Yari Desper '24 Recruiting Profile

Hello Coaches, My name is Yari Desper. I am an honor roll student attending Laurel High School, Class of 2024. I’m a National Honor Society Scholar. Currently, this is my 8th year playing basketball. I started at the age of 8 playing recreation basketball; and at the age of 11 I started playing AAU basketball (AAU Teams - Power Move, DC Premier, and 1Life1Shot).  I average 15 to 18 pts a game playing at a high elite level.  Also, I have been Team Captain for 2 years on my 1Life1Shot AAU team.  As Team Captain, I have developed leadership skills. I am a playmaker and I love to get teammates involved in the play. I also believe that defense wins games. I am extremely interested in playing basketball at a collegiate level. I train and work on my skills to reach the collegiate level of basketball.  After I graduate from college, my plan is to continue to play basketball overseas. I would love to have an academic and/or athletic scholarship.  I have perfected my basketball IQ.  I like to say I’m a role model on and off the court. When I’m not in the game I’m getting my team together to encourage them.

My passion is advocating to grow participation in women's sports.  At the beginning of 2020, my teammate and I were selected as Nike Game Grower Finalists.  We were chosen to represent our local NBA team, Washington Wizards. Our campaign, BallherVision, was presented at Nike Headquarters in Oregon which helps girls ages 8 through 12 find their ideal sport. My goal is to turn this idea into a non-profit organization to serve my community and help girls achieve their potential.