Jerryd Bayless 2008 NBA Draft Prospect

Jerryd Bayless doesn’t get near the amount of notoriety as other freshman guards due such as OJ Mayo and Derrick Rose. However, Bayless is quickly making his own name and is beginning to be talked about as a top five pick in the 2008 NBA draft.

In his freshman season at Arizona, Bayless has put up impressive stats. He is currently averaging over 20 points per game and over four assists per game. He’s also shooting nearly 46% from the field, over 40% from three-point land and over 83% from the free throw line. At 6-foot-3 and 200 pounds, Bayless will be a point guard on the NBA level.

While his freshman season was largely a success, he still has areas he needs to improve. First of all, he’s not much of a playmaker at this point in his career. He’s more of a scoring point guard, which might turn off a couple of teams on the next level. Bayless also needs to work on his game to game consistency and his mental approach to the game.

If he comes out of Arizona after one season, expect Bayless to at least go in the top ten selections. Depending on his workouts, he could even crack the top five.

In regards to fantasy basketball, he’s likely to be play a similar role next year to what Mike Conley played this year. Eventually though, Bayless appears capable of putting up big stats at some point in his NBA career.