Duquesne gets commitments from Sincere Carry's brother Mike Bekelja, forward Chad Baker

If you wanted to talk to Mike Bekelja on Tuesday to ask him about verbally committing to Duquesne, he had one request:

“Can we talk later? I’m currently working out. I’m sorry.”

Bekelja is one of two players who committed to Duquesne coach Keith Dambrot in the past two days. Chad Baker, a 6-foot-7 forward who played at Spire Academy, a prep school in Cleveland, and Colonia (N.J.) High School, also gave Dambrot a verbal commitment.

COMMITTED. #GoDukes ?❤️ pic.twitter.com/0IZNK9ffku

— Mike Bekelja (@MikeBekelja1) March 31, 2020

Bekelja’s dedication to his workout regimen, mixed with the polite response, would not surprise Fabian Lara. He coached Bekelja at the International Sports Academy in Willoughby, Ohio, this season.

“He was a coach’s dream,” Lara said. “He came to practice every day ready to go to work. He treated everything very professionally. He’s the kind of kid who really gets it.

“He wanted to be coached, wanted to make his teammates better. He wanted to win. When a lot of kids are chasing pipe dreams, he was more concerned with doing his job.”

Bekelja, who is Duquesne point guard Sincere Carry’s brother, averaged 25 points, 6.9 rebounds and 4.2 assists at the prep school. Lara said his team played four of the 12 schools invited to the national prep school tournament, and Bekelja’s performance remained the same in those games.

Bekelja graduated from Solon (Ohio) High School in 2019 after he and Carry helped lead the team to the Division 1 Ohio High School Athletic Association state championship game in 2018.

He committed to Fairmont State before his junior year at Solon but opted for ISA when Fairmont coach Joe Mazzulla left for the Boston Celtics staff.

George Washington, Furman and Niagara were showing interest, but Dambrot had built a relationship with Bekelja and his family while recruiting Carry.

“It was hard for coaches to bite on him,” Lara said. “He doesn’t pass the eye test. He doesn’t look like LeBron or Dwight Howard. But when you really pay attention to the game, he gets the job done.”

Bekelja is proud of his stats, but he said his game is more than numbers.

“I like to say my basketball IQ is my best aspect, and my decision-making. Just knowing what plays to make on offense and defense and reading what’s happening.”

Bekelja said he has known Carry since the second grade, and they have talked about going to college together.

“We never knew how serious it would really be, but it ended up happening and I think it’s going to work out great,” he said.

Bekelja and Carry became friends when his dad, Kevin, was coaching Carry’s sister, Marissa, at Kennedy Catholic in Hermitage. Bekelja’s parents have had legal guardianship of Carry since he was in the sixth grade, according to Cleveland.com.

Let’s Go Dukes!! 110% Committed https://t.co/YW0F5kQyGK

— Chad Baker (@ChadBaker2700) March 31, 2020

Bekelja is the third guard in Duquesne’s 2020 class, joining Jett Roessing and Tyson Acuff.

Baker, a native of the Dominican Republic, won a state championship at Colonia and committed to Mississippi Valley State before his prep season at Spire. He said Dambrot and his staff followed him closely at Spire.

“Coming to most of my games, that really meant a lot to me,” Baker said. “I’m not going to a program just to play basketball. I’m looking for a family.”

He said Dambrot sent him text messages all day Tuesday.

“I can’t wait for him to give me all his knowledge,” Baker said.