Nazareth forward Yazmine Belk has decided she has more in common with Virginia Commonwealth University than the other schools vying for her — in fact, she said it offers everything she was looking for.
“VCU had it all,” she said.
That’s why the 6-foot-2 Belk recently committed to the Atlantic-10 school and first-year head coach Marlene Stollings, choosing VCU over Quinnipiac and UNC-Wilmington. The Rams recruited her the hardest, keeping in close contact before, during and after her summer travel ball season with Exodus NYC. That loyalty meant a lot to Belk, who was also impressed with the school’s nursing program on her visit in August.
“It showed they really wanted me to come to their school that they were really interested in me and what I could do,” she said.
Belk, a four-year varsity player, will get a chance to help rebuild the program, which went 11–19 last season. It has already signed a recruiting class ranked No. 38 in country and tops in the conference by Blue Star Basketball. Belk is hoping to help the women’s program get to the level of the men’s team, which reached the Final Four in 2011 and lost in the Atlantic-10 title game and the second round of the NCAA tournament last season.
“That’s my interest, building back women’s basketball at VCU,” Belk said. “Right now it’s basically the men that are popular. The women want to do that same thing. I just want to go there to help.”
He has added to her game this summer in preparation or her senior season at Nazareth, which won the Catholic Class A state title last season. Belk worked on her shooting and post up game this summer. She is already a superb rebounder and finishes strong around the basket.
“I’m trying to shoot more in these games and post up more so I can work from the inside out,” Belk said.
She believes the staff and the close bond between the players at VCU will only continue her improvement for years to come.
“They push each other to their limits,” Belk said. “They bring out the best in each other. That’s the kind of place where I want to go to.”
