Gator freshman guard, Bradley Beal, has already begun to fire up the Rowdy Reptile section at the Stephen O’Connell Center. Beal was signed by the University of Florida November of last year, the #7 recruit nationally according to Rivals.com. While playing for Chaminade Prep in St. Louis, Missouri, Beal led his team to a State Championship when he was only a sophomore.  Additional accolades during Beal’s high school hoops days include being named the 2011 Gatorade National Player of the Year, and a senior season average of 33 points, 6 rebounds, 2.7 steals per game. The young Gator guard also represented the United States playing for the International Basketball Federation, earning the title of 2010 MVP of the FIBA U17 World Championship. Besides a professed love for Kool-Aide and admiration for athletes Lebron James and Usain Bolt, Beal also has a deep religious faith and volunteers his time to the community on a regular basis.

Beal’s presence on the Gator squad has thus far lived up to the hype. Currently, Beal is averaging 17 points per game, 6.5 rebounds, and 2 assists overall. Bleacherreport.com went as far as to call Beal the “Piece that Billy Donavan has been missing.” Donning the #23, Beal scored 14 points in his first game and was named SEC freshman of the week on November 28^th. Moreover, Mr. Beal has already been named as a potential contender for the Naismith Award.

Bradley Beal joins the Gator’s already talented backcourt, playing alongside Mike Rosario, Kenny Boynton, and Erving Walker. Beal is the 14^th McDonalds High School All-American player to be recruited by Coach Billy Donavan. His talent certainly brings a ubiquitous degree of talent to the team, and perhaps the Gator Nation is in the midst of seeing another championship team unfold in the coming years.