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The Sports Xchange

OVERVIEW

An electrifying scorer, Jerryd Bayless is caught between positions. He lacks the ideal size and strength required to defend vs. shooting guards at the NBA level and is still a work in progress as a distributor. He does have the skills to be a combo guard and provide instant offense off the bench. Bayless has the range, explosiveness and fluid, effortless style to make his shot from anywhere on the court.

From the same high school as former Wildcat All-American Channing Frye (2001-05), Bayless signed with Arizona during the November early signing period. He went on to become just the 22nd player in school history to earn All-American honors and was the first freshman since Jason Gardner to accomplish the feat.

In his only season at Arizona, Bayless set the school freshman record, scoring 592 points (19.7 per game). He was the first player in Wildcats' annals to score 30 points in three consecutive games (vs. Arizona State, California and Stanford). He also averaged 2.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game in 30 appearances, missing four contests in late December and early January with a right knee sprain.

Bayless shot 45.8 percent (173-of-378) from the field and a team-leading 83.9 percent (187-of-223) from the foul line. He finished in double figures 27 times, including 12 games with 20 or more points and four 30-point games. He also registered 29 steals.

Prior to arriving at Arizona, Bayless was a standout performer at St. Mary's High School. A McDonald's All-American as a senior, he earned All-State first-team honors in each of his four prep seasons despite suffering a wrist fracture as a sophomore. He added Parade and EA Sports All-American recognition and was named Gatorade Arizona Player of the Year as a junior and senior.

Bayless added Arizona Republic "Big School" (4A-5A) Player of the Year and East Valley Tribune Player of the Year honors in 2006 and '07. The school Honor Roll student was named "best leaper" in high school basketball by Rivals.com. During his four prep seasons, he tallied 2,828 career points (28.3 per game) to lead the state of Arizona in career scoring average.

Bayless had 15 career 40-point games and three 50-point games, including a career-high 53. As a senior, he averaged 33.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 2.0 steals per game in leading his club to a 19-13 record and a state tournament runner-up finish. He averaged 37.9 points and 8.0 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 3.2 steals per game as a junior.

In summer basketball competition, Bayless scored 11 points and added a block and a board in the March 2007 McDonald's All-America Game in Louisville, Ky., helping the West to a 114-112 win. The Nike Brand All-American was selected to play in 2007 Jordan Classic. He also played on the USA Basketball Junior National Select team and was a U-18 National team member.

After the 2007-08 season, Bayless announced he would begin preparations for the 2008 NBA Draft. "I've thought carefully about my options since the end of the season, discussed it with my parents and others who could give me appropriate guidance, and made this decision with a clear mind. I'm going to turn professional. It's the right time for me to move on," Bayless said. "I appreciate the opportunity I had to be part of the Arizona basketball team this year."

Returning Arizona head coach Lute Olson said, "I'm disappointed because I didn't have one year to work with him, to coach him. Jerryd's going to be a great player in the NBA. He's an unbelievable kid with great character, and he's a great competitor. I wish him nothing but the best of luck and I know he will represent the University of Arizona and the state of Arizona very well in the future."

