Tag Archives: Deuce Bello

Adidas Nations Day One – Duke prospects looking good

Kaleb Tarczewski played well against Quincy Miller today. Read about it on BDN Premium. Photo BDN Phot, Rick Crank

Day one of our Adidas Nations coverage is underway where BDN's Andrew Slater is on the scene bringing constant updates as they happen to our premium members.  Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski and Chris Collins are in the house where they are watching several prospects.  One of those is Shabazz Muhammad who just dropped 32 points.  Alex Murphy?  He just dunked a ball to tie his team's game up at 74 all with three seconds left on the game clock. 

Find out who the Duke staff is watching and how Duke's hot  prospects are doing by becoming a subscriber to the most active Duke site on the AAU circuit, Blue Devil Nation Premium.  Andrew has already listed some of the measurements for key recruits at the LeBron Skills Academy in Akron as well.  And he will continue to cover both events as the week progresses.

He has already talked with Marshall Plumlee, Shabazz Muhammad, Kaleb Tarczewski and Troy Murphy, so interviews are coming.  So if you want to hear about the throng of the nation's finest coaches are watching or the circus atmosphere surrounding LeBron James, check out our trial offer which lasts just a few more days or join for the year which is the best bargain.  It's a great time to be a member of BDN Premium.

As soon as you are done, join our private message board where you can find updates like these as they happen -

Drew, Crean, Dixon, Huggins, Capel, Miller, Self, and plenty of assistants. NE Playaz won convincingly, 68-50. The only one who was consistently able to score for D-One was Deuce. Bello finished with 26. Quincy couldn't defend Tarczewski and Clifton kept telling their replacement coach to pull him off of him- Adding that it was Quincy and four midgets. Miller finished with 5points, which is, by far, the least I've ever seen with him. Murphy, displaying his high bb IQ and improved athleticism and strength, and Tarczewski really closed out well in the second half. Alex Murphy finished with 18 and Kaleb Tarczewski finished with a team-high 19. K and Collins are watching DC Assault take on Franchize All-Stars.

Follow us on twitter for updates from the events - BlueDevilNation or go to the sidebar on the main page

Quincy Miller highlights opening night of the NC Pro Am for Duke fans

UNC fans turned out to see there future in Harrison Barnes who scored 16 points including this dunk at the NC Pro Am - Photo copyrighted Rick Crank, BDN Photo

DURHAM - Sporting his Team USA attire, Quincy Miller highlighted the opening night of the NC Pro Am for Duke fans.  Miller had just come back to Durham from San Antonio where the U-18 team had their way with world competition.  Miller, of course, is a key Duke recruiting target in the class of 2011 and the versatile prospect showed he was unafraid to go up against the older guys scoring 14 points in a single half of play due to his late arrival.

Because he was late to the event, the promoter allowed Miller to play for one more half with another team as a fill in and he tallied 10 points in that game.  Miller went up against future UNC player P.J. Hairston. In fact, his severely undermanned team faced what was essentially a Carolina All Star team that consisted of Harrison Barnes, Reggie Bullock, Jon Henson and others.  But with Hairston, the battle got a bit heated.  The two went head to head late in the game and despite surely being tired from jet lag, Miller outscored the offensive minded Hairston 14-13 in a single half of play, meaning, how many would Miller have scored with full two half's?

Harrison Barnes was as advertised, calm, cool and collected on the court.  Barnes opened the game with two emphatic dunks as his team rolled to an early lead over what appeared to be one of the weakest teams in this years field.  Barnes ended the game with 16 points while coasting in the second half.

Reggie Bullock added 10 points and Henson added 8.  Also playing on the Tar Heel laden Team Stackhouse was Miller's high school and AAU teammate Deuce Bello who had a game high 18 points and showed off his athletic skill set.  Team Stackhouse won easily by a 81-60 margin.

In an earlier game, the youthful prospect Rodney Purvis scored 16 points while wowing the crowd with his abilities.  Purvis is just a rising sophomore in high school.

N.C. Sate fans turned out in droves as well, but Ryan Harrow and Lorenzon Brown were no-shows.  C.J. Leslie did play though and he tallied 16 points to go with his teammate Tracy Smith 14.

The NBA's number one draft pick, John Wall, was also in attendance and his presence alone made some in the crowd a bit giddy.  Wall was seen talking to former UNC standout Jerry Stackhouse for most of the evening.

All of the Duke players were no shows due to the break at school and or Nike skills academy camps.  The Blue Devils will start to appear next week where the games are on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

NOTES - There was a very solid opening night crowd despite what was a parking mess due to construction on the N.C. Central Campus.  Expect a nice walk to the event if you are able to attend.  Admission is a bargain in that it is free.  BDN Premium has an article on Quincy Miller due shortly where we get the latest from the prospect.  So, stay tuned to BDN whose history of covering the event is well known.

2011 prospect Deuce Bello already holds three offers and says he getting some interest from Duke

Deuce Bello - BDN Photo
Deuce Bello - BDN Photo

One of the hottest names on the North Carolina high school Bbsketball scene is Deuce Bello.  You are sure to hear about this rising star for he is making a name for himself with his athletic ability.  Bello still has a ways to go before making his collegiate choice, for he is only a rising junior at [private] Westchester Academy in Rocky Mount, N.C.

