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Everything is bigger in Texas and that is certainly the case when it comes to Oregon true freshman Victor Bailey Jr. from Austin. The 6-foot-4 guard is a 4-star recruit with a family pedigree that will challenge the best of the best.
Welcome to our newest series! In the spirit of the upcoming basketball season, ATQ takes a look at five freshmen added to the Ducks’ 2017-18 roster. We will also give redshirt freshman M.J. Cage his rightful preview as our special sixth edition to our new segment.
Chronologically, we started with No. 0 Troy Brown. Now, we move onto the No. 10 spot.
NOT THE LONE STAR
Bailey’s mother is Tonja Buford-Bailey. If you need more explanation, she was a bronze medal winner in track at the 1996 Summer Olympics. The 3-time Olympian is currently the associate track coach at the University of Texas.
Victor’s father was an NFL wide receiver for the Philadelphia Eagles (1993-94) and Kansas City Chiefs (1995-96). Amid his best season, Bailey had 41 receptions for 545 yards and one touchdown for the Eagles in 1993.
DON’T MESS WITH TEXAS
From all the prospects I watched on film last season, Bailey was one of the most impressive. If you’re looking for a leaper with range, look no further than VBJ. The 4-star commit is an incredible athlete with a relentless conditioning program. I’ve never seen him tire on film.
KNOW YOUR ROLE
Bailey should be one of the first players off the bench for head coach Dana Altman. Personally, I envision Paul White being the sixth man and Bailey following him. In my opinion, Bailey is further along than Abu Kigab. However, Kigab’s improvement over the last year has been greater than anyone on the current Duck roster.
PLAYER COMPARISON
Bailey does not remind me of any one singular player because he has so many skills for a combo guard. However, his offensive flow and smooth lefty jumper reminds me of Kenny Anderson back in the day. If you don’t remember how good he was, you may want to YouTube him. Yet, Anderson was not nearly as athletic as Bailey. His athletic skills remind me of former NBA point guard Kevin Johnson. He was actually three inches shorter than Bailey, but their explosiveness at the rim was very similar.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
Last but certainly not least, let’s take a look at some of Bailey’s highlights over his incredible high school career in Texas. He was ranked No. 6 in the state, as he scored 2,429 points over his illustrious career.
The next 15 days at ATQ will be jam-packed with Oregon basketball prep, including player profiles, predictions, previews, interviews, breakdowns and a few history lessons. Every day, we will have something new as we count you down to opening night.
Ready or not? We’re less than a month away from the 2017-18 season! If you need your Duck basketball fix asap, join us at MKA on Saturday for a great cause as Oregon hosts Idaho in an exhibition at 11:00 a.m. local time. The women tip at 9:30 a.m. vs PSU.
Stay tuned, if you want to; Twitter @TheQuackFiend Gram @eugene_levys_eyebrows