Stanford-bound dunking sensation Belibi didn’t play basketball until high school

Fran Belibi became a viral sensation after dunking several times during high school games in Aurora, Colo. Next year, the 6-foot-1 Belibi will play for Stanford.

Tom Fitzgerald, chronicle.com, March 3, 2019

It’s almost like a fairy tale, about a teenage girl learning to fly. And doing amazing things with a basketball.

As a 5-foot-10 ninth-grader, Fran Belibi was able to dunk a Nerf Ball and then a volleyball before she ever played her first game of basketball. Although she had watched the sport on TV, learning to play it was difficult. In her first varsity game as a freshman at Regis Jesuit High School in Aurora, Colo., she charged from midcourt to the basket and scored. Trouble was, she didn’t take a single dribble.

“That was quite embarrassing,” she said. “I got a steal or something, and I got really excited. There was no one in front of me. I just went for it. I made the layup, at least.”

Her teammates couldn’t contain their laughter. “I was laughing too after I got over the embarrassment,” she said. “I don’t blame them.”

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