The Gators got their man.
With the start of the fall national signing period for basketball, five-start shooting guard Brad Beal signed his national letter of intent Wednesday.
Beal, the No. 7 overall recruit in the nation (according to Rivals.com) signed with Florida during a ceremony at his school, St. Louis Chaminade Prep.
"Clearly, I feel like we signed one of the best guards in the country," coach Billy Donovan said. "We're extremely excited about adding Brad, we believe he's a special player and a winner, and excited that he's going to be a part of our program."
Shortly after signing, Beal tweeted, "Im officially a Gator!"
Beal is the first recruit to sign with Florida's 2011 recruiting class. Since the Gators signed five players to their 2010 class, by NCAA rule, only two more recruits can sign with Florida's 2011 group.
In July, as a member of the USA under-17 basketball team, Beal was the most valuable player of the FIBA U17 World Championships in Hamburg, Germany, after averaging 18.3 points per game and shooting nearly 50 percent from three-point range for the tournament.
As the No. 7 recruit in the nation, Beal is the highest-rated player to sign with Florida under Donovan since Rivals.com started ranking basketball players in 2001.
