BU recruit Ka'Darryl Bell and ...Peoria Dominates Team USA Basketball over the Years!

Point Guard Ka'Darryl Bell will be visiting Bradley this week - his visit is currently scheduled for Friday, Sept. 2.

Here are some clips about Ka'darryl from various sources who have seen him in action.

"Oak Park-River Forest's Ka'Darryl Bell plays his AAU ball with Full Package Elite. The coach of the latter is Sam Story who has this to say..

"Illinois..is starting to show interest in Ka'Darryl. In one of our games in Las Vegas last summer, I know Bruce (Weber) was there, Jerrance (Howard) was there, and I believe Jay Price was there briefly.
"I think he's starting to get more interest. Last year, his high school team had 6 or 7 seniors. So last year he went from a reserve to getting to play quite a bit. Now this year, he's the guy. I think he's still getting used to himself."

"Bell is about 5'-10" to 5'-11." If you look at him, you say that kid is really skinny. But he's actually built really well. His upper body and chest are ripped.
"He's a super quick, explosive athlete. He had quite a few dunks this summer. The first time he dunked on another team, the Iowa coaches saw it. The next day they offered him."

It appears Bell is a scoring point guard rather than a two-guard.

"He's got to work on his three point shooting, but he definitely is a point guard and not a combo. He definitely is a point guard who can get to the basket. He's super quick. He still needs to work on his handle, but he's got two really good moves. One, if he gets his hip on a kid, he can cut right to the basket. Even if a kid is in line for a blocked shot, he still doesn't get it.

"He also has a spin move and pull-up jumper that is very effective. That's definitely his best move. He can do it when he dribbles right and then spins back to his left for a pull-up, or he can go to his left and spin back right. He can do it every time, and he's been doing it all summer against really good competition."

A smaller point guard must be a good on-ball defender to attract high major interest. Story says Bell is an excellent defender.

"Ka'Darryl can play defense. He really does a good job on high ball screens. He does a nice job getting through the screen, either getting above it or beneath it. He's a good defender, great upper body strength. Super quick."

Illinois has also checked out Crete-Monee point guard Michael Orris....Story has seen both play.
.. I know they're interested in Michael Orris. I'm probably biased, but I think Ka'Darryl is a better player.

Besides Iowa, Bell has offers from Drake and Ohio, and Butler may be next.

Story enjoys coaching Full Package Elite..featuring Bell & Warren's Darius Paul"


"Class of 2012 Oak Park-River Forest star Ka'Darryl Bell of Full Package Athletics is seeing his recruiting stock skyrocket after a series of stellar July performances

Bell, a 5'10" point guard, is a jet-quick, strong and athletic floor leader who delivers with stellar penetration skills. ...and he now has a host of schools very hot on his trail including Iowa, Oregon State, Fairfield and Ohio University"


"....Bell has decent size for a point guard.... He’s quick but not out of control. .... Bell has good range and will knock down threes. When Bell gets into the lane, he can finish with a floater or a nice jump stop"


"Bell has a basketball scholarship offer from Iowa and as you might expect, it's a school he is thinking long and hard about right now.
In addition to Iowa, Bell currently holds scholarship offers from Drake and Ohio. He is receiving interest from Boston College, Florida State, Butler, and Wichita State."




Having once proved that Peoria in at the center of the universe (Link)...now I will prove it is also at the center of the basketball universe...

Nearly 1000 men have served since the 1940's as official representatives of their nation's basketball teams in international play.
We send teams of U16, U17, U18, U19, plus World University Games, Pan Am Games, Olympics, Nike Hoop Summit, and more...
But if you tried to guess which state or which city has sent the most played over the 60+ years -- then I know most people wouldn't have a clue where more Team USA players come from than anywhere else.

BUT -- the answer is Peoria.

The exact number that can be attributed to Peoria is debatable, but the fact that more come from Peoria than anywhere else is NOT.
Here is a compilation of the players who are from Peoria...
who HAVE BEEN MEMBERS OF ONE OF OUR TEAM USA BASKETBALL TEAMS FOR INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION??

The OFFICIAL SITE of USA Basketball has an all time roster for every player that ever played on any team
from U16 all the way to the Olympics and who has represented the USA on any official team.

The fact that Peoria is so well represented is mostly because in the 1940's and 1950's most of the official teams and Olympic teams were made up of amateur players (not college players) and often from the Peoria Caterpillars...

See how many of these guys you knew played for some version of TEAM USA...


Here are the Peoria Caterpillar AAU amateur players who are listed on the all time Team USA roster...who were on various teams in the 50's & 60's
Ron Bontemps (still lives in Morton, IL)
Bert Born
Robert Boozer
Marcus Freiberger
Richard Gott
Forrest Hamilton
Bill Johnson
Allen Kelley
Frank McCabe
Kirby Minter
Don Penwell
Dan Pippin
Dick Retherford
Kendall Sheets
Ed Solomon
Joe Stratton
Howard Williams

Here are the Peoria kids who went as teens...
Shaun Livingston
Brian Randle

And here are the players from Bradley that also went - Hersey on the 1988 Olympic Team and AP on the 1996 U20 team..
Anthony Parker (1996 U20)
Hersey Hawkins

And here's one I did not recall but it is accurate -- our very own massive Mike Williams when he was playing CBA ball with the Sioux Force Skyforce, tried out and made the Pan Am roster...

Massive Mike Williams (1995 Pan Am Games)

That's 22 from just ONE city in the midwest -- Peoria has every right to be proud!!

BUT WAIT -- there's more --
I didn't even count Danny Granger (USA 2010)..
Then there are the guys who coached - Jim Molinari who served TWICE.
He coached 1997 World Univ. Games & 1991 Junior Worlds.
And ex-BU asst Mo McHone (under Stan Albeck) coached @ the Pan Am Games.
..and several Peoria guys, Warren Womble in particular coached the Cats.

http://www.usabasketball.com/mens/panamerican/mpag_affil_roster.html

http://www.usabasketball.com/mens/men_alpha_A.html