By ADAM ZAGORIA
Jalil Bethea, the 6-foot-4, 5-star guard from Archbishop Wood (PA) and Team Final, took the first of five scheduled official visits this weekend and he didn’t have to go far.
Bethea visited Villanova with his parents and his younger brother, Saleem.
“They were saying that the type of player he is, he can basically do everything that they want as a shooting guard or as a point,” his father Steve said by phone. “They said he would be a good fit for them because they’re losing a lot of players after this season.”
The Wildcats will lose graduate student guards Justin Moore, Hakim Hart and Chris Arcidiacono after the 2023-24 season.
Asked how Jalil responded to the message, his father said with a laugh, “Jalil shows no emotion towards anything, so you would never know.” As a local school, Villanova has seen Bethea many times. “They’ve been after him for a minute so they said they’re going to continue to watch his progress,” his father said. Bethea is down to Miami, Syracuse, Villanova, Alabama and Kansas. He is ranked the No. 4 shooting guard in his class per 247Sports.com. He has set the following other visits. Kansas: Aug. 31-Sept. 2 Miami: Sep. 8-10 Syracuse: Sept. 15-17 Alabama: Sept. 22-24 “Jalil is an efficient 3-level scorer who plays well in a team or one-on-one concept,” said Archbishop Wood coach John Mosco. “He can score in bunches. He has been working on defense and being a complete player. One of his underlying strengths is his passing and getting everyone involved.” Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter Follow ZAGSBLOGHoops on Instagram And Like ZAGS on FacebookNova Nation what’s up!! #notcommitted #Gowildcats🐾 pic.twitter.com/wsSXxGsEW8
— Jalil Bethea (@JalilBethea2) August 28, 2023
