Recruiting Report: Corey Bays (2016)

<h2>August 18, 2015</h2><p>When we last spoke with C.M. Wright guard <strong>Corey Bays</strong> in March his recruitment was just beginning to start, with Hood and Mercyhurst the first to show interest.</p> <p>Since then, one of those schools has dropped out, but he’s picked up many more suitors in the process.</p> <p>“Hood is still very interested and I picked up some Division II interest from St. Thomas Aquinas in New York.  St. Mary’s is really interested, I just got back from a visit with them. Salisbury is interested, I’ll be visiting them later this month (Ausgust 31). Also Lynchburg College, Randolph College, Randolph-Macon is very interested, and Bridgewater College,” said Bays.</p> <p>“I’ve also been to York College, that is another school that’s interested. I’m also going to visit Penn State-Harrisburg, they want me to come down in September, and I’m also going to visit Bridgewater in September.”</p> <p>With his list of recruiters growing exponentially, we had the 6-foot-3 guard identify two schools that he feels are pursuing him the most.</p> <p>“St. Mary’s basically offered, they said that if I do sign they’d hold a spot for me, they said I’m their number one guy right now and they really need a wing,” said Bays. “And then Salisbury is the other one I would say is after me the most.”</p> <p>He spent his 17U offseason season playing with Crusader Nation, and defense is where he saw the most improvement.</p> <p>“I would say defense is the main area I improved, I really worked on one-on-one stuff defensively and I really excelled during that,” he said. “And then ball-handling was the other thing I really improved, I played a lot of point guard.”</p> <p>According to the talented 2016, his ball-handling will be critical to the success of the Mustangs next season.</p> <p>“I’m going to have to do a lot more ball-handling, we lost some seniors and I’m going to have the ball in my hands a lot,” said Bays, who mentioned he will continue to build muscle as he preps for college ball.</p> <p>“I’m going to try and get bigger and stronger, and just try and work on my body so when I do get to college I’m ready for the physicality.”</p> <h2>March 20, 2015</h2><p>C.M Wright shooting guard <strong>Corey Bays</strong> knows that the summer leading into his senior year is the most important of his young basketball career, and he’s ready to take full advantage of the opportunity.</p> <p>A 6-foot-3 guard, Bays -- <em>PHM’s</em> 72nd-ranked 2016 -- says he’ll spend his second summer with Crusader Nation and has a specific list of skillsets he’d like to improve.</p> <p>“My coaches really want me to work on my ball-handling, they want me to be a better ball-handler and I really want to improve on my physical strength, I need to get a lot bigger and get ready for college,” said Bays.</p> <p>”My AAU coach tells me this is when colleges really come out and and give the players looks and this is a very important summer for me -- they really want to see how the players have improved over the winter. So I’d like to get a few Division II and Division III looks, I think those are very reasonable options for me.”</p> <p>The talented junior says he averaged 15 points, six rebounds and three assists with the Mustangs this season and he was a do-it-all player for the team.</p> <p>“I think I improved a lot where I needed to, I really had to step in and help my team rebound and scoring-wise and I really had to help with ball-handling, and I was our overall best defensive player, whenever we had a guy we needed to stop they would put me on him.”</p> <p>His recruitment right now is light, something that should begin to take off during his ever-important 17U campaign on the grassroots circuit.</p> <p>“My coach did say Hood College reached out to him about me, and Mercyhurst (PA) I heard came to one of my games too.”</p>