Florida guard Brad Beal said Sunday night that he has not decided whether he will enter the NBA draft or return to school for his sophomore season.
Beal traveled to St. Louis on Friday to discuss his options with his family. He returned to Gainesville on Sunday night.
The NBA’s deadline for underclassmen to declare is April 29, and Beal said he plans to take the majority of the month to reach his decision.
The NCAA’s deadline for an underclassman to declare is April 10. However, if a prospect does not reach a decision by April 10, he still has the opportunity to declare as long as he does so before the NBA’s April 29 deadline.
Beal scored 14.8 points per game and grabbed a team-high 6.7 rebounds per game during his freshman season, leading scouts and analysts to project him to be selected as high as No. 3 in the upcoming draft, which will be held on June 28.
Beal’s NBA decision has been a topic of conversation for weeks, but he mostly avoided those questions during the season.
“When that time comes after this season I’m going to sit down with coach and my family and we’re just going to talk about it,” Beal said March 23, the day before UF’s Elite Eight game against Louisville.
Even after the Gators fell 72-68 to end the season just short of the Final Four, Beal was mum on his future plans.
“I’m still just affected by this loss,” Beal said on March 24. “I’m not thinking about next season yet.”
Junior Kenny Boynton is still mulling over his decision, while junior Mike Rosario and sophomore Patric Young have both announced their intent to return, according to a UF release.
Young averaged 10.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game this year and is projected as a late first-round pick because of his size — 6-foot-9, 247 pounds — and athleticism.
Boynton led the team in scoring at 15.9 points per game and would likely be drafted at the end of the second round, if at all.
Rosario scored 6.6 points per game off the bench this season and probably would have had to find a spot on a roster overseas.
If Florida were to return all of its underclassmen, the Gators would likely be a consensus preseason top-five team. Erving Walker was UF’s only senior, and his departure figures to be mitigated by incoming freshman guards Braxton Ogbueze, Michael Frazier and Dillon Graham.
Of teams that reached the Elite Eight, only Kentucky, Ohio State and North Carolina also had just one senior playing significant minutes. However, all three of those schools project to lose underclassmen to the draft, with North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes, Kendall Marshall and John Henson already declaring.
Contact Greg Luca at gluca@alligator.org.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Beal returned from his trip to St. Louis on Monday night. In reality, Beal returned to Gainesville and spoke about his decision on Sunday night. The story has been updated to reflect that change.
Florida's Kenny Boynton, from left, Erving Walker, Bradley Beal, Patric Young and Erik Murphy answer questions during a news conference Friday, March 23, 2012, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)
