Miami's Jalil Bethea Needs More Floor Time to Reach Potential

The former McDonald's All-American has scored 29 points in 43 minutes in 2024.

Apr 1, 2024; Houston, TX, USA; McDonalds High School All American guard Jalil Bethea (1) jumps over seven foot two center J.Bol (7) and dunks the ball during the dunk competition in the 2024 McDonalds High School All American Powerade Jam Fest at Delmar Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images

Miami (FL) guard Jalil Bethea, a former five-star recruit from the Philadelphia area and McDonald's All-American, has been productive in his limited minutes this season with the Hurricanes, showing flashes of impressive shot-making and perimeter defense.

Because he is competing with two experienced players in fifth-year senior Nijel Pack (14.7 points, 6.7 assists) and another senior in Jalen Blackmon (14.0 points, 1.7 steals), the 6-foot-4 prospect will have to earn his minutes playing both guard spots, though he leans more towards a shooting guard role.

Though he's only playing about 15 minutes per game, the young off-guard is making an impact, scoring 9.7 points per game and shooting 41.7% from beyond the arc (5-for-12 on the season). A shifty ball handler, Bethea has been effective at the rim in sparse attempts, averaging 1.2 points per shot according to Synergy Sports. He does need to attack the basket more, however, as he only has six shots at the rim, and has relied a lot on his outside shot versus his slashing ability.

While he hasn't been quite as good off the dribble, just 2-for-8 for 0.63 points per shot, he has made up for it with his 5-of-9 on the catch-and-shoot, good for 44.7% and a 66.7% effective field goal rate. He's made difficult shots as well considering he has a +0.14 points per shot above expectation, which is known as a metric called Synergy Shot Making. Considering he hasn't taken many shots in the paint, his efficiency overall can improve if he begins to take advantage of his physical gifts and uses his burst and quick first step to get into the lane.

The scoring has been impressive, but where he can justify more minutes is in other areas – he has recorded just three total assists in three games this year, as well as just five rebounds. It would benefit him to create for others more off the bounce, as he has a low assist rate of 9.9% compared to his usage rate of 31.8%. At this point, he is being pigeonholed as a scoring guard that can heat up quickly, but in order to become a more versatile player, he most increase his productivity across non-scoring categories.

It will be difficult for him to learn these things if he is unable to garner more than 15 minutes per night, but it must be noted that he is a true freshman and that Miami has played just three games this year. As the season goes on, he will get more action and learn how to run an offense better as a secondary, off-ball guard – his connective passing could be his swing skill at the next level.

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