Sports

With mother back with him, DeJesus ready to move toward scholarship

READING, Pa. – It was bad enough for Carlos DeJesus that he couldn’t play basketball. But the fact that his mother, Miguelita Valerio, was still in the Dominican Republic tugged on his heart. His only connections to her were phone calls and a silver ring he wears on his left pinky finger.

“That ring represents that I always had my mother with me,” DeJesus said Saturday at Hoop Group Elite Camp Session III through a translator.

Now he actually does. Valerio moved to The Bronx on July 1 to reunite with her two sons and the family members that had taken them in. DeJesus was finally able to play at John F. Kennedy in January after transcript issues were taken care of, but he wasn’t quite himself until earlier this month when his mother left the Dominican.

“When she was in the Dominican Republic, she would worry about me and I would worry about her,” DeJesus said. “I’m glad she’s here. It was very hard.”

All he has to do now is focus on basketball and schoolwork. Eric Martinez, his advisor, recommended that he go to prep school at Redemption Christian Academy in Troy, N.Y., to brush up on his basketball skills and his English.

“It gives him a chance to be around more people that speak the language,” Martinez said. “He needs to be able to learn how to speak English. Now everyone just speaks Spanish to him. It’s hard to pick up the language. Once he picks up the English language, he’ll be fine.”

On the court, he is adapting well to the American game. The 5-foot-9 DeJesus is deadly from mid range and an adept passer. He averaged 11.1 points and 6.3 assists per game at Kennedy in seven league contests and his presence gave the Knights a big lift down the stretch. This summer, he has competed with the Panthers and he hopes to be seen by college coaches this weekend at Albright College.

“I’ve never seen so many players and so many coaches in one spot,” DeJesus said of the AAU circuit and Hoop Group. “In the DR, you don’t see that many players playing at one time.”

Right now, he has interest from Marist, Manhattan and Quinnipiac, but Martinez expects the looks to pick up by the end of the July live period. DeJesus is just happy to be playing basketball with the chance to use it for a free education in the United States. He started playing at age 9 and has loved it ever since.

“It runs through my veins,” DeJesus said.

He got his wish in January when his Dominican transcripts were allowed to Kennedy and now Valerio is back by his side in The Bronx. A college education – and potentially a Division I scholarship – are not far behind. Things are looking up for DeJesus in a big way.

“I just want to come out here and prove to everybody and myself that I can play the game of basketball,” he said.

mraimondi@nypost.com