Late actor Belasco remembered by his Waubonsie Valley coaches

A current and former basketball coach at Waubonsie Valley High School are remembering late actor Bert Belasco for his smile and charisma when he played for them while a student at the Aurora school in the late 1990s.

Belasco, 38, a star of the TV series "Pitch" on FOX and "Let's Stay Together" on BET, had been quarantining in a Virginia hotel room before filming a movie when he was found dead Sunday. Belasco was a 2001 graduate of Waubonsie Valley and a former resident of Naperville's Brookdale neighborhood.

Henrico County police indicated foul play was not suspected, according to Variety. TMZ quoted Belasco's father, Bert Sr., who believes his son died of an aneurysm, though autopsy results are pending.

Belasco's basketball coaches for his freshman and sophomore years at Waubonsie Valley were Alan Lagger of Aurora and Phil Gallow, now retired to Tucson, Arizona.

"His smile and personality could light up a room," Lagger said. "You knew something good was going to come from Bert when you saw him."

"He was very charismatic when he played, and he just enjoyed playing the game," Gallow said.

Gallow and Lagger said their families often invited Belasco to spend holidays with them, since his father's job with the U.S. military meant he was often away for work.

"My family with five children, of course, became very attached to him," Gallow said. "We saw a lot of each other. He was just a very interesting, fun-loving young man."

Lagger said Belasco didn't seriously pursue acting in school - save for an "Impersonators Assembly" in Belasco's junior year when he portrayed Will Smith in a number from the 1999 sci-fi film "Wild Wild West."

"You could tell right away it was made for him - the way he was able to pull it off," Lagger said.

Both Lagger and Gallow kept in touch with Belasco through the years. They followed Belasco's acting career, which included playing the Snickers commercial football player who mocks a teammate for "playing like Betty White," and also a 2016 guest appearance on "NCIS: New Orleans."

Gallow and Lagger said they were proud to be in attendance when Belasco returned to Waubonsie Valley to receive its Distinguished Alumni Award in 2011. Lagger said he keeps a photo of Belasco at that event on his desk.

"He was just an outstanding human," Lagger said. "He was one you were truly honored to know and to be a part of his life."