City of Basketball Love

By Joseph Santoliquito (@JSantoliquito)
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The incessant phone calls will end. So will the constant text messages, and the question that has been shadowing Archbishop Wood star Jalil Bethea everywhere the last 18 months: Where are you going?

It ended at 3 p.m. on Wednesday.

Wood’s gangly 6-foot-4, 170-pound senior combo guard and ESPN’s No. 7-ranked player in the nation chose Miami, and legendary coach Jim Larrañaga, taking the road to Coral Gables, Fla. in 2024 over Kansas, Villanova, Alabama, and Syracuse.

“I feel like Miami is the perfect fit for me,” said Bethea, who has exploded over the last year to rise from being ESPN’s No. 48 in the nation to the lofty No. 7 status, after leading the Vikings to a 19-9 overall finish last season and to the PIAA Class 6A state semifinals, where they eventually lost to Catholic League rival Roman Catholic (66-56). “I told coach Larrañaga on Monday (Sept. 11) after my visit (to Miami) that I wasn’t going to take a visit at any other school. Miami plays fast, and I like playing fast, and the coaches let their guards have their freedom, and I like that. They give you your space, and they will get on you. I like hard coaching. They run a lot of five out, because Miami likes playing small, and they like playing physical, and I like playing physical.

“It was down to Miami and Kansas. Miami was a better platform than Kansas. The NIL situation is good. They’re going to take care of me, but that did not factor into my decision. I like how Miami plays, and it is the best fit for me. Coach L and I spoke about playing time as a freshman, and he said he would definitely give me a chance to start.”

Another factor in the decision was the Philly-Miami connection. The relationship Bethea had built through the years with Miami assistant coach DJ Irving, the former Archbishop Carroll star who went on to play for Boston University and then went on to coach at Roman Catholic. Irving has strong connections with the AAU program Team Final, which produced Neumann-Goretti all-time great and former Miami standout Ja’Quan Newton, and other Miami hoop alums like Davon Reed (Princeton Day School) and Lonnie Walker IV (Reading). Former Bonner-Prendie standout Isaiah Wong just left the program after four years, and former MCS guard Wooga Poplar is currently on the Hurricanes’ roster.

“DJ and I have a real good connection and it definitely helped a lot (in choosing Miami), seeing a familiar face at a college I was thinking about going to, and it made me feel that much more comfortable into going there,” Bethea said. “DJ played in the Catholic League, and being from Philly and Team Final, that made the decision easier. That was a big point for me. We started that relationship, and it built over the last two years from there.”

Steven Bethea, Jalil’s father, said he was ecstatic about his son’s choice.

“I love the school, I love the environment, and most of all, I love the academics, because I keep on stressing to Jalil that I want him to have something after basketball and an education will provide that,” Steven said. “He fits at Miami as a player. Coach Larrañaga played a part in that, but DJ Irving was heavily involved and recruited Jalil the last two years. It came down to five, but it really came down to Miami, Kansas and Villanova. This is a huge relief to all of us. He told me it was a really hard decision to make, and right now, Jalil holds three positions in the ESPN Top 10, as the No. 7 overall player, as the No. 2 shooting guard and as the No. 1 three-point shooter. He had everyone rolling out the red carpet.

“He had everyone pulling at him, pulling at him, pulling at him. He asked me how I felt, but my thing is, this is Jalil’s decision and I’m happy it was his decision. He’s the one who is going to the school. Me and his mom (Jacqueline Kamper) did the background work. Everyone is very happy. I knew back when Jalil told me after the Miami trip on Sept. 11 when he called coach Larrañaga and said he wasn’t going to take any more visits and that he was going to commit to Miami.”

The decision lifts a heavy weight off of Jalil’s shoulders, his family’s shoulders, and Wood coach John Mosco and the Vikings’ program.

Bethea, the reigning Catholic League MVP, returns as arguably the best player in the city this year, along with Imhotep Charter’s Ahmad Nowell (UConn) and Archbishop Ryan’s Thomas Sorber (Georgetown).

Bethea has a real strong chance to graduate as Wood’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing Wood’s current all-time mark of 1,533 established by 2021 Wood graduate Rahsool Diggins, who was a two-time Catholic League MVP now at UMass. As a first-year varsity starter his junior year, Bethea scored 649 points (on 85-for-186, shooting 45.7-percent from three-point range) and he should easily obliterate that total this season, giving him an outside chance to become the Philadelphia Catholic League’s all-time leading scorer, a distinction currently held by Newton, a four-year starter at Neumann-Goretti who scored 1,972 points.

Bethea will enter his senior year with 1,047 career points—and Wood figures to play deep into March.

Last season, Miami reached the Final Four for the first time in program history, losing to eventual national champion Connecticut. The Hurricanes finished 29-8 overall, and 15-5 in the highly competitive ACC. Two weeks ago, 6-4 shooting guard Austin Swartz, ESPN’s No. 51 out of Cannon High School in Concord, North Carolina, committed to the Hurricanes, and was joined in the Miami 2024 recruitment class over the weekend by 6-7 forward Isaiah Johnson-Arigu of Totino-Grace High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

“I think the decision has made Jalil a lot more comfortable going into the season,” Mosco said. “He doesn’t have to handle the constant phone calls, the traveling, and his mind is a lot more focused. I can see the last couple of days in our open gyms how he’s playing, having fun, working with the young kids, not being on edge about his college choice. He made his decision when he got back from his Miami visit. The DJ Irving connection with Team Final and Coach L has had a lot of Philly guys, so the whole Philly connection helped the process. Jalil, Team Final and us were comfortable with that coaching staff.

“Everything about Miami fit him. Coach L allows his guards freedom to play, and he’s been successful with guard play the last couple of years. They move and they pass, and the play fast, which all fits in with what Jalil does. The NIL thing did not play into it. I’m happy for Jalil. He needed to be happy with the decision he made, and he picked a place where he can trust the coaching staff. Now that this is over, Jalil’s goal to finish the year as Catholic League, city and state champion. Jalil wants to end his career with a banner—winning takes care of that.”

Jalil admits there was some stress involved in his decision and says he’s ready to lead Wood to a state championship.

“That’s the main goal,” he said. “I want to end my season in Hershey (in the state finals). The decision takes a lot of weight off my shoulders. It was a tough process, but I’m glad I was able to stick through it and make a decision.”

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Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter based in the Philadelphia area who began writing for CoBL in 2021 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter here.