IU Basketball transfer portal spotlight: Reed Bailey

IU basketball has added 10 players this spring from the transfer portal. Player by player, we’ll take a look at each addition in our “transfer portal spotlight” series.

Today: Reed Bailey

Previously: Tucker DeVries, Conor Enright

Bio: 6-foot-10, 230-pound senior forward from Harvard, Massachusetts

Previous school: Davidson (2022-2025, three seasons)

Career stats: 12.4 points, 4.9 rebounds, two assists and 0.5 steals in 28.2 minutes per game. Bailey is a career 46.2 percent shooter from the field, a 30.8 percent 3-point shooter and a 76.9 percent free-throw shooter.

Career accolades: Atlantic 10 leading scorer (2024-25 season), All-Atlantic 10 first team (2024-25) and Chris Daniel most improved player (2024-25)

Recruitment background

A class of 2022 recruit, Bailey was regarded as a three-star prospect out of high school and blossomed over three seasons at Davidson College.

Things moved quickly with his transfer portal recruitment. He entered the portal in late March and committed to Indiana on April 6 without ever visiting campus. Bailey did complete an IU official visit in April following his commitment.

Notes on his game

The third transfer portal addition for Indiana this spring, Bailey helped solidify the frontcourt rotation with his commitment in early April.

With his size and versatility, Bailey can play the four and the five, but he mostly logged minutes at the five last season at Davidson.

On limited attempts (41), Bailey shot 41.5 percent on 3s and was one of the most improved frontcourt players in the country last season. He’s skilled for his size, can finish from the midrange and with both hands in the paint.

According to KenPom.com, Bailey drew 6.5 fouls per 40 minutes last season, which ranked 33rd in the country. He got to the line 226 times and attempted at a 76.8 percent rate.

Rebounding and shot blocking, however, are not strong suits of Bailey’s game. He didn’t rank inside the top 25 in the Atlantic 10 in offensive or defensive rebounding percentage and ranked 22nd in the conference in block percentage. He’ll be one of the most skilled frontcourt players in the Big Ten next winter, but rim protection and rebounding are not his strengths.

Scouting report

“Reed Bailey is a bit of a tricky evaluation. He was the second-leading scorer in the A-10 and took his game to another level by leaning on his drives and nifty finishes around the rim. He’s a smart cutter and is nearly ambidextrous in the paint. Bailey is a competent low-volume shooter – which he will need to tap into to maximize his value at the high-major ranks – but he cannot be the back-line anchor defensively. There’s very little true rim protection. Opponents shot over 60 percent at the rim against Davidson when Bailey was on the floor.” – Isaac Trotter, 247Sports

“If you want to play a five-out brand of basketball, this is the big for you. Bailey drilled 41 percent of his 3-point attempts this year and consistently got to the line with sharp footwork. Davidson used him to initiate sets as a trailer or by entering the ball to him, and his passing ability stood out both from the top of the key and on the block. He finds cutters as well as kick-outs to shooters. Defensively, you’ll be giving a bit away at the high-major level, but bigs who are this skilled don’t hit the market all that often.” – Sam Vecenie, The Athletic

Reed Bailey highlights

Category: Commentary

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