Chatting Ace BAILEY to Thurl BAILEY | UTAH JAZZ

Chatting Ace BAILEY to Thurl BAILEY | UTAH JAZZ

So, let’s start off with this. Um, first of all, welcome to the Jazz. Welcome to the association. When did you first know? I know a lot of these a lot of kids have dreams to be here, but when did you first know this could be a reality for you? I want to say when I went to City of Palms. I mean, that’s where all the big names go. I mean, I feel like once I went to City of Palms and I made I did what I did, perform with the hot talent and I was just like, I can make I can take care of my family with this and I just took it serious. Ever since then, it was just like this something I’m going to do for the rest of my life. Good for you. You talked about family. Give me a brief on your upbringing. Uh upbringing, me, my mom, my sister. Um later on in future, two more siblings came along, Armani um and Torque and I had another brother, Ashton. So, um it’s just really just playing basketball and the basketball family. My mom played at West Virginia. I had an auntie that played in the league, WNBA. Oh, yeah. Venus Lacy. So, um, just been around basketball all my life. So, I had no choice just to fall in love with the game. Good for you, man. So, um, we all know that if you have that college experience is very invaluable, right? You chose Ruters. Tell me what that experience was like like for you, what you took from it. I took a lot from Coach Pike. Just treat every possession like it’s your last. You never know when the ball going to stop bouncing for you. Uh, just have fun with the game. I mean, they ain’t like it’s school or nothing. I mean, it’s basketball. You put the ball in the hoop. So, just have fun with it. Learned a lot from Ruckers from off the court, on the court, from off the court. Just being respectful of a young man take you a long way. Good. I like that, man. You sound like you’re ready. Um, how has your experience been since you’ve been here? I don’t judge fast. I supposed to be going fly fishing later on today. Have you ever been fly fishing before? Never. I’ve never been hiking either. I went hiking with the team. That was that was a great experiment. It’s a lot of stuff I learned. I’m I’m getting into golfing, too. So, good. I live in Utah. Good. Good for you, man. Uh it’s also important, it was important for me when I came here. I I I uh had a head coach who drafted me, Frank Leighton. Matter of fact, you guys are going to be honoring him on your jersey this season. It put me more at ease when I got to sit down with him early on and have conversations with him. What have your conversations with Will Hardy been like, and how’s that help you to kind of navigate things? It’s been good. I mean, I asked him to watch film. told me like yesterday we so we sat down and watched film over the scrimmage telling me u just I’m doing good keep doing what I’m doing keep playing hard keep talking to my teammate keep having energy to what I bring so just having great conversations with him I mean just about your fam like I said going over the little small details that’s important to the game that I never knew yeah so he teaching me a lot of stuff new lot of a lot of new terminology that I’m learning in this league so it’s a lot we talking about going to ask you about that terminology because I know it it it’s a lot of learning at this level and every coach has their own termin for different things. Um, but what have you noticed as far as early on in your scrimmages, early on working out with the guys that the biggest difference, biggest transition from the college level to here? Um, everything is treated like a game rep. I mean, from college, you might have some players that take it not every rep is serious and take some rep serious, but every rep is serious. Everything is physical. Everything is on time. Everything is with a pace. Everything is Pacific. I mean, from whether from the shot clock you got to shoot at a specific time and just all that play an advantage of it. I know you have a connection Isaiah Collier Walker Castler the Georgia connection. Has that helped you at all? For sure. Zay helped me a lot from just if I don’t get it go get a rebound. I mean from talking if you talk a lot it helps you even more. So just learning a lot from them for asking Walker questions. I mean from new terminologies I don’t know in the film room today. He explaining it to me from like for instance for like uh two days ago we scrimmage. I didn’t I didn’t veer. I didn’t know what a veer was. I I didn’t know that was I know what it is when I’m driving. Yeah. I didn’t know what it was. So ver. So I asked him what it was and he was just like that’s if your man beat you, I get yours and you have me take mine. I’ll bump him out. So it’s just new terminology I’m learning and he helping a long way with it. That’s good. Yeah. That’s good. Um what’s your favorite shot? Favorite shot? Yeah. I’m I’m more of a mid-range type guy. Okay. Okay. I know they took that away, but I’m over. You know, I was I was a small forward at 611. Small forward at 69. All right. It’s more of a mid-range. That’s your mid-range. Okay. It’s a mid-range. I’m over a mid-range type guy. I like to get to the mid mid post. All athletes have goals. So, do you have any not necessarily numbers, but any specific goals coming into your rookie season? Rookie of the year for sure. I mean, that’s that’s the main goal. Rookie of the year. I mean, rising stars. I want to be a allstar. Just big goals. So big dreams, hard a lot of hard work. That’s what it’s all that’s what got you here. That’s the fun part. Bailey to Bailey. Appreciate you. Thank you, brother. So I I thought the interview was over, but Ace got something. He knows some history. You got something for me? Yeah, I need this. Is this your rookie card already? It’s yours. This yours? I need it. I need it. I need it. NC State champion rookie. I need it. Okay. All right. I need it. I need it. I see you. You’re doing your homework. I need it. This might actually be worth something one day. I need that one. I need it. I need that one. That’s history. Hey, and here’s the other part. Uh, you play 2K? Yeah, I do. I just started getting into it, too. Crazy thing. I’m on there with my goggles on and I don’t miss. All right. So, check me out. I’m going home today playing. I’m going home today. Let me use your shoulder. No problem. Now, this is dope. Now, I’m on it. Ace Bailey won that Thorough Bailey’s autograph. Appreciate it. Thank you, brother. No, no problem. All right, man. It’s going up.

Ace and Big T take it to the court to chat everything from first impressions of Utah to his game on the court– just Bailey to Bailey: Episode 1.

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