2025 NBA Draft: What To Make Of Ace Bailey So Far

The freshman forward isn't exactly setting the world on fire at Rutgers

Dec 10, 2024; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights guard Ace Bailey (4) goes to the basket asPenn State Nittany Lions guard Freddie Dilione V (4) and guard Ace Baldwin Jr. (1) defend during the second half at Jersey Mike's Arena. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

As the college season has progressed, questions have popped up about the NBA potential of Ace Bailey, the Rutgers forward who dominated his high school basketball competition in recent years.

Does he pass enough?

Can he offer something more than scoring?

Both are fair concerns. 

The 6-foot-10 forward is nine games into his college career, which is still a small sample size, but he's yet to really break through in any meaningful way. 

Bailey's 17.9 points per game look fine if you follow the box score, but it's taking him 15.2 shots to get there, and he hasn't exactly been a pillar of efficiency, sporting a true-shooting of just 52.7% on the season. Making matters even more complicated is the fact that Bailey isn't exactly helping out elsewhere.

He has gathered a total of just five assists on the season, spread out across 305 minutes, and has yet to produce two or more assists in a single game.

His 10 total steals and seven total blocks on the season are also a far cry from his high school days, when he averaged 2.9 blocks as a senior.

The oddest development is his rebounding, or lack thereof. His 15.5 boards last season indicated he'd be able to crash the glass at the collegiate level, especially when taking into account his aforementioned 6-foot-10 frame and athleticism, the latter of which is significant. 

These concerns are not to tear him down. He does have scoring upside, and occasionally there will be guys who dominate in high school, but not in college, only to find their games more suited for the pace of the NBA.

Could Bailey become one of those types of players? Certainly. But his path to the pros would be a lot easier if he produced more efficiently, and offered secondary and tertiary skills, which he right now does not.

Unless noted otherwise, all stats via NBA.com, PBPStats, Cleaning the Glass or Basketball-Reference. All salary information via Spotrac. All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.

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