Missouri confirmed Tuesday it has added Baylor transfer Deuce Bello to the men's basketball roster.
The 6-foot-4 guard will sit out the 2013-14 season and will have two years of eligibility remaining.
"Obviously a key word here with Deuce is his potential," Missouri coach Frank Haith said. "First and foremost, Deuce is a high-character young man that fits our program on a number of levels and I think our fans will gravitate towards him because he is such a nice, humble young guy.
"Secondly he will step on campus ready to work. The precedent of improvement during that year away has already been set by guys like Earnest (Ross), Jabari (Brown), Jordan (Clarkson) and Keion (Bell). Those guys improved tremendously during that year off and Deuce will follow that same model."
He averaged 2.8 points per game during his two years at Baylor, but he was a top-60 recruit coming out of Westchester Country Day in North Carolina.
His career high of 13 points came during the 2012 Big 12 Tournament championship game against Missouri.
"As a player I really like his desire to be the best defender possible," Haith said. "He is a tremendous athlete and has that great explosion and length that you just can't teach. He wants to be great and wants to hang his hat on being a defensive stopper."