Jailen Bedford brings shooting touch to UNLV backcourt

If UNLV is going to make a run at the NCAA Tournament this season, D.J. Thomas is going to need a running mate.

Thomas is a star and will serve as the Scarlet and Gray’s No. 1 offensive option in 2024-25. The ball is going to be in his hands a lot, and Kevin Kruger will trust the sophomore to make the right play, either scoring or distributing as the game dictates. Last year, Thomas could dish to a quartet of double-figure scorers in Keylan Boone, Kalib Boone, Jalen Hill and Luis Rodriguez; three of them have graduated, and Hill is recovering from an ACL injury, leaving some question as to who — besides Thomas — is going to put the ball in the basket.

Jailen Bedford could be the answer.

The 6-foot-4 guard from Austin, Texas was lightly recruited out of high school in the Class of 2023, but after two years at the juco level, Bedford transferred up to Oral Roberts and scored 14.6 points per game last season, making him the most accomplished offensive player UNLV brought in via the portal this offseason.

Is Bedford capable of providing a similar scoring punch for UNLV?

He is certainly capable of making shots. Bedford is a long-range sniper who attempted 5.7 3-pointers per game last season (UNLV’s leader, Keylan Boone, attempted 5.8), and he connected on a healthy 37.3%. That would have made him UNLV’s most accurate 3-point shooter among players who took at least one attempt per game.

Bedford is lethal on catch-and-shoot jumpers. His release isn’t snap-quick, but he is very decisive, and that helps him get off shots even with defenders closing. He also knows how to move and subtly relocate as a play develops, finding open space and presenting himself as a good target for passers.

In the three Oral Roberts games I reviewed, he was especially hot:

Bedford’s shot looks legit. The main concern is whether it will immediately translate; the last time UNLV plucked a sharpshooter from the Summit League, David Jenkins struggled with the step up in competition to the Mountain West. The good news is Bedford does have a strong track record, as he hit 44.2% from 3-point range in junior college.

Defenses will have to respect his shot, which will provide spacing and make Thomas’ job easier.

Another way UNLV would like to make Thomas’ job easier is by easing some of his ballhandling responsibilities. The burden of bringing the ball up the court and initiating offense fell entirely on Thomas last year, and it limited the offense.

When asked to be a primary creator at Oral Roberts, Bedford showed some ability to go off the dribble against set defenses and produce points. He doesn’t get downhill with force, and he’s not an explosive finisher at the rim, so he mostly does it with craft and shot-making:

You can see from those clips that Bedford doesn’t create a lot of separation, but the statistics are good. He got to the rim more often than Justin Webster or Keylan Boone did last year, and he shot a better percentage on close-range attempts than either of them as well.

Like most ace shooters, Bedford is more comfortable serving as a secondary creator, when he can use the threat of his jumper to manipulate defenders.

He is skillful off the catch, using pump fakes and feigns to get his man off balance before attacking the close-out. He’s also effective on dribble handoffs; defenders have to cling tightly and go over the screen, giving Bedford the head start he needs to turn the corner:

That’s all stuff that will work really well next to Thomas, who will be drawing most of the defensive attention.

One thing Bedford won’t do a lot is get to the free-throw line. He’s not the most athletic finisher, and therefore isn’t challenging defenders to meet him at the rim at full speed. At Oral Roberts last year, his free-throw rate was 23.7%, which would have ranked 10^th on UNLV just ahead of Webster’s 22.1%. There eight games where Bedford didn’t shoot a single free throw.

As a passer, Bedford doesn’t register. He was a play finisher at Oral Roberts and rarely attempted any type of nonroutine pass. On the season he logged just 29 assists in 31 games, and he had two separate four-game stretches without a single assist:

UNLV may have him run a couple pick-and-rolls per game, depending on matchups, but expecting Bedford to blossom into a distributor would not be putting him in a position to succeed.

Bedford is a shooter at heart, but one area where he likes to attack the rim is in transition. When he gets an opportunity to play in the open court, either on the ball or off the ball, he tends to go straight to the basket:

Defensively, Bedford puts in a solid effort on the ball. He tries to move his feet and stay in front, and usually does a credible job of keeping the defense out of rotation. He has a tough time navigating screens, however; he’s not natural at feeling them out and getting through, so he tends to get stuck while his man runs into open space.

On a well-coached unit, surrounded by good defenders on the same page, Bedford can operate without throwing things into disarray. But defense is not his calling card:

Athletically, Bedford is closer to Webster and Jenkins than Rodriguez and Keylan Boone, so his impact is muted on the defensive end of the floor. There was a six-game stretch last year where he did not record a steal; he is a decent rebounder for his position, pulling down 6.4 per game (5.1 defensive).

Overall, UNLV has to be happy with landing Bedford via the portal. He profiles as a very good complementary backcourt contributor, and it’s possible he could reach a new level playing alongside someone like Thomas.

The two readily accessible comparisons for UNLV fans are Jenkins and Webster. Bedford is a similar archetype: a combo/shooting guard on the smaller side who is not going to provide a ton of impact as a creator or defender, but who can change a game with his outside shot.

Mike Grimala can be reached at 702-948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Mike on Twitter at twitter.com/mikegrimala.