PHOENIX – In the waning moments of his freshman season, Brad Beal was given an opportunity to extend it.
Down by three points in the Elite Eight to Louisville, Florida coach Billy Donovan unsurprisingly drew up a final play during his last 30 second timeout to give Beal an open look at the top of the arc.
The shot was one Beal had made more than a half dozen other times in his first NCAA Tournament, including on the Gators’ opening possession Saturday when he splashed home an NBA-range 3-pointer against the Cardinals.
While tearing his way through the West region in the last nine days, Beal shot 60.5 percent from the field and nearly averaged a double-double at 15.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
On a team filled with upperclassmen guards like Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker – who each have made their share of game-winners – it was Beal curling off a screen with 11 seconds to play and releasing the attempt.
“I wouldn’t have another person take the shot,” Boynton said. “He shot it good throughout the whole tournament. It just didn’t go down.”
The ball glanced of the front of the rim, ending Florida’s chances at sending the game into overtime save for a final heave from Boynton.
Though Beal – UF’s lone all-region selection – was the Gators’ most reliable scorer throughout the tournament, he faded down the stretch in the 72-68 loss to the Cardinals and failed to make a shot in the final 13:42 of regulation.
Before his scoreless streak began, Beal had notched 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting from the field.
With the abrupt end of Beal’s offensive impact on the game, Florida experienced a repeat of last year’s 11-point meltdown against Butler – a defeat also coming in the Elite Eight.
“We stopped being aggressive,” Beal said. “I think we were too complacent in trying to shoot threes and jump shots, instead of keep trying to give it to Pat or Murph inside. (We should have) just keep attacking the basket but we settled too much for the three.”
During the Cardinals’ 20-8 run to the close game beginning with 9:04 remaining, Beal had two turnovers and went 0-4 from the field. While Beal said the Gators relied on jumpers and 3-pointers too heavily in the second half, his attempt at a layup to retake the lead with 48 seconds left was blocked by the Cardinals’ Gorgui Dieng.
“I think the other thing that hurt us, too, were the turnovers,” Donovan said. “There were some turnovers. Brad's turnover hurt us, which was obviously unintentional. … The difference in the game is our 14 turnovers to their six.”
Down by one point with 18 seconds, Beal stole a Louisville pass in the paint but got tangled up with a Cardinals player as he turned to dribble up the court. While there was contact between the two players, Beal was called for traveling.
The turnover gave the Cardinals possession back as well as a trip to the free-throw line after the Gators fouled to stop the clock.
“I just had bad footing,” Beal said. “I traveled. I traveled. But he may have bumped me, but whatever, but I still had to be strong with the ball and be more careful in those situations.”
Though Beal experienced perhaps a lackluster ending to one of the most brilliant freshman seasons in UF basketball’s history, Donovan kept the guard’s run through the tournament in perspective.
This season, Beal became the first Gators player to ever be named first-team All-Southeastern Conference and SEC All-Freshman in the same year.
“A team that was really young and immature in a lot of ways," Donovan said of his memory will be of this year's team. "And in front of my eyes I got a chance to watch them grow up and mature competitively. ... To see where Brad was in November and December, see where he finished ... our guys grew up.”
Projected as a potential lottery pick, Beal has fielded numerous questions about his NBA draft status during the tournament but continued to remain quiet about his intentions to either play professionally next year or stay at Florida.
Early entry underclassmen have until April 14 – a week after the Final Four – to make their decision to enter the draft.
“I'm really not focusing on next year right now,” Beal said. “I'm just still affected by this loss right now. I just want to bond with the team still. We had a tough loss. I'm not thinking about the future right now.”
Contact John Boothe at jboothe@alligator.org.
Florida's Bradley Beal (23) and Kenny Boynton sit in the locker room following their 72-68 loss to Louisville in an NCAA tournament West Regional final college basketball game, Saturday, March 24, 2012, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
