Miners Secure Second Import

The GMHBA Ballarat Miners are pleased to announce that they have pulled off a South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) recruiting coup with the signing of American swingman Ollie Bailey.

Bailey who stands at 201cm and will celebrate his 31st birthday in Australia hails from Chicago Illinois and has recently finished playing with Toros de Aragua in Venezuela.

In 2014 Bailey won the Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNB) championship with Dominican Rep. and was also named in the All-Import team for 2014.

In 2015 Bailey was named in the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP) 2nd team after having an impressive season with Hurracanes de Tampico (Mexico-LNBP). Bailey averaged 25.4 points at an average of 61.3% per game, on top of 8.3 rebounds per game.

Miner Head Coach Eric Hayes is pleased that the club could secure a player of Bailey’s calibre “He is a hard worker on and off the court, his skill set and competitive spirit will be fantastic for our young group.”

Bailey’s signing caps off a busy week for the Miners recruiting team, Miners Elite Teams Chair Nick Grylewicz said “Our recruitment team has spent months sifting through potential imports and we are delighted to be able secure Ollie.”

Grylewicz added “All members of our committee have put in a lot of hours talking to a variety of different players to ensure we get the right player on the floor but also into our community.”

Bailey has expressed his eagerness to get out to Australia “I can’t wait to arrive and get some success with the Ballarat Miners in 2016”.

Basketball Ballarat’s Elite Teams Administrator Melissa Thomas has said “We are working hard to get Ollie out to Australia as soon as possible. It is likely that he won’t arrive until the end of the month.”

Bailey is the second American import for the GMHBA Ballarat Miners behind crowd favourite Roy Booker. The Miners have also locked away former Perth Wildcat Earnest Ross, current Cairns Taipan development player Ash Constable and 2015 Miners Chris Smith Dyson King-Hawea and Casey Marshall.

For more information on Ollie Bailey signing or any other signings for the Ballarat Rush or GMHBA Ballarat Miners please contact Basketball Ballarat Elite Teams Administrator Melissa Thomas via 5330 7604 or Melissa.Thomas@ballaratbasketball.com