Rivals150 guard Beatty could decide soon

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Rivals150 guard David Beatty isn't always easy to figure. One minute he hints that a decision could be near while the next minute he says he's wide open.

Ranked No. 126 in the class of 2017, the 6-foot-2 combo guard from Newark (N.J.) St. Benedict has had a crazy travel schedule. He's played in the Under Armour Association with the Philly Pride and he's hit events like the Pangos All-American Camp and last week's NBPA Top 100 Camp.

At the Top 100 Camp, Beatty questioned why he would want to do anything else.

"I love playing the game, it's just what I do," said Beatty. "I mean I miss my mom and my family and everything, but I gotta do what I gotta do to get off. I'm just enjoying this because not a lot of people get this. I've got to enjoy this while the time is here. Why get tired?"

With interest and offers from Indiana, Connecticut, Maryland, Temple, LaSalle, Seton Hall, UCLA, Georgetown, Virginia Tech, Texas A&M and others, Beatty has even managed time to fit in some visits. Most recently, he's seen UCLA, UConn and Maryland.

At UConn, Beatty hit it off with a potential future head coach.

"That visit was real cool. Kevin Ollie is a great man," said Beatty. "Like he's a real good coach, but off the court he's a great man and a good person to be around. He's your friend, but then he knows when to get serious. Their facilities are beautiful and their people on campus are like a family, just a unit."

While on Maryland's campus, Beatty was impressed by the coaching staff and the community.

"The visit was great," said Beatty. "Mark Turgeon is a great man. He's got a lot of history with him, he's got a lot of knowledge, knows what he's doing and he's got a lot of good coaches under him. Coach Bino (Ranson) and Coach (Dustin) Clark, they are great coaches and they know what they are doing and they like developing kids.

"They have a great fan base. College Park, that's like a city where everybody admires Maryland, you feel me? So that experience was good."

A physically punishing ball-handler who loves to score off the dribble and with pull-up jump shots, Beatty says that most college coaches are recruiting him to play both on and off the ball, but see more point guard in his future.

"They see me as a combo guard but they want me on the ball more," said Beatty. "The more I show my passing ability the more they want me on the ball. They want me to be that scoring type of point guard to get you 20 and 10 or like 11 and 12 or something like that and be a leader."

Beatty also said that he's close to winding down his recruitment but hasn't totally closed off things just yet.

"It's not too late for any school to come in the mix because a school may pop up and I may be like I like that school, you feel me? I always do my research on my schools because that's my future and my life so I want to be prepared and to see what I'm getting myself into."

While Beatty maintains that he's still open, rumors have run rampant that Connecticut has put itself in a desirable position. He refused to list any favorites but did admit that he could have a decision in the near future.

"I don't have favorites but a commit might be coming soon," said Beatty. "But, there aren't any favorites. I'm not going to give you all of that."