Ace Bailey ‘blessed’ to be in Utah with Jazz

If there were any doubts Ace Bailey was happy to be the fifth overall pick in the NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz, he put those notions to rest, assuring everyone at his introductory press conference that …

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4 Sports) – If there were any doubts Ace Bailey was happy to be the fifth overall pick in the NBA Draft by the Utah Jazz, he put those notions to rest, assuring everyone at his introductory press conference that it was always his attention to show up on Sunday.

“No, not at all,” Bailey said. “I mean, I’m just blessed to be in this position. Not a lot of people can sit in these chairs and have great teammates as I’ve got that came with me. So I’m just glad to be here.”

Bailey was struck by the beauty of the Wasatch mountains as he flew into town yesterday.

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“As soon as I got off the plane, I didn’t the mountains were real,” he said. “Seeing the scenery, being in a position to get off that plane, meeting the coaches, this is all great.”

Even though he’s just 18 years old, Bailey has immense talent. He averaged 17 points and 7 rebounds per game in his lone season at Rutgers. Bailey can score from all over the floor, and should bring athleticism and excitement to the team.

“I’ve got great energy,” Bailey said. “I can do everything, from rebounding from defense to scoring, to passing. I can bring it in a lot of different ways.”

The Jazz traded up three spots to draft Walt Clayton Jr. with the 18th overall pick in the NBA Draft. Clayton was the Most Outstanding Player in the Final Four for national champion Florida. He said he’d like to be called Walt instead of Walter, but he’s not ready to take on the nickname “Walt Lake City” just yet.

“I got a little bit more work to put in before we start with that,” Clayton said with a laugh. “Obviously March Madness is a big stage, but this is an even bigger stage, the best basketball league ever. So I’m just thankful to be in this position and I’m ready to get to work.”

Jazz select Ace Bailey with #5 pick in NBA Draft

Clayton won 36 games with the Gators last year. The Jazz probably won’t win that many, but Clayton likes all the young talent.

“I’ll be honest, I think we got a lot of great talent young here. I think once we mesh well, we’ll be able to put some wins in that column.”

In the second round, the Jazz took Wisconsin guard John Tonje, who torched Austin Ainge’s and Ryan Smith’s alma mater BYU for 37 points in his final college game in a loss to the Cougars in the NCAA Tournament.

“Yeah, I a couple of questions last night about BYU,” Tonje said. “I hate that I had to lose them, but, it’s all love now.”

All three will begin Summer League practice tomorrow, hoping to show the Jazz all they can do.

“Our goal as an organization is to just get players that love the game, that love to work, and obviously have the talent to go with that,” said Ainge, the Jazz President of Basketball Operations. “We think all three of these guys are just add to that list. We’re looking for the best combination of all the skills we can.”

Jazz trade up to select Walton Clayton Jr.

The three draft picks will begin practice for Summer League Monday with the first Summer League game set to go Saturday night at the Huntsman Center.

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Source: Utah News