Former Rutgers basketball star Ace Bailey has ditched his controversial manager.
Bailey has parted ways with Omar Cooper following a topsy-turvy pre-draft process, a person with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed to NJ Advance Media.
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The news was first reported by The Athletic.
Cooper is not a certified NBA agent, but acted as Bailey’s manager as he skipped a planned workout with the Philadelphia 76ers and ultimately landed as the No. 5 pick of the Utah Jazz in this summer’s NBA Draft.
“I have a great circle that maintains the outside world while I just focus on the basketball part,” Bailey told ESPN after he was selected. “So I just thank them every day.”
ESPN reported in June that Cooper informed one team drafting in the top five that Bailey would not report if that team chose him. It’s not clear which team that was.
The 6-foot-7 forward displayed his elite shot-making abilities during a mercurial year at Rutgers, where he averaged 17.6 points on 46% shooting (51.1% on twos, 34.6% on threes, 69.2% on free throws) across 30 appearances, including a 39-point outburst against Indiana and a 37-point showing against Northwestern.
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But he also showed a number of the question marks that gave NBA personnel pause when evaluating his future prospects. While he averaged 7.2 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 1.3 steals, Bailey struggled to remain focused defensively for stretches; he averaged just 1.3 assists despite 15 field goal attempts per game.
The Scarlet Knights’ lack of team success with him and Harper — they went 15-17 overall and were never close to earning an NCAA Tournament bid — was also held against Bailey, bringing comparisons to other highly-touted prospects who lacked college success and flamed out in the NBA (Markelle Fultz, Ben Simmons).
Speaking to reporters in Utah in June Austin Ainge, Utah’s new president of basketball operations, said of Bailey:
“He’s great. We were able to speak with him. He was super excited. We’re super excited. We’re expecting a very bright future.
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“His scoring gets a lot of attention, [and] deservedly so. He’s very skilled for his size. But watching a lot of film on him, I was impressed with his defensive effort and particularly his rebounding. Lot of weakside block shots, and his joy and energy for the game.
“We do a lot of background calls and work on guys, and everyone loves being around Ace.”
Brian Fonseca of NJ Advance Media contributed reporting.
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