Tennessee announced the signing of Oregon guard transfer Victor Bailey Jr. on Tuesday afternoon.
According to Tennessee’s release, Bailey will arrive for the second summer session at UT and will have to sit out the 2019-20 season. He’ll then begin playing for the Vols the following season in 2020-21 as a redshirt junior.
While with the Ducks, Bailey averaged 7.0 points in 73 games. He started eight contests as a sophomore and was one of two freshman to play in every game during the 2017-18 season.
As a sophomore last season, the Texas native averaged 7.4 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.9 assists. Bailey shot 41 percent from the field and had 13 games in which he made multiple 3-pointers. He ranked ninth in the Pac-12 in 3-point field goal percentage (.398) and shot 91 percent from the free throw line in his Oregon career.
Bailey scored a season-high 20 points against UCLA on January 10th.
During his freshman season, Bailey scored a career-high 23 points on seven made 3-pointers to beat Rider in the opening round of the NIT. It marked the most threes ever made by an Oregon player in Matthew Knight Arena. On the season, he shot 41 percent from the field and averaged 6.8 points.
Coming out of high school, Bailey chose Oregon over Texas Tech, Texas A&M, Tulsa, Missouri, and Nebraska. He was a four-star point guard prospect out of McNeil High School in Austin, Texas and was ranked as the No. 86 overall player in the country, the 19th-best point guard, and the fifth-best prospect in the state of Texas according to 247Sports’ Composite rankings.
Bailey scored a total of 2,429 points during his time at McNeil. He helped lead his team to two district titles as well as qualifying for the playoffs all four years. Bailey was named district MVP as a sophomore, junior, and senior and won the 2017 American Family Insurance High School Slam Dunk Championship.
When Bailey becomes eligible to play in 2020, the Vols will be without their top returning three-point shooters heading into this season: Lamonte Turner and Jordan Bowden. Bailey’s strong shooting presence from the perimeter will likely be a big asset for Tennessee then.
