WATCH: Bradley Beal gives impassioned speech to AAU team on hardships of NBA, college journey

On3 imageby:Chandler Vessels06/04/22

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Bradley Beal knows what it takes to make it to the highest level of basketball, and he tried to impart that wisdom onto the next generation with an impassioned speech to his AAU team. The Florida product turned NBA all-star coaches the Bradley Beal Elite AAU team in St. Louis, and footage of him speaking to his team after what appeared to be a recent loss made its way to Twitter.

In the video, Beal was honest with his players about the reality of becoming a professional.

“I got news for you: When you get to the next level — if you get there — you ain’t gonna be no offensive guy,” he said. “That’s just real, fellas. How many college guys y’all know averaging 20 a game? How many? None. Get that scoring sh*t out of your head. You’re not going to school to be a scorer, fellas. What can you do to impact the game to win? F*** your stats. …You’re focusing on the wrong sh*t. We need to be focusing on how to win games. The game was won. How you gonna tell me you the best PG in the country and you can’t close out the game? I’m gonna hold you accountable. I don’t do that sh*t. You wanna be great? Hold yourself to this. Quit patting yourself on the back. What have you done?”

Beal knows all too well the pressures of being a highly touted high school athlete, as he was a five-star prospect out of Chaminade High School in St. Louis during 2011. The he ranked as the No. 4 overall prospect and No. 1 shooting guard according to On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average.

He spent just one season with the Gators, averaging 14.8 points to go along with 6.7 rebounds. Then the Washington Wizards selected him third overall in the 2012 NBA Draft, and he would go on to become a star for the team over the next several seasons.

Hopefully the young players under his guidance can gain something from his advice as they prepare to embark on college and NBA journeys of their own.