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Sports
Mar. 07, 2008
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Bailey flourishes as senior, citizen

Rebel, 27, outgrows troubled past

By MATT YOUMANS
REVIEW-JOURNAL
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At 27, forward Corey Bailey is easily the oldest player on UNLV's basketball team. The 6-foot-5-inch senior has left behind a troubled past that included a spotty academic record and 45 days in a Florida county jail for driving with a suspended license.
Photo by Craig L. Moran.

One semester at UNLV was all it took for Corey Bailey to reach a crossroads. He already had endured some hard times, including an eye-opening stay in jail, and another obstacle was in his path.

His first academic progress report of his junior year arrived, and it was obvious he was not making progress.

"I took a lot for granted and didn't handle some things in class," said Bailey, describing his first-semester grades as "Cs and Ds, and maybe a B here and an F there."

Rebels assistant coach Steve Henson called him in for a lecture.

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    • "I sat down with Coach Henson, and he asked me, was I trying to stay in school or was I trying to leave?" Bailey said. "I thought about it. I came this far, and there was no sense in me turning around and going the other way with it.

    "I think I've matured a lot over the two years I've been here. I came a long way with my academics and basketball."

    Bailey, a 6-foot-5-inch forward, will play the final regular-season game of his college career Saturday, when UNLV hosts Utah at the Thomas & Mack Center. He traveled a long, winding road to get to this point. Bailey is a 27-year-old senior, but his age is not the strangest part of his story.

    After graduating from East Lake High School in Tarpon Springs, Fla., in 2000, Bailey was unable to achieve the test scores needed to enter college. Instead, he spent about three years working a blue-collar job in the air conditioning trade near Tampa.

    He soon ran into trouble. He was cited three times for driving with a suspended license, and the third time, he was arrested and spent 45 days in the Pinellas County Jail.

    But, as Bailey said, he was lucky. On two of the stops, he was transporting cocaine and marijuana, but police did not search his car. Bailey said he was not dealing or using drugs, just moving them for friends to make extra money.

    "It was a blessing," he said of avoiding more serious charges. "After that happened, I was ready to get back in school."

    In 2004, Bailey went to Butler Community College in Kansas, where he began to blossom as a basketball player.

    Rebels coach Lon Kruger said he did a background check, and an adviser who helped Bailey get to junior college had "nothing but great things to say about him." Kruger was confident Bailey's bad decisions were behind him.

    Until recently, Bailey's tale of jail time wasn't one he shared with UNLV teammates.

    "I don't even think they knew," he said. "I don't think they found out until I brought the story out this year."

    When he started attending classes on the Las Vegas campus in the fall of 2006, Bailey said he felt out of place.

    "I was much older than a lot of guys playing D-I basketball," he said. "I was saying, 'I shouldn't be here. I should be out working.' I really didn't have a lot of confidence and I was always second-guessing myself."

    Last summer Bailey began seeing Dr. Ed Klein, a sports psychologist who volunteered to work with some Rebels players. Klein teaches Bailey to visualize himself succeeding, and Bailey said the sessions helped him believe in his academic and athletic potential.

    As a junior, Bailey played in 33 of 37 games, starting seven, and averaged just 2.8 points. This season he has started all 29 games for a UNLV team that is 22-7. He is averaging 6.7 points and is one of the team's strongest defenders.

    A university studies major, Bailey said he will need to complete two summer courses to earn his degree.

    "I got my head right, and now I'm making As and Bs," he said. "As time progressed, I learned to have confidence in myself."

    Kruger is pleased to report Bailey has made progress.

    "It appears his confidence level has gone way up, and his self-esteem, his assuredness has really improved," Kruger said. "I think that has translated to better minutes on the court. Corey's having a real solid senior year.

    "I think when he first came, he really had a lot of questions as to what was going to happen, how he was going to take to it all and what impact he would have, and as it's turned out, it's been a really good story."

    Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2907.



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    JD wrote on March 07, 2008 10:20 PM: Bailey won't save UNLV from Luke Nevill and the UTES! No center equals big trouble for the Rebels! GO UTES!


    TRUE FAN wrote on March 07, 2008 03:49 PM: This is a great story for UNLV basketball and represents what college athletics is all about.

    Success stories like this one are why
    Kruger has a great reputation with the ncaa. He is exactly what our program needed.

    Rebel robert can trash UNLV Academics and trash UNLV Athletics all he wants. It's clear by the postings here that his copied and pasted propaganda is a joke to pretty much everyone (except the voices in his head).

    Good job to both of our graduating seniors. Congrats to Corey on all the success he's enjoyed while at UNLV both on and off the court!

