One of the best pure shooting guards in the 2024 NCAA Basketball recruiting class is Jalil Bethea. He’s listed as 6’4 and 175 pounds and is a five-star prospect by 247sportsComposite, ranked in the top 20 overall. He’s a pure shooter with a great stroke that allows him to be highly efficient from three-point range while also capable of going inside as well.
Bethea, who is originally from Warminster, Pennsylvania, has already taken a pair of visits. According to Jamie Shaw of On3, he’s already been to a pair of regional options in Syracuse and Temple. But there are three more programs that he mentioned that are also involved as well.
Here’s a look at how Bethea would potentially fit with each of those options.
Alabama Crimson Tide
Even though he doesn’t play the same position, seeing how great Brandon Miller did last season has to be a major selling point for someone like Bethea as a pure scorer. The team also will be without incoming transfer, Aaron Estrada and potentially Latrell Wrightsell if he doesn’t stay for his covid year.
Alabama doesn’t have any commits in the 2024 class but likely will look for another top-tier class. Bethea would be a headliner but he’s not guaranteed to start here depending on what Wrightsell, Mark Sears, and Rylan Griffen do next season. Still, he’s too good not to get a good role in his first year with the program.
Kansas Jayhawks
With top-50 combo guard and former commit Chris Johnson off to Texas, there’s a pathway for a starting role for Bethea a year from now. Towson grad transfer Nicolas Timberlake will be gone, while Texas transfer Arterio Morris could be a pro candidate if he has a breakout campaign next season.
Dajaun Harris Jr. could be back for an extra year as well and having a pure scorer like Bethea would be perfect next to him in the backcourt. The only thing that would prevent this is Tre Johnson, a five-star and top-3 overall prospect who is also a shooting guard. He has Kansas in his list of top six options and if he picked them, that likely forces Bethea elsewhere.
Miami Hurricanes
The starting shooting guard for Miami this past season ended up as one of the top NCAA Basketball stars, winning ACC Player of the Year in Isaiah Wong. Wooga Poplar is entering his senior season, while point guard Nijel Pack also could be gone after next season as well.
Bethea would be the focal point of the roster for the future and there’s a dream scenario where both Pack and big man Norchad Omier could be around for their covid years, joined by this five-star recruit and even FSU transfer, Matthew Cleveland.
Syracuse Orange
The Orange already have a pair of four-star commits in the 2024 class in forward Donnie Freeman, as well as shooting guard, Elijah Moore. He joins a group of young guards besides star sophomore Judah Mintz, including a trio of guard transfers in JJ Starling, Kyle Cuffe, and Chance Westry.
With such as logjam in the backcourt, it could be difficult for Bethea to get a large enough role in the offense to make the Orange worth it. Plus, head coach Adrian Autry is entering his first season and he’s unproven in leading a program at the NCAA Basketball level. We’ll see which of these transfers breaks out to get a better look at the roster and how viable the team is in its new era with a new HC.
Temple Owls
If Villanova ultimately doesn’t get in the picture, Temple would represent being the “local” option for the native Pennsylvanian. The Owls are completely rebuilding under new head coach Adam Fisher, who was an assistant at Penn State last season. They lost both key guards this offseason in Damian Dunn and Khalif Battle and likely will take a step back in the AAC.
This is an option where Bethea would be the star and someone that can be a star in the league next season. The concern is that unless other key prospects were to join him, Bethea likely won’t be winning much compared to other potential destinations.