Stephen Whitehead
July 23, 2020
Eric Bailey
- Nationality: USA
- Date of Birth: 26/11/60
- Place of Birth: Los Angeles, California (USA)
- Position: FRD
- Height (CM): 196
- Weight (KG): 95
- Junior Assoc: None
- College: Chemeketa College (1978-80) / Boise State (1980-82)
- NBL DEBUT: 12/02/83
- AGE AT DEBUT: 22
- LAST NBL GAME: 20/09/91
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 30
- NBL History: Hobart 1983-84 | Melbourne 1985-86, 1989 | Gold Coast 1990-91
- Championships: 0
- None
BIO: Eric Bailey was born in Los Angeles, California (USA).
NBL EXPERIENCE
Eric Bailey made his NBL debut with the Hobart Devils at 22 years of age. He scored 24 points in his first game.
In 1983, after the demise of the Launceston Casino City Tigers saw the state without an NBL team, Hobart entered the NBL. The Devils would play their home games from Kingsborough Sports Centre and were coached by Keith Scott, who built a team around three Stanwix brothers, Warren, Brennan and Darren and imports Eric Bailey, Marty Green and Curtis Coleman, who had been a part of the defunct Launceston team in 1980.
Hobart would win their very first game of the season, a 45 point victory over fellow Tasmanian expansion team Devonport (85-40). The offensive firepower of import trio Bailey (25.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 1.4 steals), Green (21.0 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks) and Curtis Coleman (11.6 points, 5.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.2 steals) would put points on the scoreboard, but the league’s newest team struggled to compete against the more talented programs in the competition.
After their initial win, the Devils would lose ten consecutive games until a surprise upset of Nunawading at home (81-73). Hobart would lose the remaining games for the season, finishing dead last with Devonport, who both finished win two wins for the season.
1984
In 1984, Bailey averaged 29.3 points, 12 rebounds, and 3.3 assists, playing a key role in the Devils rotation, helping the team reach a fourth place finish in the regular season with a 4-19 record.
1985
The 1985 season saw Bailey average 19.6 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists and as the Melbourne Tigers finished the regular season with a 5-21 record.
1989
In 1989, Bailey averaged 6.9 points and 2.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists, as the Tigers finished in fourth place with a 16-8 record.
1990
1990 saw Gold Coast Cougars enter the NBL, playing home games out of Carrara Indoor Stadium. Tom Wiseman was named the team’s first-ever head coach, and his first move was filling his roster with a number of players from state rival club Brisbane. In their inaugural season, Gold Coast boasted four ex-Bullets, veterans Larry Sengstock and Ron Radliff, as well as 1989 Bullets rookie Rodger Smith and early 1980s bench player Mark Kitching.
The team would be led by its imports Leroy Combs (23.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.7 steals and 2.3 blocks) and Brian Kellybrew (14.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, 5.2 assists) as well as US born Eric Bailey (17.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists), who after playing a number of seasons in both the NBL and the state league, had become a naturalised Australian.
Australian Boomers big man Paul Kuiper (15.3 points and 8.7 rebounds), who had been playing for the St Kilda Saints, was also added to the roster.
Radliff (13.8 points, 2.0 rebounds, 4.6 assists, and 2.0 steals) and team captain Sengstock (11.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists) provided the veteran leadership while rookie big man Andrew Goodwin (9.3 points, 4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists) also impressed during his first year in the league.
Overall, the team struggled to deliver wins over the league’s more successful team’s and replaced Wiseman with rookie coach Brian Lester mid-way through the season. The Cougars then finished their first NBL season with a record of 9 wins, 17 losses with Combs being named the team’s MVP.
1991
In 1991, Gold Coast re-branded themselves from the Cougars to the Rollers, an effort to engage with Jupiter’s Casino at the time. After replacing inaugural head coach Tom Wiseman with Brian Lester mid-way through the team’s first year, the Rollers looked for stability and brought in Gold Coast local Dave Claxton, who had previously coached the Brisbane Bullets, as the team’s new coach.
Under Claxton, they recorded their best team result ever, finishing with 14 wins and 12 losses. The team was headlined by import stars Mike Mitchell (29 points, 7.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.0 blocks) and Andre LaFleur (22 points, 3.1 rebounds, 7.9 assists, and 2.6 steals), while veterans like Paul Kuiper (13.1 points and 7.3 rebounds) and team captain Larry Sengstock (12.6 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 2.8 assists) provided leadership from the bench.
The team also got an added boost from the development of talented youngster Rodger Smith (8.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 5 assists), who developed into one of the league’s most exciting young guards.
Despite the winning record, the Rollers would not qualify for the postseason. Bailey contributed 4 points, 1.3 rebounds, and 0.8 assists in what would be the most successful year of the franchise’s six years of existance.
Eric Bailey played six seasons across three NBL teams. This included the Hobart Devils, Gold Coast Cougars, Melbourne Tigers and Gold Coast Rollers. He averaged 16.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2 assists in 136 NBL games.
