MORE: Quotables Part I | Part II | Part III | All content from the 2014 July Live Period
LAS VEGAS — While some players can use the month of July as a springboard into the conscience of college coaches and recruiting analysts, playing better than they did during their high school seasons and the spring, others simply keep building on the momentum they’ve had all year long. That’s been the case for 2015 shooting guard Malik Beasley, a 6-foot-4 prospect whose grassroots campaign follows up a high school season in which he and his teammates made history.
At St. Francis High School in Alpharetta, Georgia the rising senior posted averages of 19.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.1 steals per game on a team that finished the season with a 24-7 record and won its first-ever Class A state title. As a result of his play throughout the season Beasley was a first-team all-state selection, and throughout the spring and summer he’s displayed the many facets of his game. Beasley’s a talented scorer who, at the LeBron James Skills Academy, displayed the ability to score via the perimeter jumper or the drive to the basket and he took care of his responsibilities on the defensive end as well.
While competing with and against some of the nation’s best players, Beasley was able to take stock of his game and learn even more about the areas in which he’ll need to improve in order to have an impact at the college level. One area that stood out, especially in the moments in which he was matched up against the camp’s namesake, was physical strength. That area can be a challenge when playing against high-level talent, but it was one that Beasley embraced because it’s difficult to improve against inferior opposition.
“Playing with better players,” Beasley told NBCSports.com in Las Vegas when asked what he could gain from the experience. “I don’t like competing with guys who aren’t better than me. And I get to learn new skills from the coaches, pros and staff [at the camp].”
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Beasley also has a valuable resource in his father, Michael, when it comes to knowing what steps to take in his basketball career. The elder Beasley played nearly ten years professionally overseas, and according to him those experiences have helped when it comes to the impact that getting on a weightlifting program can have on a player’s career. Also impacting the way in which Malik has developed physically was the experience gained at the Nike Elite 100 Camp in 2013.
“The greatest amount of growth I’ve seen in Malik is his body,” Michael Beasley told NBCSports.com. “We went to Nike Elite 100 last year and I was able to see what he needed to work on. Sometimes kids say they’re younger than they really are, and we wanted to even the playing field by getting his body together. So we set up a weight program for him.
“We know [Malik] can shoot, but the main thing was working on his body and that evened the playing field. Before he wasn’t finishing that strongly, and that changed once we got him on the weight program.”
It’s safe to say that college coaches have taken notice of Malik’s development, and in the aftermath of his performances over the last two weeks (he played well at Peach State last week according to multiple reports) UConn, Oregon and UCLA have joined a deep list of high-major programs who have tendered offers. In speaking with Malik in Las Vegas, he stated that while he has a good grasp of which schools are currently recruiting him the hardest it’s something he’ll speak about more at the end of the month. And he also has a good idea of what characteristics the school he picks will possess when the time comes to announce a commitment.
“A great head coach and a winning program,” Beasley noted. “Someone who’s going to help me be successful in the future, and who’s going to [coach] me. Not say that I’m doing well if I had a bad game; let me know what I’m doing wrong, and let me know what I’m doing right so I can keep doing it.”
Interestingly the shared basketball pedigree isn’t the only area in which the elder Beasley has helped his son navigate this process, as he’s also an actor who’s held roles in a number of television shows and motion pictures including the series “Eastbound and Down.” Michael has used the experience he’s gained as both an athlete and an actor to not only push Malik to being the best player he can be, but to also help him understand what it takes to be successful regardless of the profession in question.
“What I experienced [as a pro] is that to play at a high level you have to love the process,” Michael noted. “Getting in the gym and getting better, and making those sacrifices that normally you wouldn’t have to make as a teenager trying to live your dream. A lot of kids are out partying or doing other things, but you have to love being in the gym.
“The main thing I tell him is to love the process,” Michael continued, tying in his love of acting. “And once you love the process then it isn’t ‘work,’ but if you don’t love the process it is.”
The absorption of those lessons combined with hard work have resulted in Malik Beasley developing into one of the nation’s best shooting guards. And if he can keep on that path, Beasley stands to only get better as a high school senior. That’s something Malik has every intention of doing, as throughout the month of July it’s become even more apparent that he possesses a clear understanding of what’s on the line when he steps on the court.
“When it’s time for business, when he’s acting and when I’m playing on the court, it’s serious.”
