Top 20 Indiana basketball players of all-time
Indiana basketball career stats: 13.2 PPG, 3.6 AST, 1.0 STL, 43.7 3P%, 132 GP
The legend of Damon Bailey, the homegrown Indiana Hoosier from Bedford High School in Indiana, Coach Bobby Knight recruited as an 8th grader. Before coming to Bloomington, Bailey was honored as Indiana Mr. Basketball in 1990, McDonald’s All-American, and the National High School Player of the Year. For the Hoosiers, Bailey finished his career fifth on the all-time scoring list and second all-time assist leader, along with being named as the 1990-91 Big Ten Rookie of the Year and 1994 First Team All-Big Ten honors.
In his senior season under Bob Knight, Bailey led the Hoosiers in scoring with 19.6 points per game, along with 4.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists. The 6-foot-3 guard won 11 NCAA Tournament games and averaged 11.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists in those wins. In 1992, Bailey was a key piece for Indiana basketball to appear in its first Final Four since winning the title in 1987.
Although Bailey didn’t really have an explosive year until his senior season, he still is ranked in the top 10 in the following statistical categories for his career numbers in Bloomington:
- Points: 1,741 (8th)
- Games played: 132(tied for 5th)
- Minutes played: 3,749 (10th)
- Free throws made: 427 (9th)
- Free throws attempted: 566 (8th)
- Assists: 474 (tied for 5th)
- Steals: 132 (9th)
Bailey was selected 44th overall in the 1994 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers but never actually appeared in an NBA regular season game. Crazy enough, Bailey played in the CBA for multiple years with, you guessed it, another Indiana program, the Fort Wayne Fury. Damon Bailey’s legacy is long-lived in Indiana and will never be forgotten.