    GO REBELS!!! BEAT UTAH!!!


    RebelFan wrote on March 07, 2008 12:52 PM: Did Succotash copy that post from an old article? I think I've seen that one before......or maybe his constant whinings are all just running together. I do find solace in knowing that he is constantly miserable. I'm also still waiting for some constructive criticism from him, or some solutions to his percieved problems.


    geophysics guy wrote on March 07, 2008 11:41 AM: This years team is proof of Lon Kruger’s coaching ability. I have never seen a coach do so much with so little.
    Kruger is a class act and he is the right man for the job at UNLV. Lets beat the Utes on Saturday!
    Go Rebels!


    joe wrote on March 07, 2008 10:23 AM: Corey Bailey is a VERY lucky young man. For cops not to search his vehicle not once but twice? He could easily be behind bars right now instead of getting ready to play his last game on Senior Night. Glad to see him salvage his life and make himself a better person. Too bad so many young people dig themselves into a hole and fail to mature quickly enough to dig themselves out.


    Jerry Wayne wrote on March 07, 2008 08:58 AM: Make a big sign so we can all see you at the game Succotash. I'll put you down on behalf of Corey Bailey. It takes some nerve to talk like that about someone that has made positive changes in their life and is UNLV's best defender. You're a disease the lvrj website can't get rid of.


    Toby wrote on March 07, 2008 08:22 AM: Ha! All along I thought Rebel Robert (aka Sufferin' Succotash) was serious with all of his nonsense. His comment below proves that he is just joking around and looking for laughs. No rational person with more than 2 working brain cells would post something like that and expect to be taken seriously. I will give Rebel Robert the benefit of the doubt and assume that he just has a bad sense of humor.


    GoRebs wrote on March 07, 2008 08:08 AM: zzzzzzz.....this is getting old. It's an article about Bailey, Not Kruger....By the way, I suppose Tark NEVER took any chances on bringing the same type of guy, who had some problems but was learning from mistakes? HuH? Really? Did'nt he now?......The answer is YES he did....Guess you wanted Tark gone too....


    Sufferin' Succotash wrote on March 07, 2008 07:53 AM: These are the types of people that Kruger is taking chances on? Drug dealers who do cocaine and marijuana. The program is in such dire straits that it has to bring in 25 years olds with PRISON records and MULTIPLE arrests just so we can make the NIT?

    What type of recruiting is Kruger doing? Does he just sit in his office on the couch and wait for calls from the parole board? Hello Kruger, heard you forgot to recruit this season... well you are in good luck because I have a 26 year old drug dealer who would be great for your program. Can he read? That is not important, you can just put him in Basketball skills class or Football skills class or advanced Basketball class or advanced Football class and he is sure to get eligible with all C's. They will even let him sleep in class.

    Kruger is a complete disaster as a coach and as a person. Name me one player on the team that isn't going for a joke Physical Education or University Studies degree and maybe you can discredit my words on Kruger and his character. These players are taking courses that shouldn't even be offered at the University level. Half of them can't read and we all know that 99% of them can't even play the game of basketball either. Wink is the only decent player.

    Why bring in a 27 year old with multiple arrests and a history of drug abuse? Is that the best recruit you can find? If so, time to cut ties with this miserable coach. The fact that two walkons are starting is embarrassing enough, now we have to get middle aged drug dealers also?


    Kevin Siffermann wrote on March 07, 2008 05:53 AM: I wish you would of got into more details on how Corey changed his life by his experience dealing with the law. A recent survey show's that 1% of US citizens are currently are in jail or prison. What happens to the 1% after their experience? Willl they recycle through the system, or will they take a positive approach to change heir life. What really motivated Cory to change.

    I can't say enough good things about coach Kruger. Coach obviously know's how reach out, and pick a player who needs a second chance, and one who can succeed with the program. At the same time he's not afraid to let a bad seed or two go. I for one wasn't really excited when UNLV brought coach Kruger to Vegas. Well, he's proved me wrong along with many others who won't admit it. Cheers to Mike Hamrick and good luck keeping Coack Kruger in Vegas for a long time. I honestly believe coach Kruger is the best kept secret in college basketball. This guy is doing an incredible job, and going unnoticed due to lack of TV exposure. I had no expectations for this years team. These over achievers are on verge of getting a birth to the NCAA's. I'm already looking forward to next year, Wink, Darger, Hamga, Willis, Rougeau, and hopefully a good incoming class. Next year I have final four expectations for the first time since the glory days of old. Coach Kruger has been an inspiration in all the right way's. He makes you proud to be part of the alumni. Kevin Siffermann, Saint Petersburg Fl, UNLV Class of 1997