The Carolina Challenge was founded by Telep to teach players how to be “recruitable” and to showcase their game in their home state against other top talent.  Besides the multiple games that take place, Telep conducts several skill sessions and also talks with the players about how important it is to be a good example on and off the court.  While recent coaching changes have definitely shaken up the recruiting realm, Memphis Roar is positive that our new coaching staff will be pursuing much of the top talent in the state of North Carolina, and we would like to give our readers a glimpse of potential Tiger recruits.

Here are a some possible recruits, broken down by class, including video highlights of a few top players.  Although multiple games were being played simultaneously, Memphis Roar did its best to bring you the most coverage possible of this event.

Class of 2010:

C.J. Leslie- 2010 Memphis Prospect

• C.J. Leslie (Word of God, Raleigh, NC)- With the recent hire of Coach Pastner, Memphis Roar has very good reason to believe that our staffs’ number one priority for next year will be C.J. Leslie.  Leslie is a 6’8’’, 200 lbs power forward that has the “total package.”  Despite his height and listed position, Leslie has the ability to play just about any position on the floor.  Leslie can get up and down the floor quicker than any big man in his class, and he can get to the rim with ease.  Leslie has flourished at Word of God, teaming up with John Wall this past season to take his team to the state championship game.  C.J. Leslie is a human highlight reel comprised of ridiculous dunks and put-backs. Leslie is capable of grabbing a rebound, taking the ball up the court, and finishing the play with a lay-up or dunk, all by himself.  Need someone to compare Leslie with?  Look no further than NBA great Kevin Garnett. For a few highlights of C.J. Leslie, please check out our video from the Carolina Challenge:

Leslie was previously committed to N.C. State, but has recently uncommitted from the Wolfpack. He is receiving a great deal of interest from all over the country, including UNC, Florida, Memphis, and Connecticut, just to name a few.

• Jordan Downing (Hopewell, Charlotte, NC)- Downing is a 6’5’’, 180 lbs guard that put on quite an impressive show during the one game we were able to watch.  Downing put together a solid all-around game, hitting three-pointers and driving in for some tough lay-ups.  Downing made some excellent assists and is definitely be someone to keep an eye on in the coming year.

• Ian Miller (United Faith, Charlotte, NC)- Although Memphis Roar was unable to catch much of the 6’2’’, 2010 Florida State commit, word was that he put on quite a show the entire day.  Despite not being able to see much of Miller at the Carolina Challenge, Memphis Roar did watch the state championship game between United Faith and Word of God that took place about a month ago.  Miller is an excellent point guard that not only scores with ease, but also gets his teammates involved.  Miller hit the controversial game winning three-pointer from around half-court to beat Word of God in the state championship.

Class of 2011:

• Deuce Bello (Westchester Country Day, High Point, NC)- Bello is a 6’3”, 175 lbs guard that has really developed into one of the top prospects in the 2011 class.  Despite playing the point guard position in his high school, Bello could potentially fit better in the role of a shooting guard in college.  Bello plays perfectly in a fast tempo offense, since he excels in pushing the ball up the court and getting to the rim.  With jaw-dropping dunks and an excellent passing game, Bello was definitely one of the most athletic and impressive players at the Carolina Challenge. Bello is being targeted by a slew of top schools and will definitely be a top priority for the Tigers. After the coaching change, we contacted Deuce to see if he had heard of Coach Pastner being named head coach and whether Memphis would remain on his list.  Deuce responded that he had heard the news, and that Memphis is still on his list of possible destinations. Memphis Roar was able to speak with Deuce Bello a few months ago, and you can read our feature story on him here. Not only does Bello have a great game, he is very well spoken and was a pleasure to talk to.

Bello provided some exciting highlights at the Carolina Challenge, and we were fortunate to catch a few of those highlights. The footage can be seen here:

• Bishop Daniels (Word of God, Raleigh, NC)- Daniels, a teammate of John Wall, C.J. Leslie, and Dezmine Wells, is a 6’2”, 165 lbs guard, is another big time wing man in the 2011 class.  Daniels is an explosive guard that can finish with the best of them around the basket.  Daniels can take contact and get to the basket very well.  Daniels has a good pull-up jump shot, but he finds most of his points through transition and around the basket.  Daniels is a high-riser and continues to improve.  Look for him to gain more and more attention as time goes on.

Although Memphis Roar was not able to see much of Daniels’ games, we were provided with a few great highlights during the few minutes we watched of him:

• Dezmine Wells (Word of God, Raleigh, NC)- Just when you thought Word of God couldn’t possibly provide any more Division one talent, Dezmine Wells arrives on the scene.  The 6’4”, 200 lbs, Dezmine Wells brings size and poise to the guard position. With a body ready for college basketball, Wells is extremely hard working and fits in wherever he is told to play.  Wells has a great passing ability, as well as excellent ball-handling skills.  Wells can get to the basket and is continuing to improve on finishing around the rim.  Wells has gained interest from a lot of Division one schools including Wake Forest, Villanova, N.C. State, Baylor, and East Carolina.

Video of Wells in the state championship game.

Class of 2012:

• Tyler Lewis (Forsyth Country Day, Lewisville, NC)- Some will say that looking this far down the road is a mistake. To those that believe this, I say, “Check out Tyler Lewis.”  Lewis, a small 5’10’’ (that might even be a little gracious) can flat out ball!  Despite his small stature, Lewis did just about everything right during the game we saw.  Coming off screens, hitting threes, constantly moving his feet on defense, fighting for rebounds, hustling up and down the court, and dishing the ball for numerous assists, Lewis showed not only skills, but a very high basketball IQ.  Don’t believe us? Luckily we have some footage, although we didn’t catch a lot of his highlights, as we were too stunned to start filming.

