Will Jalil Bethea Return to Miami?
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Miami guard Jalil Bethea was likely always going to enter the transfer portal after a year of confusion and discomfort at Miami. Now, with stable leadership, he could return for another season.
Bethea is down to four schools after entering the portal, and returning to Miami is still on the table. Reasonable fans and coaches would not turn away the growing and talented scorer.
Per Travis Branham of 247sports, Bethea also has Alabama, Kansas State, and NC State alongside Miami.
UPDATE: Jalil Bethea is down to FOUR schools in Miami, Alabama, NC State and Kansas State, per @247Sports source.
— Travis Branham (@TravisBranham_) March 29, 2025
Former Top10 recruit and McDonald's All American.https://t.co/NDZ3a45y7e pic.twitter.com/Zf058cFi4S
Bethea's freshman season was about development. He had to put his ego to the side, which he did, and started to become a full team player once he realised that the college game is nothing like high school. He came in thinking he would be the primary scoring option and had some opportunities to be that. Senior Matthew Cleveland was just playing at another level, and he started to become the Hurricanes' second and third option. Once he did that, he had to learn defense and mature on that side of the floor.
Finally, toward the end of the season, he could be relied upon to play solid defense, and another year in college could do wonders for his draft stock that once had him in the top 20 of the 2025 NBA Draft class.
Beatha is a talented player, and any school listed would love to have the talented guard. Bethea has a high ceiling, and new Hurricanes head coach Jai Lucas sees that. It's why he wants him back, but this could also be a play at making more money as well for Bethea. He is a lucrative player, and many are willing to pay handsomely for his upside.
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University and is the site lead for Miami Hurricanes on SI. He can be reached at justice.sandle111@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter@Justice_News5.
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Justice Sandle is a graduate of Mississippi State University earning a Bachelor of Arts and Science in Communications with a concentration in Print and Digital Journalism. During his time in Starkville, he spent a year as an intern working for Mississippi State On SI primarily covering basketball, football, baseball, and soccer while writing, recording, and creating multimedia stories during his tenor. Since graduating, he has assumed the role of lead staff writer for Miami Hurricanes On SI covering football, basketball, baseball, and all things Hurricanes related.