Venerable Rebel has come a long way

By Tom Keegan Mar 22, 2008

Thad Allender

Kansas University coach Bill Self jovially answers questions during a news conference. The Jayhawks, who crushed Portland State, 85-61, in the NCAA Tournament's first round, will play UNLV at 5:50 p.m. today.

Omaha, Neb. ? By the time Kansas University red-shirt Brady Morningstar exhausts his eligibility as a college basketball player, he will be 25 years old, a mere pup compared to one of the players Kansas faces in today’s NCAA Tournament second-round game against UNLV.

Runnin’ Rebels senior forward Corey Bailey, 27, took a long, winding road to Las Vegas from his hometown of Tampa, Fla. Shortly after high school, Bailey spent 45 days in jail for a third citation for driving with a suspended license. Before enrolling at Butler County Community College, Bailey worked four years for an air conditioning firm.

“Sometimes that’s how the cookie crumbles,” Bailey said. “I was able to regain some things and do some nice things along the way, and I got myself in a good position.”

Bailey said he was playing a pick-up game at a recreation center in Tampa when a man spotted him and asked him what he was doing. After hearing Bailey’s life story, the man Bailey identified as “George Clay” asked him if he would like to go back to college. A couple of phone calls later, Bailey was in El Dorado.

“Within two or three weeks, I was in school,” Bailey said. “We (Butler teammates) went to a couple of Kansas’ games at Allen Fieldhouse.”

UNLV's Corey Bailey, second from right, looks on as teammates Wink Adams, left, and Curtis Terry, not shown, shake hands. Bailey, 27, will be the oldest player on the court today.

A starter, Bailey averages 6.6 points and 3.9 rebounds for UNLV.