Gators freshman Beal among 12 preseason candidates for Tisdale Award

Posted Oct 20, 2011 by David Jones, Florida Today

Updated Oct 20, 2011 at 10:02 AM

Florida’s Brad Beal is among 12 players named as preseason candidates for the Wayman Tisdale Award, which goes to the nation’s top freshman basketball player each season.

  The 6-foot-3 guard was the 14th McDonald’s All-American signed by Florida coach Billy Donovan. He was named the 2011 Gatorade National Player of the Year after averaging 32.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game at Chaminade High school in St. Louis.

  Kentucky placed three freshmen on the list: Anthony Davis, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist and Marquis Teague. All were ranked among the top 10 recruits in the country. Davis, a 6-10 forward, is considered the nation’s No. 1 recruit by many experts.

  Also on the list: Chane Behanan, Louisville; Khem Birch, Pittsburgh; Andre Drummond, Connecticut; Le’Bryan Nash, Oklahoma State; Austin Rivers, Duke; Adonis Thomas, Memphis; Josiah Turner, Arizona; and Cody Zeller, Indiana.

  “He’s a unique kid,’’ Donovan said of Beal. “He’s probably as mature as any freshman I’ve had come here. He has a really good understanding of team chemistry. The one thing that I admire about him is that, when you have a high-level player come in, there is a level of humility and respect _ that there are guys here that were here before you arrived that have been successful and had the opportunity to accomplish different things throughout their career. Brad is not the kind of guy that comes in here and says, ‘I’m taking your job. I’m starting.’ He’s not that way at all. He understands the importance of chemistry and being unselfish.

  “I think Brad, more so than anything else, as a coach I’m probably going to have to push him to be more aggressive than maybe he is. I think he is very conscientious of fitting in, being a part of the team and doing what he can to help our team.’‘

Florida opens its season with an exhibition game against Catholic University on Nov. 3.