Oh, what might have been: Bradley Beal reveals his mom wanted him to attend KU
As it turns out, Kansas basketball coach Bill Self nearly signed not one but two future NBA players from St. Louis in the high school recruiting class of 2011.
High-scoring Washington Wizards shooting guard Bradley Beal, a 6-foot-3, 26-year-old eight-year pro out of Chaminade High, tells Showtime Basketball’s “All the Smoke” podcast that he chose the Florida Gators over KU against the wishes of his mom, Besta, who wanted him to attend Kansas.
Had Beal, Rivals.com’s No. 4-ranked player in the class of 2011 (according to Rivals.com), accepted Kansas’ scholarship offer, he would have joined current Houston Rockets wing Ben McLemore on the Jayhawks’ 2011-12 roster.
McLemore, now a 27-year-old, seven-year NBA veteran out of Christian Life High, was the No. 34-rated player in that class.
Beal and McLemore, 6-5, were all the rage in the recruiting world during their junior and senior years of high school.
“Literally the night before I’m about to sign (letter-of-intent), my mom calls me in her room and says, ‘Where are you going tomorrow?’ She didn’t know,” Beal said on the podcast.
He had secretly committed to Florida coach Billy Donovan but informed nobody of his college plans.
“I didn’t tell my parents I had committed to Florida. Nobody knew but me and coach Donovan. I said, ‘Mom I think I’m going to Florida.’ She didn’t say anything,” Beal said. “The next day, boom, I’m on the stage. I’ve got all my hats in front of me — Florida, Kansas, Duke, Ohio State, Illinois. I’m giving my speech and I’m looking at my mom. She’s like, ‘You better say the right school.’ She wanted me to go to Kansas.”
Instead, Beal put a Florida Gators baseball cap on his head and announced he was headed to the SEC school.
“I said, ‘I’m going to the University of Florida,’” Beal said. “She (Mom) got up, walked out, didn’t say anything, didn’t clap. I didn’t talk to her for two months, living in the same house. ... Living in the same house.”
‘“It honestly took my dad and two older brothers to kind of really break it down to her and understand.”
Beal’s mom wanted to be able to make the short drive from St. Louis to Lawrence, Kansas regularly to watch her son play.
“She never missed any of my games from grade school all the way through high school,” Beal said. “So for me to go 18 hours away was like a slap in the face to her.
”Even if I went to Duke, that was 14 (hours away). She was like, ‘Damn, that’s too far.’ I’m like, ‘Kansas is cold as hell,’” Beal recalled. “It’s four hours away. It’s too close. I said, ‘I just can’t do it.’ Kansas is right down the street. I wanted to get as far away as I could possibly go and be on my own.”
Beal — he was averaging a career-best 30.5 points and 6.1 assists a game during his eighth season with the Wizards — was selected No. 3 overall in the 2012 NBA Draft. He averaged 14.8 points and 6.7 rebounds a game his one year at Florida — a season that ended in the Elite Eight.
“My older brothers, one went to Northern Illinois. One went to Alabama State. So one is five hours away, one 12 hours away,” Beal said on the podcast. “I said, ‘Mom you’ve got to let the bird fly. You’ve got to let me go.’ She let me go, the rest is history.”
Meanwhile, McLemore did not play during the 2011-12 season because of academic issues. He averaged 15.9 points and 5.2 rebounds per game in 2012-13 as a redshirt freshman at KU, a season in which the Jayhawks won the Big 12 and reached the Sweet 16.
McLemore was chosen No. 7 in the 2013 NBA Draft. He was averaging 9.8 points and 2.2 rebounds per game this season for the Rockets before it was put on hold because of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
Happy birthday to Jerrance Howard
KU basketball assistant coach Jerrance Howard on Thursday celebrated his 40th birthday. This was just two weeks after Howard was included on ESPN.com’s list of the country’s “best 40 coaches under 40.” Howard was awarded a No. 21 ranking on that list.
On his birthday, Howard unveiled plans to publish his first book, entitled, “The rich history of Peoria basketball: A small-town that produces big-time players.”
Howard, a former high school star in Peoria, Illinois and team captain at Illinois, plans on releasing the book on Jan. 18, 2021, the birthday of his brother, the late Tyrone “Snake” Howard, who died on Aug. 17, 2016 at 45. Howard made the announcement on his Facebook page.
Tyrone Howard had spoken with Jerrance Howard about Jerrance’s idea for a book about basketball in Peoria, which has produced legendary Peoria Manual High coach Wayne McClain and standout player Howard Nathan, among many others.
As far as Jerrance the coach, who has completed seven seasons at KU ...
“Howard has had a reputation as one of the nation’s best recruiters dating back to his time at Illinois 2008-11,” wrote Jeff Borzello of ESPN.com. “The Peoria native is well-connected in Chicago and the Midwest but also had success at SMU under Larry Brown. Bill Self, who coached Howard as a player at Illinois, hired him in 2013, and Howard has continued his recruiting prowess in Lawrence.”
Foster to stay in class of 2021
Mike Foster, a 6-10 senior-to-be power forward from Hillcrest Prep in Phoenix, Arizona, has decided to remain in the recruiting class of 2021 and not try to become eligible for the 2020-21 season, Zagsblog.com reported Thursday.
Foster, the No. 8-rated player in the class of 2021 by Rivals.com, is considering Kansas, UCLA, Michigan, Illinois, Arkansas, Baylor, Georgia, Florida State and others.
“I’m definitely going to be at Hillcrest next season,” Foster, who is originally from Milwaukee, told SI.com. “I’ve got other goals that I want to accomplish with GEICO Nationals and individual goals so I’m not going to be moving up to 2020.”
Mikey Williams an ‘absolute monster’
The COVID-19 pandemic has prevented the country’s college coaches from watching high-flying Mikey Williams this spring and summer on the AAU circuit.
Williams, a 6-1 sophomore-to-be point guard from San Ysidro High near San Diego, has a list of KU, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, San Diego State, USC, UCLA, Tennessee, Texas Tech and others.
“Williams is an absolute monster when he’s going to the rim. He dunks on opponents like a grown man and plays with an edge to him,” wrote Eric Bossi of Rivals.com. “His first step is tremendous, He can get hot from deep and he’s one of the most popular athletes in all of high school sports and will eclipse two million followers on Instagram within the next week or so.”
This story was originally published May 29, 2020 at 10:51 AM with the headline "Oh, what might have been: Bradley Beal reveals his mom wanted him to attend KU."
