11/3/2022 basketball Edit

Brayton Bailey, son of Damon Bailey, playing at Indiana tonight

Kyler Staley • TheHoosier

Basketball Recruiting Analyst

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When you think of basketball legends that have come out of the state of Indiana, names such as Larry Bird, Oscar Robertson, Damon Bailey, and so many others immediately come to mind.

Sticking with Damon, while he may not have reached the professional level of success that Bird and Robinson did, you can make a strong case that he was at least the best high School prospect out of all them and possibly the greatest Indiana high school player of all time even. After all, he is the All-Time leading scorer in the state at 3,134 points and adds a 1990 Indiana State Championship to his resume.

His legacy at the high school level translated well to the college level playing at Indiana University. Damon Bailey was someone that Bob Knight always kept a close eye on when recruiting the Indiana All-Star, dating back to his middle school days.

From 1990-94, Damon Bailey became one of the greatest Indiana Hoosiers of all time. He averaged 13.2 points, 3.6 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per game in his college career. He also achieved being Big Ten Freshman of the Year, All-CBA Frist and Second Team, and AP All-American Third team.

Damon Bailey left an impact during his time playing on Branch McCracken Court inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall and for one night only, his son Brayton gets a chance to experience what his dad did nearly 30 years ago when the Saint Francis guard travels with the Cougars to face Indiana in the Hoosiers' final exhibition game tonight.

“It’s great...it’s going to be a great experience, a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” Brayton Bailey said when speaking to WANE TV (Fort Wayne).

Brayton, like his dad, played at Bedford North Lawrence where he ironically became the 2nd All-Time leading scorer in Bedford North Lawrence High School history at 1,579 total points placing right behind his dad's 3,134 like mentioned above.

During Brayton's senior year at BNL, he led the team in nearly every stat averaging 20.5 points, 5.6 assists, and 7.7 rebounds per game. Damon was an assistant coach at the time for BNL and got to witness it all up close and personal.

Brayton would graduate BNL in 2019 and then transition to NAIA program Saint Francis (Fort Wayne) where last year he became a starter for the Cougars averaging 6.4 points per game a season ago.

As someone who went to BNL and who's brother played alongside Brayton, I know how tough of a player he can be and how well he attacks the basket and distributes the ball. He may not have left the legacy that his Indiana Mr. Basketball dad did back in the day, but Brayton in his own right is great ballplayer.

Even though it is an exhibition game, very rarely do you get see a son of a former Indiana Hoosier get a chance to play on the same court and arena his dad did.

Tonight's game will feature a really, really cool moment.

Saint Francis plays at Indiana tonight in the Hoosier's final exhibition game before the season kicks off on Monday versus Morehead State. Tip off is at 7 PM ET.