The Recruiting Guy

UNDER THE RADAR: Manila’s Daley Belew

2020 guard Daley Belew.

On Wednesdays we feature an in-state prospect who could be flying under the radar of college coaches. This week's UTR basketball prospect is Manila’s Daley Belew.

Class: 2020

Position: Guard

Size: 5-11, 160 pounds

Academics: 4.01 GPA, 26 ACT

Stats: As a junior, Belew averaged 15.3 points, 4.1 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 52.3% from the field, 37.1% from beyond the 3-point line, 79.1% from the free-throw line; as a sophomore, 5.5 points, 4.1 assists.

Interest: Berry College, Hendrix College, Hampden-Sydney College, Harding University, Lyon College

Coach Lee Wimberley on Belew

“Daley split time with his brother at point guard his sophomore season. His brother was a senior and had a little more strength and was very vocal. Daley was a great scorer, but we had three scorers and I needed him as a point guard. He couldn’t have done it any better. For a team that was 1.7 seconds from the semifinals (lost on a last-second shot to Junction City) Daley did exactly what he was asked. One night at Trumann, who had Division-I target Ben Turner, we went in without our leading scorer in conference. Daley scored 22 in the first half. They changed defensive philosophies and he dished out 11 assists in the second half in a 20-point win. He is just willing to do whatever is asked of him any night.

“This year Daley had to take on a new role. He did it with ease. We also had Brock Birmingham, who had averaged double digits his sophomore and junior year, and led us in scoring this year, but Daley was incredibly efficient. His leadership, his basketball IQ, his work ethic - second to no one. He’s a coach on the floor, and that’s not taught. His change of pace and ability to create are the best I’ve ever coached, at any level (Wimberley was an assistant at Wynne and Cabot). He’s the best overall point guard I’ve had as a coach, and in this program that’s saying something because I have had some good ones. He’s a winner, he has had a huge hand in 46 wins over the last two years and hopefully a few more this year as well. Daley is what every coach wants in a player. He sees his deficiencies and fixes them. He got pushed around a little his sophomore year, so he hit the weight room. He weighs right at 160 and power cleans 215, benches 215 and push presses 220. That’s his mentality: show me my weakness and I’ll fix it. He’s a true gym rat, including the weight room."