Phenom.
By MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS
RAFU SPORTS EDITOR
Saturday, Oct. 25, 2008

SGV point guard Bailey Kikuchi shows that when you get right down to it, skills trump size.

MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS/Rafu Shimpo
11-year-old sixth grader Bailey Kikuchi plays point guard for both his San Gabriel Valley and Brightwood Elementary squads.

Joe Kikuchi
Kikuchi drives past players towering over him during the Adidas Jr. Phenom invitational camp, held in August in San Diego.

MONTEREY PARK.–Bailey Kikuchi walked into the empty gym at Elder Park
Wednesday afternoon, dwarfed by the cavernous facility with its high ceilings and large yellow arc lights.

At 4-foot-9, the sixth grader is accustomed to being the smallest guy in the room–and on the court.

No biggie.

Kikuchi, 11, has been wowing basketball coaches since he began playing in the Tigers organization at age 4–a year earlier than the usual entry age. “When he was much younger, he was very active–some might say ‘hyper’–but he was one of those kids that everybody seems to like,” said his father, Joe Kikuchi.

Perhaps it was a natural progression. Both of Bailey’s elder siblings were hardwood standouts. Brother Brandon played for the Jetts and starred at Mark Keppel High School. His sister, Brittany, a junior who currently plays guardfor Cal State Monterey Bay, along side her former Keppel teammate, Aly Tsuchiyama.

With a pedigree like that, one might expect great things from the youngest Kikuchi–and one would be correct.

This summer, Bailey was among the top 100 sixth, seventh and eighth graders invited to attend the Adidas Jr. Phenom Camp, held Aug. 8-10 in San Diego. Normally, boys and girls compete in regional qualifiers to vie for an invitation, but Bailey was asked to join based on his past performance with his San Gabriel Valley Basketball team, coached by Lyle Honda.

“In some of our tournaments, the coaches and staff had seen me play and they invited me,” he explained.

The camp featured some of the nation’s top coaches and focused on skills training and fundamentals. The players were then divided into teams for a series of scrimmages.

That’s the part Bailey enjoyed most, which offered the chance to test his abilities against those of the top U.S. players in his age group, including some six-foot sixth graders and national No. 1–yes, they’re ranked even at this young age–Perry Dozier out of Columbia, South Carolina.

Not only did Bailey perform well at Jr. Phenom, he was selected to the 24-player All-Star roster, making him officially one of the top 24 players of his age in the United States.

“If not for the Asian leagues–Tigers, CYC and those leagues–he might not have had the chance to get as good as he is,” said papa Joe. “We have a lot to be thankful for, as far as his opportunities.”

In SGV, Bailey plays point guard a year ahead–with a seventh grade team–as he does at Brightwood Elementary where he’s a solid student in the classroom.

Next summer, he’ll play in the American Roundball league and hopes to earn another bid to join the Adidas camp.

Though he dabbles with golf, Bailey’s main game is most certainly basketball. Asked if someday he’ll make his way to the NBA, he smiled and said confidently, “Yeah.”