Villanova Recruiting

BRADLEY BEAL UPDATE: ELITE 2011 GUARD IMPROVING GAME

Elite 2011 shooting guard working to improve game while elite schools come see him this fall

One of the biggest names on the minds of college recruiters looking for talent in the 2011 class is St. Louis (MO) shooting guard Bradley Beal. Time and time again over the summer, Beal solidified his status as an elite prospect in the class. From the first viewing of the summer, at the King City Classic, Beal showed his vaunted jump shot with the picturesque form from beyond the three-point arc. Despite arriving late for his first game at King City, Beal drilled four three’s in the last eight minutes to help his team to a win.

Playing with the 16-U St. Louis Eagles at the Peach Jam, Beal again showed off his outstanding shooting ability in the game NBE saw. He loves hanging out on the wing and getting kick outs or passes in transition so he can hit open shots. He also had a couple of nice baseline drives that led to points. Beal is athletic and can change his shot when in the air. His jump shot, though, is his best asset: he has nice rotation and release, and he gets very nice lift.

The 6-foot-4, 185-lb shooting gaurd attends Chaminade College Prep in his hometown of St. Louis (MO). A virtual who’s who of college basketball has come through this fall to watch him workout and make it known they want him in their program in the future. Florida, Illinois, Missouri, Duke, Ohio State, Kansas, as well as Rick Majerus representing the local St. Louis U Billikens have been by already.

“I dont have any favorites,” Beal told NBE Sports of his recruitment. “The schools that are recruiting me are Duke, Illinois, Florida, Kansas, Mizzou, Ohio State, Villanova [and] Arizona.”

Beal showed his promise during a sophomore season where he was the driving force helping Chaminade to the Class 5 state championship and was named the 2009 St. Louis American Co-Player of the Year. While Beal had always been considered a top prospect in the 2011 class, his performance as team captain of the inaugural USA Basketball Men’s Developmental National 16-U Team, leading them to a gold-medal in the (FIBA) Americas U16 Championship held in Mendoza, Argentina from June 17-21, elevated his status nationally to another stratosphere.

In the gold-medal game, Beal connected on seven of 14 shots from beyond the arc, scoring a game-high 26 points in USA’s 101-87 win over host Argentina. Beal averaged 19 points a game, placing him third among all players in the tournament and had a tournament-high 18 made three’s in the five games.

“That experience meant a lot to me because I was representing the US and just being able to wear USA across the front of my jersey just made me really proud and excited to play and win,” Beal said looking back on the experience. “When I won the medal I was really emotional because we accomplished our goal and we did it for the people back at home. My lasting memory will be when they placed the medals around our necks and played the National Anthem.”

As Beal has risen to near the top of the charts in the class of 2011, he knows that it is harder to stay at the top. He is working this fall to be better at every aspect of his game than before. He is working on being faster, quicker, stronger and bigger physically, too. Always known as a great shooter, Beal is striving to make sure all parts of his game are improved and respected by opponents and scouts alike. He has the drive to be great individually and to lead his teams to win championships.

“My goals are to get better every game, never take a play off and play every game like it’s my last,” Beal said. “I want to win another state championship this year along with winning our conference and winning districts. My most important goal is to just have fun and be an all around player and not be one dimensional.”

There is no doubt Bradley Beal is an elite class of 2011 prospect on the court. His leadership qualities on and off the court make him a well-rounded person with a bright future in everything he participates in his life. One college basketball program will be very lucky to add Beal in their 2011 recruiting class. But, college basketball fans as a whole will also be very lucky to be able to watch Beal play and develop. He will be one of the reasons why college basketball will always be a special game to be a fan of!
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