He stands around 6'-2" or 6-'3" and still has a ways to go in developing his strength, but that is the standard need for improvement with a kid his age.  BDN Premium caught up with Bello during the Carolina Challenge and got  his thoughts on the recruiting process, where he already holds three offers.

"Schools are sending a lot of letters and I have three offers from Wake Forest, Oklahoma State and Baylor," said Bello.  He continued, saying, "I have interest from Duke, Memphis, Maryland and USC."

Earlier this year, Duke Assistant Coach Nate James was able to see him play in Greensboro, and might have come away impressed enough to get Bello on the Blue Devils' watch list.

Bello then stated that he had no dream school growing up, but that he did prefer to play in a system where the players could get up and down the court.  "I like to get out and run and drive and pick."

When asked what kind of defense he liked to play, Bello didn't hesitate when saying, "I like man to man."

He can also play either guard position, "Right now I am playing the point a lot, but I see myself as a shooting guard in college."  With continued work  Bello could become one of the highest rated wings in his class, but the upside is easy to see with this young man.

Bello has yet to plan any unofficial visits this summer and the rules prevent that from happening in AAU events which are played on or near schools during dead periods in recruiting.  Like Wall, Bello will turn to Brian Clifton for advice when it comes time to get more serious with the process.

"I just like to hang out and work on my game and take care of school work," said Bello when asked about his off the court activities.   In this day and time, prospects like Bello start playing basketball in the spring right up until high school practice starts.  Bello will play with D-One Sports, the same AAU team that produced Ryan Kelly and John Wall.

It's a bit too early to gauge the Blue Devils' interest in Bello, but he is a kid worth keeping an eye on.  During the Carolina Challenge, Bello dunked with ease, showed a nice mid-range game, and drained a three to help his team take a one point lead.  I have now seen Bello play in just two games, so a full scouting report will come down the road.  The one thing I can tell you is that Bello is a really good athlete who is already playing toe-to-toe with older kids. [/private]

MLK Scholastic Invitational notes and happenings

The Blue Devil Nation was on hand for the 7th Annual Martin Luther King Scholastic invitational in Greensboro and we bring our members this synopsis of the happenings.  We'll have Q & A's with the shakers coming as well.  From Deuce Bello to Mason Plumlee, we bring you the latest -

(Blue Devil Nation Premium is a subscription service)

Why did Oak Hill win so easily? -Guard play, namely Mo-Mo Jones who drove it right down the throat of the Greenies defense at will.  Oklahoma bound Tiny Gallon made some timely blocks and held down the middle.  Daron Lamb ran as a front court player in what was basically a three guard

Mo-Mo Jones faces down Tony Kimbrough
Mo-Mo Jones faces down Tony Kimbrough

offense.  Oak Hill scored a ton of points where the Greenies didn't [private] get back on defense.  Then there was a lack of patience when the game was close for Christ School, that allowed spurts that ultimately became too much to come back from.  Greenies lack of a special point guard ws exposed and their guards neutralized. 

More Keith "Tiny" Gallon- While he wasn't that effective on the offensive end, his play was vital.  He turned to the Oklahoma assistant and nodded with a smile after taking the ball in for a dunk over two players.  Later in the game he said "I'll bet yalls money was on them," to the TV crew from Western North Carolina which was covering the game.  He did so laughing.  Too much moxy for Oak Hill.

Playing with a chip on their shoulder- Coming into the game, most thought Christ School was the team with a chip on their shoulder having lost a heart breaker last season against the same team.  But Oak Hill players cited several newspaper quotes which riled them up.  Mo-Mo pointed to a comment, "Brandon Jennings is gone," taking it as if that meant he'd be handled with ease.  We will provide quotes from many of the players in a game article that is in the works.

Short turnaround - Christ School is in High Point for a game today.

Greenie support - Christ School support was impressive and at times funny as their student body sat directly behind the Oak Hill bench.

Mason Plumlee- Plumlee had 24 points but struggled from the three point stripe.  The lack of three point shooters helped doom Christ School in their comeback effort and Mason was trying to put his team on his back.  This caused him to force a few shots and late in the game the calls were not going his way.  It was not one of Plumlees better games despite his MVP for his team, but he was by far one of the only players on a talented team to show up.  He was helped by Lucas Troutman, a junior who had a nice game around the boards.  His brother, Marshall played sparingly.

Coaches there - Nate James of Duke, Oklahoma, Murry State, UNC Greensboro, Harvard, South Carolina, Dino Gaudio and assistants from Wake Forest

Overheard - Assistant from Wake telling a players Father, you know I cannot speak to him talking of an Oak Hill player.

Most watched prospect- Deuce Bello, a sophomore from Westchester Country Day.  You'll be hearing a lot more about this prospect.  It may be worth noting that Nate James stayed for his entire game in the nightcap.

More on Deuce- He stands 6-3 and has blazing speed in making his moves like slashing through the lane.  He is a quick leaper and a showboat dunker.  He is very fast with the ball off the dribble and

Deuce Bello throws one of many dunks down
Deuce Bello throws one of many dunks down

has a solid handle.  His defense needs work as does his outside shot.  He looks like a top ten player in the class of 2011.  He handled PG for his team, but will fit more as a wing guard in college.  I was able to watch a DVD of another game he wasx in and will break him down shortly.  I look forward to seeing him again. [/private]