Recruiting Report: Juston Bailey (2018)
Eleanor Roosevelt has been one of the most prominent programs in the state of Maryland for a long time. Just last year, they were crowned 4A state champions after dominating Meade by 33 points. At this point in time, Juston Bailey was a sophomore that had to take advantage of minutes that were given to him.
This past season the junior guard took on a bigger role and became more of a consistent contributor for the Raiders, who finished 19-5 overall. Their season came to an end when they faced Wise (who was 20-0 at the time) in the regional championship. Despite the 86-72 loss, Bailey had his best outing of the season finishing with 17 points. It was a loss that will stick with Bailey throughout the offseason, but the Raiders are returning five of their top six scorers from last season (including Bailey), so the expectations will yet again be extremely high for the program.
When I asked Bailey if the Raiders will make their return to the Xfinity Center for the state semifinals and finals he responded, “Yeah I’d say so.” With the roster shaping out like it should, it’s hard to argue.
Bailey is a 6-2 guard that plays much bigger than his size in that he can utilize a lot of space when he has the ball. His first step is quick whether it’s off a catch and rip or on off the dribble. I saw Bailey play recently at the Hoop Group Top 100 Showcase. His team had a ton of talent, so Bailey didn’t necessarily have to carry the scoring load, but he showed great willingness to penetrate with the intention of getting his teammates open opportunities. Often times, he lulls his defender to sleep when he has the ball and uses his quick, long first step to blow by with relative ease. From there, he was distributing, but when he was the number one option offensively, he showed the ability to knock down shots in the mid-range. He was also consistently converting catch and shoot opportunities beyond the arc.
(Video courtesy of Bailey’s Hudl page)
Bailey on the strongest aspects of his game and what he wants to improve on:
“I like to find guys, I like to be a playmaker mostly. I can pull out to the three too though, I have a decent shot. I want to focus on my finishing at the basket and tighten up my ball handling.”
What Bailey is looking for in a college:
“I’m thinking about majoring in psychology, so that’s a factor. I’m just looking for some playing time. Somewhere that I can get better. I’m not going to go in there expecting to start off the break, I’ll take what I can get. I just want to play basketball.”
Bailey told PrepHoops he is considering prep schools, but also has Chesnut Hill (Division 2) and Emmanuel College (Division 3) have shown consistent interest. His recruitment is still very open.
He’ll be playing AAU with DC Premier this spring/summer. Bailey has a 3.0 cumulative GPA, but has not yet taken his SAT’s.