Ohio State hires longtime NBA staffer Brandon Bailey as new assistant
Ohio State has hired longtime NBA assistant coach Brandon Bailey as its newest full-time men's basketball assistant.
A native of Chicago, Bailey most recently worked as an assistant for the Detroit Pistons, where he was listed as an assistant/player development coach on Dwane Casey’s coaching staff for the 2022-23 season. Prior to that, Bailey had spent much of the previous decade working for the Boston Celtics, starting as a video intern in 2011 and working his way up to jobs as an assistant coach from 2019-21 and then as an advance scout in 2021-22 before leaving the organization.
He joins a coaching staff led by Chris Holtmann and featuring associate head coach Jake Diebler and full-time assistants Jack Owens and Mike Netti. The NCAA will now allow college programs to have five assistants effective July 1, giving Ohio State the ability to add him as an on-court coach.
After starting with the Celtics in 2011, Bailey was named the head coach of the team’s G League affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons before rejoining the Celtics and coach Brad Stevens. While with the Red Claws, Bailey coached Ohio State alumnus Dallas Lauderdale.
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He brings a defensive background. His personal Twitter page features links to multiple talks and clinics he has presented on defending, an area where Ohio State has particularly struggled in recent years. Although the Buckeyes have had a top-20 team in adjusted offensive efficiency in each of the last four seasons according to KenPom.com, they have finished 82nd, 111th and 106th nationally, respectively, in each of the last three years. Last season, the Buckeyes allowed 101.6 points per 100 possessions, the highest mark allowed since the 2003-04 season.
Although teams will be allowed to have five full-time assistants, they will only be allowed to have four staff members including the head coach on the road recruiting at the same time. Bailey's job will entail a heavy focus on defense for Ohio State but will not involve on-the-road recruiting.
Bailey is a DePaul University graduate, where he also worked as a graduate assistant after playing for his father, Mike, at Chicago’s St. Patrick High School.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State adds NBA assistant Brandon Bailey as assistant coach