![]() Bayless appears in a basketball movie not released in Tucson.
AP 2008
Green Valley Heating & Cooling HVAC Service Tech Production and Manufacturing QUALITY MANAGER Trades/Construction FAULK ELECTRIC ELECTRICAL Health Care VALOR HOSPICECARE ON-CALL NURSE General VALLEY PROTECTIVE SERVICES SECURITY OFFICERS Health Care Sonora Behavorial Health Executive Assistant Administrative & Professional Pima Prevention Partnership Administrative Assistant UA SportsBASKETBALL
Bayless comfortable in NBA, the moviesArizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 07.10.2008
Since playing his last game for the Arizona Wildcats, Jerryd Bayless has gone from draftee to drafted, from McKale Center star to movie star.
Wednesday, he officially landed with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Bayless, selected No. 11 overall by the Indiana Pacers, formally became a Rose City resident when a draft-night trade — he and former Arizona State star Ike Diogu to Portland for Brandon Rush, Jarrett Jack and Josh McRoberts — was approved by the NBA.
The deal was struck June 26 but could not be completed until the league's transaction moratorium expired Wednesday.
Bayless was a bit confused on draft night, speaking in more than a dozen interviews about the Pacers before being informed he had been dealt.
"It took me a couple minutes," he said. "People told me I got traded. And then when it happened, I was really excited.
"It's just a young atmosphere they have here, with a pretty good nucleus. It's a great opportunity."
Bayless, a Phoenix native who is wearing jersey No. 4, spent Wednesday afternoon in Portland before participating in his first practice at 5 p.m. He will participate in two-a-days in Portland until Saturday before flying to Las Vegas on Sunday to play in the NBA summer league.
Bayless sounded content with his departure from the UA after one year.
"Once I made the decision, I was happy with it," he said.
Bayless said he is comfortable playing point guard; general manager Kevin Pritchard agreed.
"The thing that drew us so much to Jerryd was that he's a competitive kid," Pritchard said in a news release. "He's a great kid. We expect him to move into the point guard position.
"It's not an easy one for a rookie, but we expect him to, so we're excited about that. Moving up to get him at the 11th pick was the right thing to do."
Before Arizona fans see Bayless in red and black, they might be able to see him on the silver screen.
Bayless is featured in a documentary, "Gunnin' For That #1 Spot," released to limited theaters June 27.
The movie was shot by filmmaker Adam Yauch — who goes by the name "MCA" as a member of the rap group Beastie Boys — and chronicles high school players in the "Elite 24" all-star game Sept. 1, 2006, at Rucker Park in Harlem.
Bayless, nicknamed "Pay Up," appears alongside fellow first-round picks Kevin Love, Michael Beasley and Donte Greene and Duke's Kyle Singler.
Oak Hill (Va.) Academy point guard Brandon Jennings — who Bayless said "made a move that was best for him" Tuesday by spurning the UA to play in Europe — also appears in the movie.
Wildcats fans will not be able to see the movie soon. Like Jennings, it is not playing in Tucson.
"It went well," Bayless said. "The whole thing was a pretty good movie. I'm really excited that it came out."
Bayless said appearing in a movie is not that different from playing in front of a packed crowd — in Tucson or Portland.
"I was playing basketball for the movie," he said, "so it wasn't much different."
|
|