Amari DeBerry stands above everyone.

"I think I've always been pretty tall," DeBerry said. "I hit six foot in sixth grade. I was always at the head of the line in elementary school because all the kids could see me. So I've always been pretty tall."

Now a junior at Williamsville South, DeBerry's grown to 6'5". It is height that runs in the family, with DeBerry's dad 6'8" and her uncle 6'10". 

Those measurements usually push kids towards basketball or volleyball, but DeBerry's first sport was softball.

It wasn't until a little later in her childhood that hoops was introduced, thanks to an encounter with Kristen Dolan at a Sweet Home tournament.

"Coached Mike (Duvall) had coached her mom and she walked over to say hi to him," Dolan recalls. "He knew that I ran some winter teams at the time and then they asked if we had a team for her to join. At that time I'm looking at her thinking she was in eighth grade. And then she was just in fourth and I was like 'Oh we've got a team for you."

That coach-player relationship has gone from the winter league to the Williamsville South varsity team, where DeBerry's played since her seventh grade year.

It's about that time college programs started to take notice. 

Now everyone is, with DeBerry the #1 ranked forward in the entire 2021 class, #5 overall according to ESPN.

With time still on her side, the junior making a decision this past fall, verbally committing to powerhouse UConn.

"They have a history of winning and a history of being great," DeBerry said. "You see all the players that come out of there; Breanna Stewart, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi. Those are all legends in women's basketball. Coach Geno Auriemma, Coach Chris Dailey, they're just phenomenal people first and they're also phenomenal coaches. Just having people like them and the way I saw them communicate with their players and how the players responded to them, responded to each other was pretty great."

UConn being about a six-hour drive from Williamsville also playing a role in DeBerry's decision.

Home also playing in the decision for Amari to spend the rest of her high school career at Will South rather than transferring to a more high-level basketball school.

"Loyalty's definitely a big thing," DeBerry said. "Coach Dolan and Coach Duvall, I started playing basketball with them. My mom and Coach Dolan and Coach Mike are the ones that taught me what to do almost everything that I know how to do basketball wise."

DeBerry and Dolan admit there are challenges with Amari facing the competition around here, as some calls don't go her way because of her unfamiliar height. Dolan tries to balance allowing DeBerry the freedom to play beyond the paint, while knowing her post presence is likely the best plan of attack for the Billies. 

But DeBerry's basketball is not limited to Western New York. Immediately after Will South's season ends, she begins playing for the Philadelphia Belles, a team in the Nike EYBL. There is also AAU and US 3-on-3 tournaments. Add in USA Basketball, where DeBerry won a gold medal at the 2019 FIBA Americas U16 Championship held in Puerto Aysen, Chile.

All this to continue to grow before heading off to the Huskies by the fall of 2021.

"I'm just working on everything in my game," DeBerry said. "I don't want to be just a post player. When the time comes that I need to be out beyond the three or beyond the paint I want to be able to execute everything that I can the right way. I don't want to be stuck out there holding the ball waiting for someone to come get to me. I want to be able to make plays and just be an all-around player."

As Amari DeBerry continues to reach new heights.