To the world, he is known as Airious Bailey, but if you ask about him in Georgia, it’s “Ace” Bailey. Bailey is one of the best prospects in the 2024 class, but he is likely a player that most people haven’t seen. That’s because Bailey doesn’t play on a NIKE Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL), Adidas, or Under Armour Team in AAU. He plays for Team Athletes Of Tomorrow (AOT), which is a team that is independent and doesn’t play in the most publicized places.
Despite playing as an independent, AOT has recently produced several pros, such as Sharifee Cooper and Brandon Boston, out of the area, so you can understand why this choice doesn’t bother Bailey one bit. “It’s fun playing independent to be real,” he said.
Bailey was one of the players I had anticipated seeing the most at USA Mini Camp and he did not disappoint. He was easily one of the best players at the camp. Standing at around 6-foot-9 to 6-foot-10 inches tall, Bailey is a wing and is extremely versatile. He is very athletic and was scoring at all three levels. I was impressed with his ability to shoot over defenders. On the defensive end, he blocked a lot of shots as the low man on defense and he likely led all players in blocks at camp. What’s crazy is, I think he still has a lot of room to develop. Over time you can see his handle continue to develop as well as his ability to switch off on defenders. He told us he is working on communicating with his teammates and putting them in a position to succeed. Bailey also just recently committed to the University of Rutgers, becoming Rutgers most highly ranked recruit in their Program’s history. “It’s about family for me,” he said. “They showed me a lot of love since day one and they’re like family.”
Bailey is a player to keep an eye on out of McEachern High School in Atlanta Georgia.