M. Hoops lands top-flight athlete

Basketball recruit Harold Bailey was also a star high jumper. Moments after the Quakers' Ivy League title-clinching victory at Princeton in March, hundreds of Penn fans stood on the Jadwin Gym floor to watch the members of the Penn men's basketball team cut down the net. Harold Bailey was among those spectators, but he had a perspective that was different from that of most fans. "I was psyched," Bailey said. "I was thinking, "That will be me next year." Bailey, along with five other members of the Class of 2003, will be on the receiving end of those cheers next season, and he hopes to play a significant role for the Quakers during the next four years. However, Bailey, who scored more than 1,200 career points as a 6'2" swingman for the Choate School in Wallingford, Conn., will face tough competition to earn minutes next season. "He's athletic. He can shoot the ball," Penn assistant coach Steve Donahue said. "He's going to have to learn that he has to play every possession hard." Bailey is an extremely athletic player, but he will most likely need to improve several aspects of his game before making an impact with the Quakers. "I think Harold could be anything from a role player at Penn to a star in the Ivy League," said Choate coach Chuck Timlin, who believes Bailey will be among the 10 best athletes in the Ivy League next season. Bailey's athleticism was evident in his high school track and field career, where he recorded the second-best high jump in Choate history at 6'4.5". While his jumping ability will definitely help him on the court, his basketball skills still need some fine-tuning. Bailey, who often scored at will for Choate by making slashing drives to the basket, currently works out everyday and will participate in the Sonny Hill League later this summer. Timlin cites several facets of Bailey's game which need improvement, including handling the ball with his left hand, shooting from the perimeter, playing more intense defense and moving without the ball on offense. "I told Harold, 'If you would move without the ball, you would be unstoppable,'" Timlin said. At times during his high school career, Bailey had been unstoppable. One such time was during his junior season when he scored 32 points against Northfield Mount Herman. It was this performance which prompted Timlin to make a phone call to the Penn basketball office. He knew Bailey was interested in Penn, and he thought the Ivy League would be a good level for him. "Next thing I knew, they had Harold down for the Penn-Princeton game last year," Timlin said. Penn was Bailey's top choice throughout the recruiting process, and his excellent senior season at Choate helped him secure a spot in Penn's recruiting class. Highlights included a 36-point effort against Northfield Mount Herman and a 38-point explosion when Choate took on Exeter. Choate plays in the New England Class A Prep School League, which also accepts post-graduate players. While the teams are not always top-notch, several Division I prospects do spend post-graduate seasons with New England prep school teams. In recent years, players like Kentucky's Heshimu Evans and North Carolina's Ed Cota have played in this league. While Bailey may not be on the same level as Cota and Evans, Timlin says that he is the best non-post-graduate player he has ever coached at Choate. Playing at the Division I level next season, however, may be a big adjustment. "Harold hasn't played great competition throughout his high school career," Donahue said. "He's athletic. He does a lot of things well. It's just hard to judge right now where he'll fit in." Bailey hopes to fit in right away. Although he will have to compete for minutes with fellow freshman Duane King and veterans like Matt Langel, Frank Brown and Lamar Plummer, Bailey hopes to make his presence felt on next season's Quakers. "I know I'll definitely get minutes," Bailey said. "I'll look to help out offensively and defensively. I want to be an impact player." If he succeeds with that goal, he will not be the first impact player Choate has given Penn. When speaking with the Penn coaches, Timlin made it a point to remind them that former Penn center Matt White is a Choate alumnus. White was an integral part of Penn's 1979 team, the last Ivy team to reach the Final Four. Bailey has equally lofty goals for the Red and Blue next season. "We'll be playing until April," he said. "Or at least late March."