Five-Star SG Jalil Bethea names final 5 schools

Warminster (Pa.) Archbishop Wood five-star shooting guard Jalil Bethea is down to five schools, he tells On3. Moving forward, the 6-foot-4, 170-pound rising senior will consider Alabama, Kansas, Miami, Syracuse, and Villanova. 

Bethea has only officially visited one of his finalists thus far – Syracuse. However, he’s scheduled three more official visits: Kansas on August 31st, Miami on September 8th, and Alabama on September 23rd.

Along with his final five schools, he also received offers from UCLA, Rutgers, Pitt, Penn State, Georgetown, Maryland, LSU, and others. 

According to the On3 Industry Rankings, Bethea is the No. 11 overall prospect in the 2024 cycle. He’s also the No. 3 shooting guard prospect and the No. 1 player in the state of Pennsylvania. The On3 Industry Ranking is a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Bethea talks programs involved

In a previous interview with On3, Jalil Bethea discussed several of the programs involved in his recruitment.

Syracuse: “They welcomed me and treated me like I was already on the team, already a player. It felt a lot like another place I could call home. Since Coach (Adrian) Autry took over as the head coach, our relationship has actually grown.

“When Coach (Jim) Boeheim was the coach, I talked with all the coaches and was able to build a really good relationship with everyone on the staff. All that has just grown.”

Kansas: “I’ve been watching Kansas basketball for a long time. Just being able to get on the campus is like a dream come true. Look at the players they’ve put in the league, the wings. The players they produce always seem to either go pro or have great college, or basketball, careers.”

Miami: “Coach L (Jim Larranaga) and Coach DJ (Irving) are both great people. They text me almost every day they can. They’ll get with me after most of my games and just check on me, you know. Since Coach DJ is from Philly and played in the Catholic League, and he coached at Team Final, we built our relationship around that. And we just kept growing.”

Alabama: “They definitely produce players and develop their guards. They play really fast and give their guys a lot of freedom, and they shoot a lot of threes, and I like shooting threes.”

What he’s looking for in a school

“I want to go somewhere I am needed,” Jalil Bethea said. “A place that will give me an opportunity to play early. But also a place I am comfortable. I want to go to a home away from home. I’m going to look at the relationship with the coaches, I’ll go to the place I have the best relationship with.

“Playstyle will have an impact on me. I want to go somewhere that is geared toward me and my game. I like to play fast; go somewhere that spreads the floor out.”