‘Playmakers and play breakers’: How Will Bailey can have biggest impact on Gamecocks
New South Carolina assistant coach Will Bailey remembers watching Jermaine Couisnard in high school and thinking that he was underrated, that he could be a difference-maker at the college level.
The 6-foot-4 Couisnard possessed all of the traits Bailey looks for on the recruiting trail. He could dribble, pass and shoot. He played with a high motor. As a longtime Midwest native himself, Bailey knew that Couisnard’s East Chicago upbringing only added to his toughness and grittiness.
“I was really impressed with him when I saw him,” Bailey said during a Zoom video call with reporters Friday. “And when South Carolina got him, I was like, ‘Wow, they got a steal. They got a guy that, look up and he can be a very impactful guy in the SEC.’”
Now, Bailey will have the opportunity to coach Couisnard himself. Hired by Frank Martin in June to replace the retiring Perry Clark, Bailey has developed a reputation over the last 15 years as being something of a guard whisperer.
At Saint Louis, where he spent the last four years coaching under Travis Ford, Bailey helped groom Javon Bess into an all-conference guard who won the Atlantic 10’s defensive player of the year in 2019. He had a similar impact with La Salle guards Earl Pettis, Ramon Galloway and Tyreek Duren, fueling a Sweet 16 run in 2013. In his seven seasons as an assistant at East Tennessee State, Bailey coached two of the three highest scorers in school history.
When Martin announced the hire, he cited Bailey’s proven recruiting ability and fit with USC’s culture as factors in the decision. But Bailey also seems to be a clear fit for USC’s player personnel.
Two young guards — sophomore A.J. Lawson and the redshirt freshman Couisnard — led the Gamecocks in scoring during their 18-win, coronavirus-shortened 2019-20 season. Both could benefit from Bailey’s tutelage, assuming Lawson doesn’t leave for the NBA Draft, which remains a possibility.
While Bailey hasn’t yet been able to work with the Gamecocks in a hands-on way — players only just reported to campus on July 20 — he’s been watching video and taking notes. He said he’s eager to help his new guards grow.
“They had a really young team last year, won 18 games, but I think they were playing their best ball toward the end of the season,” Bailey said. “I’m excited, when you got a young team that’s playing together and growing throughout the season. Obviously, it got cut short. But I think that A.J. Lawson is a dynamic wing scorer, can really score the ball, just watching film on him. And he’s really good in the open court. He got better as the season went on as far as shooting the ball late in the year.
“Then, obviously, Jermaine Couisnard is a tough, gritty guard out of East Chicago, who can shoot the three and defend and make plays for others.”
Then there’s Seventh Woods, a senior guard who sat out last season after transferring from North Carolina. Buried behind the likes of Joel Berry and Coby White at UNC, Woods will have the chance to play a more prominent role for the Gamecocks in this upcoming season. He’s the kind of player Bailey has molded into stars at his other coaching stops — an elite athlete with untapped potential. A highlight video of a 14-year-old Woods at the nearby Hammond School in Columbia has more than 16 million views on YouTube.
“He’s a great talent,” Bailey said. “He works hard. Just being here with the staff, I know they’re really high on him. … Just a kid that competes on both sides of the ball. Really, really good with the ball in his hands and creating. (He’s) getting better at shooting it from what I heard. But yeah, I’m super excited to work with him. He’s a great talent and look forward to having a big year this year.”
Bailey said he likes to call his guards “playmakers and play breakers.” As a former defensive player of the year himself while playing at Alabama-Birmingham, Bailey always emphasizes the importance of breaking up plays on the defensive end of the court. He said his SLU teams earned a reputation for being “the bullies of the Atlantic 10” due to their toughness, which lines up with Martin’s defensive-minded culture in Columbia.
“I learned a lot in my four years during my time there,” Bailey said. “I’ve grown as a coach, and I think that it’s prepared me for the next level, the SEC, which has always been a dream of mine, coaching in the SEC. I think the SEC is arguably the best conference in the country. I’ve always wanted to be a part of a Final Four program, and it’s just a great opportunity to work.”
