Basketball fans who didn't get to see Romel Beck after he joined the Dakota Wizards late last season can head over to You Tube to get a glimpse of his potential.

They can see the video of Beck's wicked crossover against Kobe Bryant, which has gotten more than half a million views. Or a nice compilation of Beck's dazzling offensive skills against Argentina's national team. Or another against Brazil.

Or they can simply head over to the Bismarck Civic Center tonight, where Beck and the Wizards will open the 2009-10 D-League campaign against the expansion Maine Red Claws.

Either way, the Beck show is one worth catching.

Scoring machine

Beck, a wispy 6-foot-8 swingman, joined the Wizards late last season. He averaged 15.9 points in 16 games, and was an equal opportunity scorer, quick enough to get to the basket, accurate enough to knock down 3-pointers (29-for-59).

The 27-year-old Beck, who was a late cut by the Houston Rockets, believes that he is close to getting a shot at his NBA dream.

"Everybody knows I can score the ball, and everybody knows what I can do on offense," Beck said. "I think a lot of scouts are going to look at me this year and see if I can continue to get better as a defensive player."

Wizards coach Rory White agreed.

"His next step is to show them that he has more to his game than just scoring," White said. "That's something that our coaching staff is going to work with him on, get him playing on-the-ball defense, help defense so when they come in, they see more than just scoring."

In addition to improving his defense, the 195-pound Beck needs to get stronger.

"I plan on lifting with the trainer. I know I have to get stronger. That's always been a question on me," Beck said. "But I'm built like this. I don't have to bulk up, but if I can get wiry strong, hopefully add 5 or 10 pounds, I think I'll be OK."

South of the Border

After two years of juco ball, Beck put in two solid seasons at UNLV. While playing for the Runnin' Rebels he was presented with an interesting opportunity.

Though he grew up in Los Angeles, he actually was born in Mexico - his father, an Atlanta Braves draft choice, was playing professional baseball there.

Scouts for the Mexican national team offered Beck the chance to try out, and he soon became the team's best player.

"I didn't know much about FIBA or their tournaments," Beck said. "I didn't know how big it was. It definitely opened my eyes."

Beck opened some eyes with his four-point play against Bryant when Mexico took on the U.S. in a 2007 FIBA Americas qualifier.

The game was in Las Vegas, on the same court Beck played on collegiately, and plenty of Beck's friends saw his highlight-reel play against the Lakers' superstar.

"One of my favorite moves is when I go hard right, and then pull the crossover and get my shot off," Beck said. "I've been doing it since I was little. It was natural for me to do it.

"Once I saw him go this way, and I went back that way, I was like, ‘Aww, I got some room now.' "

Bumps in the road

But Beck has also had a couple of bad experiences on the Mexican national team.

Beck was in the middle of an ugly brawl between Mexico and Uruguay this summer. Video of that incident is on You Tube, as well. Beck said it was the third time the teams had played, and tempers got out of control after Beck was fouled hard more than once.

"My teammates had my back, and it just got out of hand," he said. "Next thing you know punches are being thrown, chairs, Gatorade bottles. Thank God nobody got seriously hurt.

"... I regret it. I wish I could maybe do some things different, because I know a lot of kids go to You Tube and see clips like that. I'm not proud of what happened."

Later, Beck was dismissed from the team by coach Arturo Guerrero despite being Mexico's leading scorer.

Guerrero accused Beck of playing selfishly. Beck in turn was no fan of the coach. Beck said he has since received an apology from the head of the Mexican basketball federation and an invitation to return.

"I don't know what my future is with the national team," Beck said. "I have a lot of mixed feelings. I try not to think about it, but I have a lot of friends on that team. They were upset."

Opportunity knocks

Despite those two lowlights, the past few months have been mostly positive for Beck. Specifically, he got the chance to play for the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA's Summer League, then had the surprise invitation to the Rockets' camp.

Beck walked away very impressed with the Spurs' organization and said he picked up some pointers.

"Being away from the ball, playing without the ball, learning to come off the screens a little more and using the screens that I never really learned," Beck said. "I've always been a straight-up shooter or just a one-on-one player. Those things have really helped me out. Especially in the Summer League I got to showcase that in front of a lot of people. They were kind of surprised, because they've never seen that from me."

And even though he didn't make the Rockets' roster, Beck particularly enjoyed working with Houston's Shane Battier.

"He's a great guy," he said. "He took me under his wing and was helping me out so much. ... I watched him, the way he lines himself up as a defender. He's just so aggressive. He's always bothering shots. He's always talking and communicating."

Back in Bismarck

Beck wasn't planning on returning to Bismarck this year. Instead he was awaiting a contract from a team in Greece when Houston suddenly came calling.

"I was home, out of nowhere, I was watching ESPN and my agent calls me," Beck said. "Rashad McCants failed his physical, and there was a spot. Out of about six players they looked at, they want you to come in."

That experience persuaded Beck that he was close enough to the NBA that he should give the D-League another chance.

"You know, money is not everything," Beck said. "I don't want to be sitting back 20 years from now, when I'm done playing basketball and just scratching my head and saying, ‘Gee, what if I had taken that shot? Would I have gotten called up? Would I have been in the NBA? Would I have gotten the chance to play?'

"I definitely don't want to regret it. I'm happy that I came here."