ANALYSIS

Positives: Capable of playing the point...Also has superb athleticism, outstanding quickness and an explosive initial step to the basket and might be better in the "2" spot, as he is a highly confident long-range shooter with great range from the NBA 3-point area...Shows excellent elevation executing his jump shot ... Despite his age and relative inexperience, he has very good court vision and basketball IQ, baiting defenders out of the paint with his pump-fakes and other array of moves when operating along the perimeter ... Not the type that will get rattled vs. pressure or double-team activity ... If a lethargic defender gives him the slightest crease, Bayless is soon to explode into that opening for an easy score (see Washington 1/26 and Arizona State 2/10 games) ... Can elevate and hang in the air to get to the rim ... Settled for perimeter shots earlier in the year, but as the season wore on, he started to use his upper-body strength more to draw contact and drive hard to the basket, effectively getting to the charity stripe, where he had an 83.9 percent success rate ... Crafty player who has a nice array of moves (hesitation, crossover, pump fakes) that he uses regularly to draw unsuspecting defenders to commit early ... Can drive strongly into the lane or explode off the floor to elevate for a smooth jump shot ... Despite possessing ideal bulk, he compensates with quickness and good strength ... Fluid runner up and down the court, using his foot speed to slash to the basket while keeping defenders off balance with his ability to shift gears or just stop on a dime and put his shot up ... Needs just a little bit of room to create his shot, but if the inside lane is clogged, he is becoming a high-percentage mid-range shooter ... Still not really comfortable playing the point, as he does try to create shots for himself first, but even though he does force the ball into ill-advised areas, he has good vision coming off the dribble-drive to get the ball to an open teammate ... Has a quick release with a high release point on his pull-up jumper ... Very effective coming off screens, showing good balance and taking proper angles to get to the basket ... Keeps defenders off-balance constantly, as he has a very effective hesitation move ... Can elevate high and above the rim to put in the emphatic dunk...Few players at the pro level can match his explosive initial step to the basket ... Does not need much room to elevate and is slippery moving through traffic while trying to create a shot ... Has very good balance stepping back to make shots from the perimeter ... Has soft, natural hands to catch and shoot coming off screens and has become a very efficient passer ... Even when covered by wing players, his high elevation allows him to separate from his man and fire jump shots with either hand ... Very good at getting to the foul line...An explosive slasher who knows how to draw contact on the way to the rim ... Has the ability to change the pace on his dribble, as he can keep it loose and away from his body to bait the defender and then simply pull up and fire over his man or square his shoulders and keep the ball low ... His ability to shoot off the dribble and accelerate instantly allows him to gain separation from his man ... Sets his feet well to pull up and shoot coming off the dribble, as he has very good balance and body control to execute his jumper ... Despite being known for his offensive explosiveness, he shows very good balance, body control and change of direction agility on the defensive side ... Has the lateral agility to stop slashers from gaining penetration, using his feet to stay in front of his man ... Has the lateral agility to stay in front of perimeter shooters and will prevent the slashers from getting into the paint.

Negatives: Does not play with a point guard's mentality, but looks to create shots for himself...Is an efficient passer, but he's turnover prone, puts the ball on the floor with a hard dribble and does get frustrated when his shot isn't falling ... When he gets into a bad rhythm, he continues to attempt off-balance and ill-advised shots ... Needs to improve his conditioning, strength and stamina, as he appeared to run out of gas late in the season ... Tries to play within the system, but like Stephon Marbury, he does play the point with a "shoot-first mentality ... Still regarded as a "tweener," and does not have the defensive skills to handle "2" guards at the next level ... For a player with his leaping ability and high elevation, he is not a good rebounder ... Will avoid the lane and park on the outside even though he has a knack for scoring with ease and drawing contact in the paint ... Will take shortcuts on defense and doesn't always fight through screens...Can distribute the ball better when on the move, but when defenders rotate, he gets into a panic mode and struggles to get off his shot or pass the ball out ... Loses sight of his man when playing in transition and must be more alert to the opponent's positioning in pick-and-roll situations ... Has a good mid-range shot, but needs to set his feet better, as it sometimes looks as if he is just shot-putting the ball rather than following through smoothly with his release ... Has good court vision, but lacks the experience to handle an intricate half-court offense ... Better in an up-tempo attack, as he seems to make more poor decisions with the ball when playing in the half-court game (the slower the pace of the game, the less effective he is) ... Has the strength and leg drive to attack the basket and draw contact, but does get into a rhythm where he will just flip in a jump shot rather than drive into the lane ... Applies good defensive pressure on perimeter shooters, but needs to stay in front of his man, as he does not have the long wingspan needed to alter or block many shots ... Has good strength, but bigger opponents have good success shutting him down when he tries to battle through screens ... Has a high release point, but needs to get his shots off quicker, as he is a too deliberate with his release, allowing defenders to recover when they commit on his pump fakes or hesitation moves ... Must do a better job of taking angles to avoid contact when defending on screens.

Compares To: MONTA ELLIS-Golden State ... If your team is looking for a combo guard, Bayless is a nice fit. He does have a "shoot first, shoot second and pass third" mentality, but in an up-tempo attack, he is very good at creating his own shot. He can play minutes at the point but will draw comparisons to Stephon Marbury for his shooter's mentality. He is a very fluid open-court player with the sudden first step to blow past almost any opponent. He has a smooth, though deliberate, release and while he can hoist the ball up from the perimeter, he needs to drive more to the basket in order to draw contact and get to the foul line. He lacks the long wingspan to alter or block shots along the perimeter and must do a better job fighting through screens. He seems to lack great awareness as a playmaker, but also goes through long stretches where he will put up one bad shot after another. Use him as a shooting guard and, while he won't defend "2s", he can get 15-20 points per game. Keep him at the point and watch teammates get frustrated over his preference for dominating the ball when he should be distributing it.

