Bailey

[DJessen33@aol.com]

Hoosier Hysteria's poster boy still trying to break into NBA
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(c) 1997 Copyright Nando.net
(c) 1997 Associated Press


SOUTH BEND, Ind. (Jul 20, 1997 - 1997 EDT) -- More than Oscar Robertson, 
even more than Larry Bird, Damon Bailey was the poster boy for Hoosier 
Hysteria.

Coach Bob Knight said Bailey could have played for Indiana as an 
eighth-grader. He scored more points than anyone else in the state's 
storied prep history. A national record crowd of 40,000 packed the 
Hoosier Dome to watch him win the state high school championship as a 
senior in 1990.

He was the best in the only sport that mattered in this state.

But now, three years after graduating from Indiana, Bailey is still 
searching for a home in the NBA.

"I'm just kind of waiting to see what happens now," he said. "I'll 
definitely try to get into some NBA camps this fall and see what 
happens. It's something you've got to wait and see."

This wasn't the way it was supposed to be. He is, after all, Damon 
Bailey, Indiana Mr. Basketball and USA Today's player of the year in 
1990. People predicted great things for him and for a time he exceeded 
the expectations.

Somewhere along the way, though, he got lost in the shuffle. His career 
at Indiana was solid, not spectacular. His stint in the NBA with the 
Indiana Pacers was over before it began. He's spent the past two years 
in France and with the CBA's Fort Wayne Fury, trying to make the 
transition to point guard, a position better suited for his height, 6-3.

"Players who leave Indiana are basketball players," said Keith Smart, a 
former Hoosier who was Bailey's teammate on the Fury last season and is 
now the coach.

"They can pass, rebound, shoot and defend. But as you move to the next 
level, you get labeled. You're (supposed to be) a point guard or 
whatever," said Smart, who hit the most famous shot in Indiana history 
to win the 1987 national championship against Syracuse. "All the gifts 
are there. He has the package to play. Now, it's just a matter of 
getting with the right team."

At times, Bailey has displayed the talent that won him Knight's praise 
and a national following. But there have been other times when he hasn't 
looked as quick or sharp as he once did -- or maybe it's just that the 
competition is tougher.

"It's been rough," Bailey admitted. "Trying to learn to play a new 
position at the professional level is probably not the easiest place to 
learn to play a position."

Injuries haven't helped. He's had knee problems since his days at 
Indiana, where he was primarily a shooting guard, and has had surgery 
four times in the past two years. He spent his entire rookie season and 
parts of the other two on the injured list.

Through it all, he's had to deal with the expectations of an entire 
state. Kids still wear his jersey and he can't go anywhere without being 
surrounded by fans. When he played for Fort Wayne, fans wanting to see 
him would drive three hours from Bloomington, home of the Hoosiers.

Despite the setbacks, Bailey hasn't lost the bright-eyed enthusiasm he 
had as a teenager in the tiny southern Indiana town of Heltonville.

He knows there are people who think he should have chosen a college that 
would have built the offense around him. But Bailey wanted to play for 
Knight; he wanted the unrelenting demands and pressure, and the chance 
to play for a national championship, which he never won.

"I feel I am a better player because of coach Knight, and I feel that 
every year we were one of the teams that was fighting for the national 
championship," he said. "Would I have been a better player if I'd gone 
somewhere else? I don't know and I'll never know that. That's something 
that every player that goes to any school has to live with."

He also doesn't waste much time wondering where he'd be if a team 
besides the Pacers had drafted him. No matter who took him, he had to 
learn to play point guard. Yes, it probably would have been easier to be 
on a team that didn't already have three point guards, but that didn't 
happen.

Though he was devastated when the Pacers cut him, Bailey isn't bitter.

"I feel I got a chance," he said. "You can't take things personal at 
this level. If you take things personal, then you're not going to be 
here very long."

Bailey, 25, said the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics have 
shown some interest in him, but he's not making any plans beyond the 
fall. He's spending the summer running basketball camps and relaxing 
with his wife, Stacey, and their 9-month-old daughter, Alexa, in 
Heltonville.

He hasn't given up his dream of playing for the Pacers, especially now 
that Bird is the coach. And as long as Bailey is playing somewhere, 
he'll be happy.

This is what he's worked for all of his life and the 
longer-than-expected wait makes him appreciate it even more.

"There are probably times you wonder if it's all worth it," he said. 
"But the answer has always been, 'Yeah, it is worth it. This is a lot of 
fun."'