Marquette Basketball: 2018-19 player reviews for the Golden Eagles
By Brian Foley
G/F Brendan Bailey (FR)
3.2 ppg – 1.8 rpg – 0.5 bpg – 35/25/64 percent shooting
Season’s Successes
Defense: Finding any contributions from Bailey seemingly would have been gravy for the Golden Eagles this season after the former four-star spent the past two years away from basketball to complete his Mormon mission. Instead, Bailey showed legitimate defensive promise, and will likely guard the opponent’s top perimeter player whenever he is on the floor for the next three years. The 6-foot-8 Bailey has the speed to stick with smaller players and the length to disrupt screens, alter shots, and jump passing lanes. His most notable defensive performance came in the road win at Georgetown, when he racked up four blocks and one steal while spending much of his time on point guard James Akinjo, the Hoyas’ quick-twitch Big East Freshman of the Year.
Areas to Improve
Shooting: For as impressive as Bailey’s defense was this year, his shooting left fans wanting more, especially because he was billed as a something of shooter out of high school. He really leaps into his jump shot, which leads to misses that are sprayed long, short, and wide without any sort of consistency. Bailey’s shooting release is pretty clean, and he has already shown some off-the-dribble chops, so if he can clean up the lower body on catch-and-shoot jumpers, he could be the prototypical 3-and-D player for the modern game.
Marquette’s rotation will legitimately go 10-deep next season if Howard returns for his senior year, with an impressive mix of scoring, athleticism, defense, and size. The Golden Eagles missed their opportunity for a special season in 2018-19, but the championship window is still wide open.