class in America. Bailey did all he could as a mere sophomore this season to keep his Higley team competitive. Bailey averaged eye-popping numbers this past season, 24.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists per/game - ridiculous numbers for such a young prospect. Bailey's outburst this season leaves us wondering how much more can he do as a player in the high school ranks.
As a result of his amazing performances this season, Bailey has caught the attention of many college programs across the country, and recently, offers began pouring in for him. Bailey now has offers for himself from Kansas, Illinois, Ole Miss, UNLV, Loyola Marymount and Detroit Mercy, with many more college programs looking to line up with offers in the near future.
Bailey is a unique performer, as he has excellent size and length for a guard prospect with superb physical strength already as a young performer. He has nice length of body on a compact frame, as he has long arms and is able to make plays as a result. He is able to play both guard positions, but, of course, is at his best as a scoring guard where he is able to create scoring opportunities for himself. He is also able to play the point guard position, which he seems to enjoy, since he is able to make plays with the ball in his hands, or create scoring opportunities for his teammates. I would imagine that as he plays with better players, he will flourish at this position much more, as he will be able to create off the dribble for his teammates much more. Bailey is a good shooter with range on his shot and also has a good mid-range game that allows him to make plays off the dribble, or score around the paint or in the lane over and around defenders.
Bailey has the ability to become a very good playmaker and creator off the dribble as he matures, which makes him very difficult to defend for opposing guards. Bailey is also difficult to defend or slow down, as a result of his aggression and physical strength. He is a strong rebounder and has the ability to become an elite rebounder from the guard position. He is a solid defender, but I would like to continue to see him progress in this area over time, and focus much more defensively to maximize his potential as a player.
Bailey is a tremendous talent in Arizona's 2023 Class, already possessing some serious college recruitment for hismelf. With a recent Kansas offer, the sky is the limit for Bailey. It will be very interesting to see where he ultimately lands for college, but he still has another two seasons of high school basketball, after already posting some of the best individual numbers in the nation as a mere sophomore.
I look forward to watching Bailey continue to develop over time, as he has already positioned himself as an elite 2023 prospect in the class nationally.
