I predict Brad Beal will be taken in the NBA Draft by ...
Thursday, May 31, 2012 | Baseball, Men's Basketball, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- At 8:05 p.m. Wednesday, this tweet went out from @RealDealBeal23.
The nerves kicking in !
For good reason.
The NBA Lottery had a handful of hot-shot prospects, including a certain former University of Florida freshman still very much on the minds of Gators everywhere, in utter suspense.
Face it, every one of those UF fans would much rather have Brad Beal back in school than turning pro after becoming the first player in UF history to garner first-team All-Southeastern Conference honors as a freshman.
But now that he's gone, we want to know where Beal is going?
Once the ping-pong balls had been pulled, the New Orleans Hornets were the big winners, and barring some unforeseen circumstances they will draft 6-foot-10 Kentucky center Anthony Davis with the No. 1 overall pick when David Stern calls the draft proceedings to order June 28.
The Charlotte Bobcats had the best chance at the top pick, but fell to second. After losing their final 23 games, a league record, the Bobcats need a lot of everything. Which direction team president Michael Jordan goes, though, will start the dominoes falling and have a huge impact on where Beal goes.
The safest pick at No. 2 is Davis's teammate, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who is a high-IQ player, excellent defender and excels in transition, which '11-12 rookie point guard Kemba Walker would like very much. Makes total sense. Then again, If Jordan is looking for a little more size -- and they need that, too -- Kansas' Thomas Robinson, the runner-up to Davis for NCAA Player of the Year, might be the way to go.
No. 2, though, seems too high for Beal.
No. 3 does not.
Not after the Washington Wizards, who were 23rd in scoring and shot the third-worst percentage from 3-point range, fell back to the third spot. The Wizards are team very much in need of offense on the perimeter and a scorer on the wing for point guard John Wall. Beal, a very good face-up shooter who attacks the basket and can finish at the rim, could provide that offensive; maybe not a bunch right away, but in time.
Beal just looks like a fit in D.C., if he can get past the idea of going to a franchise that has been spinning its wheels for, oh, three decades -- think Clippers of the East Coast -- and may only now be starting to figure some things out with regard to building a roster and good chemistry.
A 6-4, 210-pound swingman, Beal also led the Gators in rebound, which says something about his want-to. He was just beginning to find his groove late in the season when in the SEC and NCAA tournaments he combined to average 16.5 points on 53.1-percent shooting (including 42.8 from long distance and 78.2 from the free-throw line) to go with eight rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. 
The Wizards also are looking for character in the locker room. In the past two years, they've jettisoned knuckleheads Gilbert Arenas, JaVale McGee and Nick Young, and this spring even deactivated slug power forward Aundray Blache for the balance of the season just to get him away from the team.
Beal, who won't turn 19 until draft day, was a consummate teammate and passionate worker during his short time with the Gators -- Billy Donovan personally did his individual workouts -- and will come ready to lay everything on the line at the next level (and without any silly baggage).
It all makes sense.
Granted, the Wizards could use some size and power up front. Robinson could be that guy, but his not a polished scorer; far from it. And the club's direction with regard to wanting good kids would suggest it would shy from Connecticut's 7-foot underachiever Andre Drummond, also projected high pick. Washington General Manager Ernie Grunfield may prefer what North Carolina forward Harrison Barnes brings facing the basket (and at 6-8) better than he likes Beal.
Don't bet on it.
If the Wizards pass on Beal, he won't drop much past the next couple picks. In fact, I could see Cleveland, a team that scored fewer points than Washington, selecting Beal with the fourth overall selection.
We'll know in a little less than month. So will @RealDealBeal 23.
Think the nerves will be kicking in then?
