Ace Bailey is a bucket.
Sometimes, there's no better way to describe a hooper, and Bailey is that kind of hooper.
The freshman phenom from Rutgers is officially in the NBA, chosen in Wednesday night's draft first round by the Utah Jazz at No. 5 overall.
Many were worried about Bailey heading into the draft. There was thought he could slide down draft boards. There were suggestions he might be a bust.
That's not the thought here, though.
Bailey and all his risk just might be worth it.
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If you haven't seen Bailey play, picture Kevin Durant. No, this isn't saying that Bailey will be KD.
But he's a 6-foot-10 scoring dynamo, capable of making contested shots from anywhere on the floor.
It's not at Durant's level, but it's Durant-like. And Durant is Bailey's favorite player, too.
According to ESPN, Durant said Bailey is "a pure, pure talent."
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In his lone season of college basketball, Bailey averaged 17.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 1.0 steals per game.
He shot 46% from the floor on a tough shot diet. Nobody else in the country would've shot that well on the shots Bailey took. He added 34.6% from 3-point range.
ESPN's Fran Fraschilla called Bailey "the most offensively gifted player in this class."
MORE: How Rutgers went 15-17 with two top-10 picks
Now maybe it's a problem that Bailey seems to seek out the toughest shots.
But the fact that he makes them, at all? A spaced-out NBA court could work wonders for Bailey's chances of being just a little more open and upping his efficiency.
There's also the simple matter that sometimes, a team just needs the ball to go in the basket. A late-game situation, the defense loaded up for the stop. The offense needs a guy it can give the ball to in the halfcourt to go get a couple points.
Like we said, Bailey can go get you a bucket. Don't sleep on how valuable that can be.
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