Last Sunday South Carolina beat Tennessee 74-58 in the SEC tourney title game to earn an automatic bid to next week’s NCAA tournament. The Gamecocks are the defending NCAA champs and have a good chance to make it 2 in a row as they are 32-0 so far this season. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with South Carolina SR G Brea Beal about playing for a Hall of Famer.
You were born/raised in Illinois: what made you choose South Carolina? It started with the coaching staff: it just felt more genuine than any other program I looked at.
You play for Coach Dawn Staley: what makes her such a great coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from her so far? During practice when she critiques us she explains why she is doing so. It is great to play under someone like her who has made the journey from great player to great coach.
In 2019 you were named a McDonald’s All-American along with Aliyah Boston/Zia Cooke: could you have ever imagined back then that you 3 would end up accomplishing so much together? I truly did not understand how far we could take it. It is crazy to think that we are now trying to win our 2nd NCAA title!
You have been named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll 3 times: how do you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? Just putting academics 1st. If we have to miss a practice to take care of a class then our coaches understand that is what we need to do.
As a freshman in 2020 you were 32-1: what was your reaction like when you learned that the NCAA tourney was being canceled due to COVID? It made us all very upset because we were on such a great run that year. We all felt like something had been taken from us.
Last year in the NCAA title game you had a 15-PT win over UConn: what did it mean to you to win a title, and what was the reaction like when you got back to campus? It was very surreal because it is something you dream about as a child while watching those great teams in the past like UConn/Tennessee winning it all. Seeing all of the students on campus cheering us on was a great feeling.
Last Sunday in the SEC tourney title game you had 8 PTS/8 REB/6 AST in a win over Tennessee: where does that rank among the best all-around games of your career? I think it was 1 of my best all-around games. I was able to make sure our post players got the ball: I take a lot of pride in putting them in a good position to score. I was able to finish my layups, make outside shots, and crash the boards.
Your father Kevin played basketball at UTEP: who is the best athlete in the family? I am sure that if you ask him he would say him! I would give it to my brother, who has guard skills even though he is 6’7”.
Your boyfriend Jaycee Horn plays CB for the Carolina Panthers: will we see him in the stands supporting your tourney run this month? Definitely: he loves those moments but gets butterflies while I am playing.
Do you think that you can go undefeated, and if you do then do you think your team would be considered among the best in the history of the sport? I do think we can go undefeated. If we can do that then I would consider us to be historically among the best.