ESPN RISE

Daniel Bejarano was only 10 years old, but it was time to pick a sport. Baseball or basketball. He excelled in both, but all the practices and games were taking their toll on his mother, who had four other kids to care for.

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Dave Cruz for ESPNRISE

The No. 33 junior in the ESPNU Super 60, Daniel Bejarano has already committed to the University of Texas.

Bejarano hated making the decision, but he finally chose hoops. It was a verdict that would impact his life in more ways than he could imagine. Six years later, it's clear Bejarano made the right call. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound Phoenix North shooting guard is Arizona's best basketball player and is rated the No. 33 junior in the ESPNU Super 60. He has verbally committed to play college ball at Texas.

And he owes much of it to a family he never would have met if it wasn't for basketball.

***

Barbara Butler had a choice.

Her oldest child, Daniel, was finishing the sixth grade and needed to be placed in a middle school. Her first choice was Madison Middle School, but it was 15 miles away. Attending Madison would mean Butler's five children would be at five different schools, and she didn't think she could pull that off with her busy schedule.

Luckily, Bejarano had become inseparable from AAU teammates Robert and Daniel Arvizu, twin brothers who lived right near Madison. Butler talked to their parents, Ray and Ernestina Arvizu, who agreed to take her son into their home. Bejarano admits he was at a crossroads at the time.

"I had to adjust my attitude," he says. He wasn't a bad kid, but he had a bad temper and was known to simply walk off the court if he felt a referee had missed a foul call.

"It was really hard as a parent, but you want the best for your children," Butler says. "He was at a turning point in his life, and moving in with them truly helped make him a success."

If Butler had any second thoughts, they quickly evaporated as the Arvizus treated Bejarano like one of their own. She remembers when her son held off on a big school project until the night before it was due. Ernestina stayed up until 1 a.m. helping him finish it.

Shortly after Bejarano moved in, AAU teammates Shabaz Lewis and Kwame Dailey followed suit and the group of three became five. The family's grocery bill skyrocketed, but the Arvizus loved it. The five boys were never apart. They always went to the movies together. If four guys had dates, the fifth went along as the ninth wheel. "They finish each other's sentences," Butler says. Bejarano still saw his mom and siblings a lot, but he had a second family.

"They treated me like a brother," he says.

***

When it came time to pick a high school, there was no choice. Robert Arvizu, Daniel Arvizu (known as DA), Bejarano (known as DB to avoid confusion), Lewis and Dailey were all going to go to the same place.

When Robert, considered the leader of the group, decided on Phoenix North, the rest of the crew was on board. Before arriving at North, Bejarano and Co. had already made an impression on Mustangs coach Joe Bustos. He had seen them play throughout middle school and knew he had a special group on the way.

North was coming off a 3-24 season when the Fab Five showed up as freshmen. DA played JV that year, with the other four starting on varsity. It was clear from the get-go that years of AAU and backyard games had paid off.

"They can play with just eye contact," Bustos says.

And while Robert might be the leader off the court, there's no question who runs the show on the hardwood.

Bejarano exploded on the scene, averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds per game as a freshman. He nearly duplicated those numbers last year, going for 22 points and 9.8 boards per contest. The Mustangs went a combined 36-24 over that two-year span, including a 20-10 campaign last season that culminated in a run to the Class 5A, Division II state semifinals.

The foundation of Bejarano's game is his supreme athleticism, which allows him to do things most can only dream of. He gets into the lane at will and has the hops and strength to finish over anyone in traffic. And he has range that extends beyond the 3-point line.

Bustos loves that his star remains as hungry as a 12th man fighting for minutes, diving on the floor for loose balls and taking charges regularly. But the coach's favorite story about Bejarano has nothing to do with hustle. Last Father's Day, Bustos' cell phone rang and Bejarano was on the other end.

"Hey coach, I just wanted to wish you a happy Father's Day," Bustos recalls Bejarano saying. "I know you don't have any kids, but you have 15 kids on the team who think of you like a father and we love you."

"That really touched my heart and showed a lot of character," Bustos says.

***

In the end, it's all about choices. What would have happened if Bejarano had picked baseball? If the Arvizus had decided they couldn't take in another child?

Bejarano doesn't think about that. Instead, he's looking forward. Since last May, he's been living at home with his mom, stepdad and four siblings. With college on the horizon, he wants to get in as much family time as possible.

Texas' main competition for Bejarano came from Arizona State, which had the appeal of being close to home. The up-tempo style of the Longhorns won out, though Bejarano says it was tough to turn down the Sun Devils.

But he's not second-guessing his commitment. And why should he? All his choices have worked out so far.

Ryan Canner-O'Mealy covers high school sports for ESPN RISE.