Mark Wiedmer
Want to watch the near-beginning of what just might become the most successful professional sports career by a Chattanooga native since the late, great Reggie White terrorized opposing quarterbacks during the Minister of Defense’s NFL Hall of Fame career?
If so, tune in ESPN tonight at 7 o’clock to watch the Las Vegas Summer League debut of Ace Bailey when he and his new Utah Jazz teammates face the Charlotte Hornets.
With apologies to former Bradley Central and University of Kentucky star Rhyne Howard of the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream _ remember Howard was the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year in 2022 after being its overall No. 1 draft pick _ if Bailey can turn in the kind of performances he did in his second game of the Salt Lake City Summer League this past Monday, we could be looking at a budding superstar who called the Scenic City home for much of his youth.
As true NBA debuts go, Bailey’s Salt Lake City Summer League one last Saturday was pretty pedestrian. He scored eight points, hauled in seven rebounds and added one jaw-dropping block against a Philadelphia 76ers summer league team he basically told not to draft him.
Not exactly the numbers you’d expect from the No. 5 overall pick in the draft _ and had he agreed to go to Philly he would have been the third pick and made nearly $3 million more on his first-year rookie contract _ but even then the 6-8 phenom got the final rebound and hit the final free throw for the Jazz in a narrow victory.
But then came Monday night for the former Tyner Middle School and Boyd-Buchanan player who finished his prep career in Atlanta. And it wasn’t just the 18 points he tallied on seven of 14 shooting (3 of 5 from the 3-point line). It was the way he got those points. A difficult, beautiful step-back fadeaway following a rebound. A deep 3 out of the right corner released with the quickness of a light switch. The second-half rebound that produced a one-handed windmill dunk that would have made Dr. J proud. An ally-oop dunk. A swished 3 off the top of the key.
This was why Philly originally wanted to take Bailey with the third pick, though the player they ultimately chose _ Baylor University freshman VJ Edgecombe _ had one of the best performances of the weekend-long Salt Lake City event with 28 points against the Jazz on Saturday.
Bailey’s allure is his potential down the road. His willowy body will surely fill out. His basketball IQ, already off the charts, will mature. His attitude, though questionable leading up to the draft, will make Jazz fans cheer, especially if he continues to evaluate his performance as he did after his 18-point effort.
“I mean, in Game 1, first NBA game, there were some jitters here and there, just too excited,” he told reporters. “But the second one, I just talked to the vets and they told me to calm down and let the game come to you, and that’s what happened.”
The rightfully cautious will argue that Bailey’s second game heroics were executed against a lot of guys who will barely, if ever, play in a NBA regular-season game. As professional summer leagues go, this coming week in Las Vegas will be a much more accurate test of where the 18-year-old Bailey is in terms of readiness for the world’s most demanding basketball league.
That play will begin tonight in Vegas. Utah’s second game in Sin City will be against the Golden State Warriors on Sunday at 11 p.m. on ESPN. Yet Utah head coach Will Hardy _ who only spectates from the stands during summer league outings _ is already effusive in his praise of what he has seen of Bailey this far.
Referring to Bailey’s desire to play defense and rebound in both Salt Lake City games, Hardy later said, “All that stuff isn’t talked about enough. The offense will come. He’s learning a new system and new people and has been worked hard the last four days (of practice). He’s an NBA body and athlete. He’s a great teammate too. I’ve had nothing but positive reviews from all the coaches and his teammates this first week.”
McCallie Middle School Learning Center Director Kelcey Watson taught Bailey math at Tyner Middle. And while he is quick to bring up Rhyne Howard when addressing Bailey’s potential impact on Chattanooga area basketball, correctly noting: “Ace, along with Rhyne Howard, have reinvigorated the hopes and dreams of young people all across the Greater Chattanooga area, reminding them that dreams can come true if you have the talent and work ethic.”
He also defends Bailey’s pre-draft behavior of refusing to work out for certain teams and telling the 76ers not to draft him.
“I just know that’s not the Ace Bailey I know,” said Watson. "There are a lot of people around these kids giving them a lot of advice, and we don’t always know the reason for it. I just know he has good people who are close to him, especially his mother, who want the best for him, and I trust they’re guiding him in the right direction.”
Watson tells a story about the Ace he knows, the Ace who cared about academics and treating people the right way and always giving his best.
“Ace was at Boyd-Buchanan and we (McCallie) were playing at Boyd in a JV football game one afternoon,” recalled Watson recently. “From the other end of the football field, Ace sees me and runs up and gives me a big hug. I said, ‘You know what I want to see (meaning his report card)’ and he smiles and says, ‘I got it right here for you.’
“He pulls out his phone and he’s got his report card on the screensaver and it’s all good grades. I said, ‘That’s what I love to see. Keep up the good work.’ That’s Ace. That’s who he is and that’s why he’s going to be a success at whatever he does.”
And when that success comes to him in the NBA, when he nightly flashes the kind of skill and talent we’re sure to see over the next week in Las Vegas, we can all say we saw it here first.
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Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@mccallie.org