Archbishop Wood’s Jalil Bethea is named to the McDonald’s All American team
The Miami-bound guard is ranked as the No. 6 guard in the class of 2024 by one website. He is the first player in Archbishop Wood history to be a McDonald’s All American.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/pmn/OMWBWHXCVZH5JI5RPPAU53JLUI.jpg)
Jalil Bethea was named to the 2024 McDonald’s All American Games roster on Tuesday, becoming Archbishop Wood’s first honoree in school history.
“I found out about a week ago, and when I heard that, I was really excited,” Bethea said Tuesday in a telephone interview. “McDonald’s All American, that’s like what you dream about when you’re a kid. Everybody you see in the NBA right now, that’s a game they played in.”
But for the 6-foot-4 senior guard, who has committed to play at Miami next season, the honor should not come as surprise. Bethea, ranked as the No. 6 guard in the class of 2024 by 247sports.com, has continued to gain national attention this year.
Bethea had a standout summer playing on the Team Final 17U squad that made a run in the Peach Jam tournament in North Augusta, N.C. Then he scored 40 points in the Hoophall Classic in Springfield, Mass.
Last week, he was named to the Naismith high school player of the year midseason watch list, an award that has been given to the outstanding boys’ basketball player in the nation.
But earning national recognition wasn’t the goal, Bethea said, it was about growing and staying consistent in his game after dealing with some bumps and bruises to start his high school career at Wood.
“It’s an exciting time for the Wood community,” said Vikings coach John Mosco. “With Jalil making it with all the hard work he put in on and off the court since freshman year, with not playing as a freshman, then working his way to be a starter to top 10 in the country — hard work pays off.”
» READ MORE: Archbishop Wood’s Jalil Bethea named to Naismith high school player of the year midseason watch list
Bethea has averaged 21.4 points through 15 games this season. He hopes to cap his senior year winning back-to-back Catholic League MVP awards as well as leading the Vikings (8-7, 4-2 league) to PCL and state championships.
He also hopes to earn Gatorade player of the year.
“This really came with the process of me just getting better,” Bethea said of his success this season. “And being a better person. I’m looking to go out there to have fun and compete.”
The 47th annual McDonald’s All American Games for boys and girls will be played at the Toyota Center in Houston on April 2.