CAREER NOTES

Bayless scored 592 points in 2007-08, breaking the school season record for freshmen ... Became the first player in school history to score 30 points in three consecutive games, accomplishing that feat vs. Arizona State, California and Stanford (from 2/10-to-2/16/08).

2007-08 SEASON

All-American second-team selection by Sports Illustrated, earning third-team honors from The NBA Draft Report and Rivals.com ... Became the first Arizona freshman since Jason Gardner (1999-2000) and 22nd Wildcat overall to earn national recognition ... Added All-Pac-10 Conference first-team accolades ... Played in 30 games, missing the Memphis, Oregon State, Oregon and Arizona State games after he suffered a right knee sprain during the team's practice prior to the Memphis clash ... Set a school freshman scoring record with 592 points (19.7 per game), as he hit on 172-of-378 field goals (45.8 percent), 59-of-145 3-point attempts (40.7 percent) and 187-of-223 free throws (83.9 percent) ... Pulled down 82 rebounds (2.7 per game), as he handed out 121 assists (4.0 per game) and had 29 steals to go with three blocked shots ... Had 89 turnovers and 66 personal fouls ... Finished in double figures 27 times, including 12 20-point and four 30-point games.

2007-08 GAME ANALYSIS

Shot just 5-of-14 from the field in his collegiate debut vs. Northern Arizona, finishing with 18 points ... Had his first collegiate 20-point game, tallying 21 points while making 4-of-8 three-pointers, adding four assists and four boards ... Followed with 20 points, a season-high nine assists and added nine rebounds vs. Missouri-Kansas City ... Put in 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting vs. Cal State-Fullerton ... Added 26 points, as he hit on all ten free throw tries, as he grabbed three boards and handed out six assists vs. Texas A&M ... Had five rebounds and 20 points vs. Illinois, followed by a 21-point performance vs. Fresno State ... Had his first 30-point game as a Wildcat, hitting on 7-of-13 field goals and 18-of-20 free throws for 33 points, nine assists and five rebounds vs. Houston ... Scored 24 points vs. California, 23 points vs. Washington State and 26 points vs. Washington after returning from his knee injury ... Tallied a career-high 39 points on 12-of-18 shooting, adding three assists vs. Arizona State ... Chipped in 33 points and four assists vs. California, followed by 31 points, five boards and six assists vs. Stanford ... Totaled 22 points vs. Washington and had 20 more vs. Washington State to close out the month of February with five 20-plus point contests ... Made all ten free throws for 20 points, three boards and four assists vs. Oregon State in early March ... Added 19 points the next game vs. Oregon and 18 points vs. Stanford in the Pac-10 Tournament ... Closed out his career with 11 points on 4-of-10 shooting vs. West Virginia in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.

INJURY REPORT

2004-05: Suffered a left wrist fracture in the first quarter vs. Desert Vista High School (12/29/04). 2007-08: Sprained his right knee in practice on 12/28 in Memphis, missing games vs. Memphis (12/29), Oregon State (1/03), Oregon (1/05) and Arizona State (1/09).

SUMMER BASKETBALL

Bayless scored 11 points and added a block and a board in the 2007 McDonald's All-America Game in Louisville, Ky., helping the West to a 114-112 win ... The Nike Brand All-American was selected to play in 2007 Jordan Classic ... Also played on the USA Basketball Junior National Select team and was a U-18 National team member.

HIGH SCHOOL

Attended St. Mary's (Phoenix, Az.) High School, playing basketball for head coach Dave Lopez ... A McDonald's All-American selection as a senior, he earned All-State first-team honors in each of his four seasons, despite suffering a wrist fracture as a sophomore ... Added Parade and EA Sports All-American recognition and was named Gatorade Arizona Player of the Year as a senior and junior ... Named Arizona Republic "Big School" (4A-5A) Player of the Year and East Valley Tribune Player of the Year in 2006 and 2007 ... The school Honor Roll student was named the "best leaper" in high school basket-ball by Rivals.com ... During his four prep seasons, he tallied 2,828 career points (28.3 ppg) to lead the state of Arizona in career scoring average ... Had 15 career 40-point games and three 50-point games, including a career-high 53 ... As a senior, he averaged 33.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 2.0 steals per game in leading his club to a 19-13 record and a state tournament runner-up finish ... Averaged 37.9 points and 8.0 rebounds, 7.4 assists and 3.2 steals per game as a junior.