The University of Michigan-Dearborn men’s basketball team will have the services of 2022 Highland graduate Jordan Bellamy this coming season.
Bellamy signed his letter of intent to play basketball for the team and coach Domenic Policicchio III earlier this year. He intends to major in criminology.
“It felt like the best fit for me,” he said. “I liked the coaches and feel it’s the best place for me to succeed.
While he looked at a few other schools, such as Bluffton and Otterbein, before picking the NAIA university, he noted that Dearborn made the best impression on him.
“It just had the feel of the right choice for me school-wise and to succeed at basketball,” he said.
Having a father in Ryan Stover who has coached both boys’ and girls’ basketball in the area helped Bellamy know what he had to do in order to succeed in the sport.
“In middle school, I always wanted to play college basketball,” he said. “With my dad being a coach, I knew I had to put in that work to get where I wanted to be.”
He said that it was early in his senior season when he felt that dream was going to be a reality.
“Probably at the start of the season when a bunch of coaches started hitting me up,” he said. “I wasn’t satisfied. I wanted more.”
The Scot graduate added that he feels he had a number of facets to his game that should help the Dearborn team.
“Probably my outside three-point shooting and my leadership and knowledge of the game,” he said.
However, to earn time at the next level he also feels he’ll have to work to improve on a number of things.
“Probably getting bigger,” he said. “I’ll be playing against grown men. I’ll need to get stronger and faster and improve my game all around.”
He is looking forward to the new experiences that college will provide.
“Probably just the competitiveness,” he said. “I’ll be starting a new chapter in my life and with a new family.”
He will miss the relationships he developed while a student at Highland, though.
“Probably my friends and the relationships I created at home,” he said. “In general, the school and community.”
During his signing, multiple people complimented Bellamy on his work ethic and desire to improve at the sport of basketball. He noted that putting in the work is essential for any athletes who want to move on to the next level.
“If you want it, put in the work,” he said. “Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something.”
