Deuce Bello has the best hops in the 2011 class
Words. Jason Jordan
Westchester Academy (High Point, N.C.) junior swingman Deuce Bello may have the best high-wire act of any player in the country, regardless of class.
In a game earlier this season, Bello intercepted a pass, darted down the court and threw down a between-the-legs dunk. In a game.
“It’s one thing to do it in a competition or just messing around,” said Bello. “It’s another to do it in a game.”
But Bello is more than just a circus show. He’s dropping 22 points, six rebounds and four assists per game for Westchester, and is getting interest from several ACC and Big 12 colleges. We caught up with Bello to chat about everything from his jumping ability to the possibility of teaming up with his boy Quincy Miller (Quality Education Academy, N.C.) in college.
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HighSchooHoop: So let’s just get this out of the way first, am I talking to the guy with the best hops in the junior class?
Deuce Bello: That’s me.
HSH: What about in any class?
DB: I’m pretty confident in my hops. So I would say yeah.
HSH: What’s your vertical?
DB: I honestly don’t know.
HSH: What is it, like, a fad to NOT to know you vertical?
DB: (Laughs) I don’t know, man. I’ve just never gotten around to measuring it.
HSH: Your between-the-legs dunk has nearly 300,000 views on YouTube.
DB: Yeah that’s pretty cool.
HSH: So how’s the season going so far?
DB: We’re doing pretty good. We’re 25-1 right now. I know it’s a long way away, but if we can just play hard for the next seven games we’ll have another state championship.
HSH: Feel pretty good about your chances?
DB: Definitely.
HSH: That’ll get the colleges interested. Run down your list for me.
DB: Duke, Wake Forest, Clemson, Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Virginia Tech, N.C. State, Cleveland State… There are more, but that’s all that I can remember right now.
HSH: Yeah, I saw you and your boy Quincy Miller walking into the Duke/Wake Forest game fashionably late a few weeks ago.
DB: (Laughs) Yeeeeeah. Duke wanted us to come watch the game.
HSH: Have all of the schools on your list offered?
DB: Everyone but Duke. They’re highly interested and they keep in touch with me regularly. Hopefully they’ll be offering soon.
HSH: Do you have any favorites?
DB: No favorites. I’m just taking my time and going on visits. Waiting on the school I think is right for me.
HSH: So no one is standing out right now?
DB: Well, the people who keep in touch the most are Wake Forest, Clemson, Oklahoma State and Duke, but I don’t have any favorites.
HSH: You and Quincy are really tight, right?
DB: Yeah.
HSH: Ever discussed playing together in college?
DB: Definitely. We talk about it all the time. It would be fun, but we’re gonna do what’s best for us.
HSH: What will be the biggest factor in your decision-making process?
DB: What my mom says, the education, and how I’ll fit in at the school.
HSH: Will closeness to home weigh heavy?
DB: Not really. Of course she doesn’t want me to go very far, but at the end of the day it’s what’s best for me.
HSH: Understandable. Now obviously your athleticism is well-documented, but what other aspects of your game have you improved on?
DB: Well, I’ve always been really good at getting to the basket, but this year I’ve been working on my pull-up jumper because that’s what’s gonna get me to the next level. It’s getting there. I’ve improved in that area a lot.
HSH: What AAU team are you running with the spring?
DB: D-One Sports.
HSH: Are you going to be playing in any showcase tournaments before the AAU season starts?
DB: Well, I’m not sure yet because I’m actually playing with a broken wrist right now. I get surgery on March 1.
HSH: So you’ll be ready for AAU after that?
DB: Yeah, I’ll be fine. I’ll be out for a few weeks.
HSH: OK, so you’ve got about seven games left in the season and the million-dollar question is, how are you going to top the between-the-legs dunk? I mean it was on SportsCenter and everything…
DB: Yeah that’s gonna be pretty hard to top. I’ve been thinking about it, though…
HSH: What’s a really hard dunk that you can do?
DB: I can do a 540 dunk. I’m still trying the 720, but I haven’t been able to do that one yet. And I can go between-the-legs backwards, too. So between those dunks, I’ll probably top it at some point.
Got a burning question for Jason? Email him: JasonJ@DimeMag.com
That’s bounce. He and Kyrie would be quite a backcourt in 2 years..if Kyrie sticks around.