Quincy Miller
Photo by Nicholas Koza
Baylor landed its second and third verbal commitments from elite basketball recruits in the last three months Thursday when highly-touted
Westchester Country Day (High Point, N.C.) teammates
Quincy Miller and Deuce Bello signaled their intentions to sign with the Bears live on ESPNU.
"They were both very comfortable with the coaching staff, they really took to those guys," Westchester head coach Pat Kahny said. "Baylor is a small school in comparison to some of the other schools they considered and that smaller environment is something they were comfortable with."
Miller, a 6-foot-9, 210-pound forward, is ranked No. 4 in MaxPreps.com's 2011 Top 100 and can look like a No. 1-caliber player at times with his offensive versatility. He is entering his first season at Westchester after transferring from Quality Education Academy in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Bello – No. 45 overall in the senior class – is widely regarded as one of the most athletic players in the country and top dunkers. Based on his play over the summer, the 6-4, 175-pounder is beginning to shed the 'athlete' tag and working toward becoming a complete guard.
The commitments of Miller and Bello would have easily been regarded as the most significant in program history up until August. That's when 7-foot junior Isaiah Austin of Grace Prep (Arlington, Texas) pledged Scott Drew's program. Austin is rated the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2012 class.
"Even with the distance, Baylor put in as much time as anyone else in recruiting these guys," Kahny said. "They fought hard for this and won."
Miller and Bello were also teammates with the AAU club D-One Sports the past two summers.
"They are very close," Kahny said. "I don’t know that it was planned or really what directed them, but it's neat that it happened that way even though it wasn't the most important thing to either one of them."
The pair picked Baylor over Louisville and Oklahoma.