The Professor (And1)… meet Tyler Lewis:

*Tune into the 35 second mark, as Lewis steals the inbound and dishes off for the assist*

Notables:
Without going to in-depth, here are a few other players that caught our eyes. Note that we were not able to see every player and every game.

• Damontre Harris (2010- Trinity Christian, Fayetteville, NC)- 6’9’’ 200 lbs. Harris displayed a nice jumper and used his extremely long frame to his advantage.  Harris made some great put-backs, played good help-side defense, and showed some good athleticism.

• Detrique Baker (2010- Jacksonville, Jacksonville, NC)- 6’8’’ 210 lbs. Baker made some nice drives to the basket through traffic and also made some good cuts.

• Justin Cheek (2010- Adrey Kell, Charlotte, NC)- 6’2’’ 175 lbs.  Cheek was hitting lots of three pointers and proved to be a pure shooter. Cheek has great form and set-up for his shots. Cheek also pushes the ball very well and never gave up on plays.

• Travion Leonard (2011- Wakefield, Raleigh, NC)- 6’7’’ 275 lbs.  In the one game we caught of Leonard, he was a force down low. Leonard did work in the post, finishing with contact.

• Melvin Tabb (2010- Enloe, Raleigh, NC)- 6’8’’ 211 lbs.  This Wake Forest commit has a college-ready body.  Tabb didn’t back down from contact and showed some good post moves.

• Manny Dias (2010- Veritas Sports Academy, Greensboro, NC)- 6’5’’ 215 lbs.  We didn’t get much of a chance to watch Manny play, but did catch a few minutes.  Dias brought some aggressiveness and excitement to the game as he grabbed a few rebounds and threw down some nice dunks. One can be seen here

• Quincy Miller (2011- Quality Education, Winston Salem, NC)- 6’7’’ 200lbs.  This was one Memphis prospect that we wished we caught more of.  Miller displayed good athleticism and hit from outside during the few minutes we were able to view him.

To contact TigerEye, please send emails to: tigereyeMR@gmail.com

Bello, a 6’3’’ guard, plays for Westchester Country Day School in High Point, North Carolina.  He also plays on the D-One Sports AAU team coached by Brian Clifton. Despite coming from a relatively small town, Bello’s game is primed for the limelight. His uncanny ability to get to the basket, his monster dunks, and his breath-taking alley-oops have all become standard in Bello’s game.

Bello is starting to become one of the nation’s most coveted 2011 recruits, listing interest in Baylor, Clemson, Duke, High Point University, Maryland, Memphis, NC State, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Wake Forest, UNC, UNC-Charlotte, and USC, according to various recruiting services.  When asked if he had any leaders at this time, Bello respectfully declined to answer. In fact, Bello went as far to say. “I’m not considering anybody (right now).”  Bello told MemphisRoar that his coach Brian Clifton and his trainer are handling the colleges right now as he focuses on his sophomore year.

With more college choices than one can count on two hands, it is easy to wonder what will factor into making his decision. When asked if distance would play a factor when making his college decision, Bello replied, “I don’t think it will. It just depends on the style of play that I like to play, and what the education is like.” And what style of play does Bello like? “I like to get up and down the floor,” he said.

Deuce had the opportunity last summer to play with one of the nation’s best 2009 high school players, John Wall, on their D-One Sports AAU team. “Just watching him play helps me a lot, and I learn a lot of stuff,” Bello said. “In the beginning of the season, I was not getting a lot of time for D-One Sports, and just watching him, I started to step up.” In addition to learning a lot from John Wall, Bello said his coaches have also helped in making him the player he is today, motivating him and telling him the things he needs to do.

When asked what he considered to be the most underrated part of his game, Bello said, “I don’t think I have any part that’s underrated, I think there’s just things I need to work on. I think I need to work on my shooting right now.”

Despite gaining the attention of numerous division one programs and being regarded as a top prospect for his class, Bello maintains a very humble attitude. “It’s a blessing. It’s just hard work that paid off,” Bello told MemphisRoar.  Bello’s hard work is definitely paying off, as he was named to the 2009 NCISAA 2A Boys All-State Basketball Team for this season only a few days ago.

With Bello’s size (6’3’’ and 170 lbs.) and freakish athletic ability, Bello says he is unsure what position he will play in college. “I’m playing point guard right (for Westchester Country Day), but I believe I will probably play shooting guard.” Bello’s knack at getting to the basket gives the defense fits, and with the hard work he is putting in, it is getting harder and harder to find flaws in his game.

While Deuce Bello may not know where he wants to play college ball now, or even the position he will play once he gets there, one thing is certain with this young man—Bello will be a great addition to any college program.

Additional Q&A with Deuce Bello

- What would you say is the best part about your game?
“Getting to the basket”

-Favorite NBA player?
“I like Tracy McGrady and Kevin Durant”

-What has been the highlight of your sophomore season so far?
“When I scored 45”

-What is your favorite class in school?
“World History”

-Favorite food?
“Pizza”

Deuce Bello’s double alley-oop to teammate Ike Nwamu

to contact the writer: tigereyeMR@gmail.com