Damon Bailey
Athlete
Inducted: June 30, 2019
37th Annual Induction Ceremony
Indianapolis, Indiana
(The following appeared in that year’s HOF induction program)
In a state long known for its basketball prowess and icons such as Wooden, Robertson, Knight and Bird, perhaps the most legendary Indiana hero of them all is Damon Bailey and his storybook career at Bedford North Lawrence (BNL) High School in the late 1980s.
In the basketball-crazed Hoosier state, Bailey created more headlines than any high school player in the state's history, beginning as a 14-year-old eighth-grader who already was the envy of Indiana University coach Bob Knight.
In his four years at BNL, Bailey scored 3,134 points to set the state's all-time boys scoring record - a mark that still stands today. He capped his fairy-tale career in 1990 by leading BNL to the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) state title before a national high school-record crowd of 41,046 fans at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis.
Bailey scored 30 points in the 1990 championship against Concord High School, including his team's final 11 points that erased a six-point deficit in the final 2:38. Bailey led BNL to the final four of the IHSAA tournament three times in his four years with a combined 99-11 record.
Bedford North Lawrence's 6,300-seat gymnasium was sold out all four years of Bailey's career, and he led his teams to a 40-0 mark in those home contests. In fact, during his 110 high school games (home, road and playoffs), it is estimated he played before almost 600,000 fans, an average of 5,450.
Bailey's season-by-season scoring averages were 23.6, 31.1, 27.2 and 31.4, with all 110 games in double figures and a high game of 51 points. He finished with a career average of 28.4 points per game and an amazing 60 percent on 2,000 field-goal attempts.
Bailey claimed every award imaginable after his storybook career, including 1990 Indiana Mr. Basketball, McDonald's All-American and Naismith Basketball High School Player of the Year. He was named National High School Player of the Decade by USA Today, and he was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame.
As a four-year starter at Indiana University, Bailey helped the Hoosiers to the 1992 Final Four and was Associated Press All-American in 1994. He finished sixth on the IU career scoring charts and graduated with more victories than any player in IU history.
Bailey was drafted by the Indiana Pacers in 1994; however, after injuries derailed his professional career, he returned to his hometown of Bedford to coach the BNL girls basketball team. He was assistant coach for four years and was head coach in 2014, when he led the team, which included his daughters, Alexa and Loren, to the IHSAA state championship. Bailey also coached the BNL boys team for two years.
In addition to running his business in Bedford, Bailey has given time and money to the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence County, and he has conducted countless basketball camps for youth and assisted with projects for underprivileged youth.
Bailey was born October 21, 1971, in Bedford, Indiana, and still resides there today.
