Coach: Guard Belardo commits to Bulls

[Mama_Bull]

May 05, 2008

Coach: Guard Belardo commits to Bulls

Gaby Belardo, a 6-foot-3 guard originally from Puerto Rico, has committed to USF and signed a national letter of intent with the Bulls after an official campus visit this weekend, according to Ryan Hurd, his coach at Notre Dame Prep in Massachusetts.

"We're pretty excited for him," Hurd said. "He's a pure shooter. Putting the ball in the basket is what he does best. He's a scorer. That's what he does. They've got themselves a real player."

Belardo played on a Notre Dame team that has at least nine Division I signees, including three others who have signed or committed to Big East programs -- forward Terrence Jennings to Louisville, where guard Melquan Bolding had been committed; and Syracuse-bound forward James Southerland. Guard Kim English also signed with Missouri.

Hurd said Belardo came to Notre Dame Prep from Florida's Montverde Academy with interest from high majors such as Kansas and Kansas State, but injured his ankle in fall practice and set himself back by not allowing enough time for the injury to heal completely.

"It put him behind the 8-ball much of our season," said Hurd, saying that Belardo's scoring average of about nine points per game should be taken in the context of the star-laden lineup he played on. "He had a ton of interest when he first got here."

Belardo would be the sixth member of Stan Heath's incoming recruitng class, joining four signees (point guard Dwan McMillan, guard/forward Mike Mercer and power forwards Eladio Espinosa and Gene Teague) and center Alex Rivas-Sanchez, who committed last week and is expected to sign with USF.

 

Posted by Greg Auman at 9:54:55 AM on May 5, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)

http://blogs.tampabay.com/usf/2008/05/coach-guard-bel.html

[smazza]

great job heath

[Mama_Bull]

He has some workouts on Youtube

http://youtube.com/results?search_query=gaby%27s+workout&search_type=

[Guest BasketBull.]

OK, can someone tell me who we lost and who we signed to replace the position/person? I'm pretty confused as to what our roster is going to look like.

Yikes, I've never seen this much change since I've been a Bull.

[chazmeister]

the entire team is made up of guards.

we're definitely not villanova and we won't be able to run a 4 guard set effectively.

[Greg Auman]

Graduated: Kentrell Gransberry

Transferred out: Orane Chin, Aaron Holmes, Amu Saaka, Solomon Bozeman.

Returning: G Jesus Verdejo, G Dominique Jones, PG Chris Howard, C B.J. Ajayi, PF Aris Williams

Joined team in January: Mike Mercer

Signed/committed for fall: PG Dwan McMillan, G Gaby Belardo, PF Eladio Espinosa, C Gene Teague, C Alex Rivas-Sanchez

[KB]

Is Mercer a guard?

[bcgruber]

Yes Mercer is a guard and was the leading scorer on a Georgia team before he was dismissed

[Bruce Blingstein]

Mercer was the freshman of the year in the SEC.  All until "when keeping it real, goes wrong" and got dismissed. 

If Akol can pass his tests it will be a huge help.  I am happy with what Heath is doing, i just wish we could have picked up a solid Center. 

[CoolBull1]

Unrelated to any meaningful discussion...what is that image of a mascot in the Notre Dame Prep gym??