NBL TOTAL STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 30 | Gold Coast | 14-12 (8) | 22 | 211.0 | 88 | 29 | 17 | 9 | 20 | 9 | 1 | 15 | 27 | 31 | 79 | 39% | 13 | 36 | 36% | 13 | 20 | 65% | 50% | 47% | 23 |
| 1990 | 29 | Gold Coast | 9-17 (11) | 26 | 766.0 | 462 | 68 | 63 | 30 | 38 | 31 | 4 | 52 | 71 | 172 | 403 | 43% | 75 | 181 | 41% | 43 | 59 | 73% | 54% | 52% | 32 |
| 1989 | 28 | Melbourne | 16-8 (4) | 27 | 450.0 | 185 | 60 | 34 | 24 | 36 | 24 | 3 | 35 | 57 | 74 | 161 | 46% | 10 | 28 | 36% | 27 | 41 | 66% | 51% | 49% | 19 |
| 1985 | 24 | Melbourne | 5-21 (13) | 16 | 0.0 | 313 | 64 | 48 | 19 | 45 | 20 | 2 | 51 | 46 | 138 | 309 | 45% | 8 | 23 | 35% | 29 | 45 | 64% | 47% | 46% | 33 |
| 1984 | 23 | Hobart | 4-19 (14) | 23 | 0.0 | 674 | 277 | 76 | 111 | 166 | 42 | 9 | 88 | 71 | 279 | 637 | 44% | 22 | 67 | 33% | 94 | 114 | 82% | 49% | 46% | 42 |
| 1983 | 22 | Hobart | 2-20 (15) | 22 | 0.0 | 549 | 148 | 34 | 50 | 98 | 30 | 4 | 74 | 71 | 240 | 501 | 48% | 0 | 0 | 0% | 69 | 86 | 80% | 51% | 48% | 39 | Totals | 136 | 1427 | 2271 | 646 | 272 | 243 | 403 | 156 | 23 | 315 | 343 | 934 | 2090 | 44.7% | 128 | 335 | 38.2% | 275 | 365 | 75.3% | 50% | 48% | 42 |
NBL PER GAME STATISTICS
| SEASON | AGE | TEAM | TEAM RECORD | GP | MINS | PTS | REB | AST | OR | DR | STL | BLK | TO | PF | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% | FTM | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% | HS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 30 | Gold Coast | 14-12 (8) | 22 | 9.6 | 4.0 | 1.3 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 3.6 | 39% | 0.6 | 1.6 | 36% | 0.6 | 0.9 | 65% | 50% | 47% | 23 |
| 1990 | 29 | Gold Coast | 9-17 (11) | 26 | 29.5 | 17.8 | 2.6 | 2.4 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 2.0 | 2.7 | 6.6 | 15.5 | 43% | 2.9 | 7.0 | 41% | 1.7 | 2.3 | 73% | 54% | 52% | 32 |
| 1989 | 28 | Melbourne | 16-8 (4) | 27 | 16.7 | 6.9 | 2.2 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 1.3 | 2.1 | 2.7 | 6.0 | 46% | 0.4 | 1.0 | 36% | 1.0 | 1.5 | 66% | 51% | 49% | 19 |
| 1985 | 24 | Melbourne | 5-21 (13) | 16 | 0.0 | 19.6 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 1.2 | 2.8 | 1.3 | 0.1 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 8.6 | 19.3 | 45% | 0.5 | 1.4 | 35% | 1.8 | 2.8 | 64% | 47% | 46% | 33 |
| 1984 | 23 | Hobart | 4-19 (14) | 23 | 0.0 | 29.3 | 12.0 | 3.3 | 4.8 | 7.2 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 3.8 | 3.1 | 12.1 | 27.7 | 44% | 1.0 | 2.9 | 33% | 4.1 | 5.0 | 82% | 49% | 46% | 42 |
| 1983 | 22 | Hobart | 2-20 (15) | 22 | 0.0 | 25.0 | 6.7 | 1.5 | 2.3 | 4.5 | 1.4 | 0.2 | 3.4 | 3.2 | 10.9 | 22.8 | 48% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0% | 3.1 | 3.9 | 80% | 50.7% | 48% | 39 | Total | 136 | 10.5 | 16.7 | 4.8 | 2.0 | 1.8 | 3.0 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 2.3 | 2.5 | 6.9 | 15.4 | 44.7% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 38.2% | 0.9 | 2.5 | 75.3% | 50% | 48% | 42 |
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 42 | 25 | 9 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 0 |
|---|
COLLEGE
Bailey played college basketball at Chemeketa College from 1978 to 1980 before transferring to Boise State, where he competed from 1980 to 1982.
He joined Boise State during the 1980-81 season, when the program went 7-19 overall and 4-10 in Big Sky Conference play under head coach Dave Leach, finishing seventh in the league standings.
In that 1980-81 season, Bailey appeared in 26 games and made 24 starts, averaging 33.1 minutes per game while scoring 17.3 points per game on .472 shooting from the field and .718 from the free-throw line, along with 4.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game.
Bailey totaled 450 points in 1980-81, with 188 field goals and 74 free throws made, and he also knocked down 41 three-pointers that season (1.6 per game).
On January 31, 1981, Bailey hit a 20-foot jumper as time expired to lift Boise State to a 57-55 Big Sky Conference win over Nevada in Boise.
Bailey returned for the 1981-82 season as Boise State improved to 11-15 overall and 6-8 in Big Sky play, finishing tied for fourth in the conference under head coach Dave Leach.
In 1981-82, Bailey played 26 games and started 22, averaging 26.2 minutes per game with 11.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game while shooting .475 from the field, .333 on three-pointers, and .667 at the line.
Across that 1981-82 season, he logged 680 total minutes and finished with 292 points, 94 rebounds, 58 assists, 26 steals, and 5 blocks, going 123-for-259 from the field, 24-for-72 from three, and 46-for-69 at the foul line.
Across his two Boise State seasons from 1980-81 through 1981-82, Bailey played 52 games, made 46 starts, and scored 742 total points, with his peak scoring year coming as the team’s 1980-81 leading scorer at 17.3 points per game.
Bailey attended Boise State University where he played alongside NBL legend Bruce Bolden.
LIFE AFTER BASKETBALL
Bailey currently lives in Gold Coast (QLD) where he operates as a motivational speaker.
Related
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