Less than month after being the 11th overall selection in the 2008 National Basketball Association draft, Jerryd Bayless has been a very productive player.
Bayless, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound guard, was a first round pick of the Indiana Pacers in the draft and had his rights traded to the Portland Trail Blazers. He averaged 19.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists in 30 games for the Wildcats as a freshman in 2007-08. Bayless was a second team All-America selection Sports Illustrated.
Since joining the Trail Blazers Bayless has taken off. He led the Las Vegas Summer League in scoring at 29.8 points per game to go with 4.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.2 steals per game averages. Bayless shot 48 percent from the field and 88 percent from the free throw line. He also ranked fifth in the summer league in minutes played per game (34.0). He was named the league Most Valuable Player.
Following his performances in Las Vegas, Bayless was invited to join the USA Basketball Select Team for its final days of workouts against the U.S. Senior National Team before that squad departs for the Beijing Olympics.
Bayless was among 15 players named by USA Basketball to participate, and he joined on the squad by former Wildcat Andre Iguodala.
