Bailey with busy basketball summer
Saline County import Malcolm Bailey will have a busy summer mentoring youths, boys and girls of all ages, in basketball in central Arkansas. Bailey will be hosting a Beast Mode Basketball Academy all summer located in Benton, Bryant and Little Rock, a Hoop Sessions every Saturday (beginning June 1) at Holland Chapel Family Life Center in Benton and a Summer Basketball Camp on Saturday, June 15, also at Holland Chapel.
Originally from Arkadelphia, Bailey moved to Houston, Texas, before coming to Saline County for good when his mother and younger brother moved to Benton 10 years ago.
Since then, Bailey began the Elite Basketball League, a semi-pro league which he serves as president, six years ago, and also serves as president of the All-arkansas Red Basketball Club, an AAU program for secondgraders through 12th grade which he currently coaches seventh and eighth grade.
Bailey also works at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Bryant.
“Right now I work at the Bryant Boys & Girls Club,” Bailey said. “I’m the director over the teams, but I’ve been doing after-school programs for a long time, working with at-risk youth for a long time. That’s basically all I’ve done since I’ve been back, working with at-risk youth.”
Growing up, Bailey was on his way to great things before a knee injury derailed his career on the court.
“Basketball is my first love,” he said. “When I was in eighth grade, I was dunking the ball, came down wrong and dislocated my kneecap, so I never felt comfortable playing on it. I sat out for a year, reconstructed my knee. I came back my 10th grade year and just played football. I ended up getting a scholarship at Henderson State and played football there.”
But, Bailey far from gave up on the game of basketball as he earned the respect of his peers, and then some, for his basketball knowledge.
“Even throughout the whole time, even in high school, I was training players at a young age,” Bailey said. “I was training highschool level and college level in high school. I was born to coach. Thinking back it was pretty crazy, but they respected me and looked at me for it (tutelage). I don’t see that now. I was in high school training high school and college boys. I think that shows a lot about my character and knowledge of the game, even at a young age. I think everybody kind of expected me to flourish in basketball because of the skills I had before I got hurt. So I had that respect level.”
As for his busy summer, it begins now. Bailey’s
Beast Mode Basketball Academy is at The Center at Bishop Park in Bryant, which began this past Friday. It moves to Benton at Holland Chapel on Monday at 7:30 p.m. with both sessions expected to last about an hour and a half.
The academy lasts all summer in Bryant on Fridays at 7 p.m. and
Benton (7:30 p.m.) on Mondays until school starts and a month’s cost to attend both is $100 (eight total sessions), $50 for either the Benton or Bryant training or a $15 one-session cost. Contact Bailey at (501) 2494063.
The academy, for all ages and genders, will specialize in vertical jump, shooting, ball handling, defense, basketball IQ and strength and conditioning.
Bailey will take the Beast Mode Academy to Little Rock at Huda Academy near the University of Arkansas - Little Rock on Tuesdays and Wednesdays beginning at 6:30 p.m. each day with the monthly cost of just the Little Rock sessions at $100 as well, or the $15 one-session fee.
Another weekly competition Bailey will provide is Hoop Sessions, also held at Holland Chapel, beginning on today and will go throughout the summer. Bailey describes Hoop Sessions as “organized pickup games.”
“I’ve got kids coming in from all over and playing against kids they’ve probably never seen before,” Bailey said. “Playing organized pickup games. The kids go at noon and the adults start at 2 p.m.”
Cost is $50 per team and $5 per individual.
Also coming to Holland Chapel in a couple weeks is the Summer Basketball Camp, to be held on Saturday, June 15, from noon - 4 p.m. The camp will focus on the same aspects as the Beast Mode Basketball Academy does. Again, contact Bailey at (501) 249-4063 for more information or registration.