Darius Bazley

Darius Denayr Bazley (born June 12, 2000) is an American professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Bazley last attended Princeton High School in Sharonville, Ohio after playing his first two years at Finneytown High School. He was a consensus five-star recruit and the top prospect in his state, earning McDonald's All-American honors in 2018. Bazley initially committed to and signed with Syracuse but later chose to bypass college with intentions of joining the NBA G League, a decision that drew national attention. However, he instead chose to train on his own as an intern for New Balance for the entire season for the 2019 NBA draft.

Darius Bazley
No. 7 – Oklahoma City Thunder
PositionSmall forward
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (2000-06-12) June 12, 2000
Boston, Massachusetts
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Listed weight208 lb (94 kg)
Career information
High school
NBA draft2019 / Round: 1 / Pick: 23rd overall
Selected by the Utah Jazz
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019–presentOklahoma City Thunder
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

In the 2019 NBA draft, he was selected 23rd overall by the Utah Jazz and was later traded to the Memphis Grizzlies and then to the Oklahoma City Thunder.

High school career

Bazley began playing high school basketball at Finneytown High School in Springfield Township, Ohio. He was ruled ineligible for the first half of his freshman season.[1] As a sophomore, Bazley started drawing interest from several college programs, including Ohio State and West Virginia.[2] On December 19, 2015, he posted 25 points, 15 rebounds, and 5 blocks against Woodward High School.[2] After averaging 15.8 points, 12.4 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.4 blocks and 1.5 steals, he was named to the Division III Southwest Ohio all-district second team.[3][4]

Entering his junior campaign, Bazley was the top-ranked player in Ohio.[4] In July 2016, it was announced that he would transfer to Princeton High School in Sharonville, Ohio.[5] He was sidelined for his first 11 games because of transfer rules.[6] In August, Bazley committed to Ohio State, being rated a four-star recruit by 247Sports at the time.[7] On January 11, 2017, he debuted for Princeton, recording 11 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals in a loss at the Flyin' To The Hoop Invitational.[8] In April, Bazley announced his de-commitment from Ohio State due to his desire for a "bigger stage."[9] About two months later, he committed to Syracuse, and in November, he signed a letter of intent.[10][11] On January 16, 2018, in his senior season, Bazley was named to the West team for the 2018 McDonald's All-American Boys Game.[12] On January 19, he led his Princeton team with 24 points in a nationally televised game against top recruit Romeo Langford and New Albany High School.[13] Bazley also took part in the Jordan Brand Classic and Nike Hoop Summit in April.[14][15]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Darius Bazley
SF		 Cincinnati, OH Princeton (OH) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jul 3, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 93
Overall recruiting rankings:   Rivals: 18  247Sports: 23  ESPN: 13
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2018 Syracuse Orange Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 18, 2018.
  • "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 18, 2018.

    Professional career

    On March 30, 2018, Bazley announced that he would skip college with plans to join the NBA G League directly from high school.[16] In April, he hired sports agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group.[17] Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim, who Bazley was expected to play under in college before the move, responded, "I hope he does great. But I don't think it's the way it will be. I think it will be proven it's not the way to get to the NBA."[18] An article from Bleacher Report speculated that Bazley could be "the face of the end of one-and-done" for NBA draft eligibility because of his decision.[19] On August 27, Bazley announced that he would drop his G League plans altogether, opting instead to train on his own for the season.[20] On October 25, Bazley began a three-month internship with New Balance worth $1 million.[21] After concluding his internship, Bazley became one of the first players to enter the 2019 NBA draft,[22][23] later being named one of 77 overall prospects invited to the 2019 NBA Draft Combine.[24]

    Bazley was drafted 23rd overall by the Utah Jazz but was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies,[25] who then traded him to the Oklahoma City Thunder.[26]

    gollark: Then the rest would break.
    gollark: You could take out THAT thpugh.
    gollark: It does autoupdate.
    gollark: Impossible.
    gollark: Fool.

    References
    1. Baum, Adam; Robbe, Nick (November 28, 2014). "Roger Bacon basketball looking to reload". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
    2. Schmetzer, Mark (December 22, 2015). "Finneytown's Bazley handles spotlight, roundball". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
    3. "SW Ohio All-District boys hoops teams named". The Cincinnati Enquirer. March 3, 2016. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
    4. Dyer, Mike (June 20, 2016). "Finneytown's Darius Bazley is ranked Ohio's No. 1 player in the 2018 class". WCPO-TV. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
    5. Dyer, Mike (July 30, 2016). "Finneytown basketball standout Darius Bazley transfers to Princeton". WCPO-TV. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
    6. "Five things to know: Darius Bazley". USA Basketball. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
    7. Landis, Bill (August 27, 2016). "Darius Bazley, Justin Ahrens -- pair of 2018 Ohio prospects -- commit to Ohio State basketball". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
    8. Dyer, Mike (January 16, 2017). "Princeton basketball standout Darius Bazley reflects on season debut". WCPO-TV. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
    9. Spain, Kevin (April 28, 2017). "Ohio State loses basketball recruit Darius Bazley who wants 'bigger stage'". USA Today. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
    10. Zucker, Joseph (July 3, 2017). "4-Star SF Darius Bazley Commits to Syracuse over Louisville, Maryland, Others". Bleacher Report. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
    11. Waters, Mike (November 8, 2017). "Syracuse basketball recruit Darius Bazley signs letter of intent". The Post-Standard. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
    12. Daniels, Evan (January 16, 2018). "McDonald's All-American Rosters". 247Sports. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
    13. Winstead, Kenzie (January 19, 2018). "Langford fights through injuries, leads New Albany to nationally televised win over Princeton". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
    14. Gutierrez, Matthew (April 8, 2018). "At Jordan Brand Classic, Darius Bazley offers glimpse of what he would have brought to SU". The Daily Orange. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
    15. Clark, Dave (March 13, 2018). "Princeton's Bazley invited to Nike Hoop Summit". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
    16. Borzello, Jeff (March 30, 2018). "Five-star recruit Darius Bazley to de-commit from Syracuse, join G League". ESPN. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
    17. Zagoria, Adam (April 23, 2018). "Darius Bazley Charts Yet Another Path to the N.B.A.: The Development League". The New York Times. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
    18. Clark, Dave (April 4, 2018). "Boeheim on Bazley: 'It's not the way to get to the NBA'". The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
    19. Gardner, David (July 23, 2018). "Is Darius Bazley the face of the end of one-and-done?". Bleacher Report. Retrieved August 13, 2018.
    20. https://theathletic.com/489209/2018/08/27/darius-bazley-scraps-g-league-move-to-train-on-his-own-ahead-of-nba-draft/
    21. https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/25074140/rich-paul-darius-bazley-1-million-internship-result-broken-system
    22. Did Darius Bazley and Klutch Sports make the right call?
    23. NBA announces early entry candidates for 2019 NBA Draft presented by State Farm
    24. Sixty-six players expected to attend NBA Draft Combine
    25. "Memphis Grizzlies acquire Grayson Allen, Jae Crowder, Kyle Korver, draft rights to Darius Bazley and a future first-round draft pick from Utah Jazz". NBA.com. July 6, 2019.
    26. "Thunder Acquires Draft Rights to Darius Bazley". NBA.com. July 6, 2019.
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