Malik Beasley, a consensus top 100 recruit and all around stud from Alpharetta, GA, has committed to play for Florida State. Beasley committed immediately after taking his first official visit. The news broke on Friday, but had I written this post then, it would have been far more emotional and far less measured.
To be quite frank, this one hurts. Beasley had long been considered a UGA lean and, had he come to Athens, would have been the heir apparent at shooting guard behind Kenny Gaines.
Why does it hurt so much? It hurts because Beasley is exactly the type of recruit Mark Fox needs to start getting on campus if he's going to keep the program rolling. He's an Atlanta kid, he was on campus a lot (unofficially), and he would have filled what will soon be a position of need. The fact that he was lost not to a traditional powerhouse, but instead to Florida state, makes it even worse. Aside from the opportunity to play in a historically-great-but-currently-mediocre ACC, FSU has little to offer that Georgia can't match.
Also, it's not like the rest of the SEC is struggling to pick up commitments. Check out the ESPN 100, and you'll find LSU, Texas A&M, Kentucky, Auburn, Florida, Alabama, and Arkansas with one or more verbal commitments. Not pictured? Your Georgia Bulldogs.
The sky is not falling. #64 Tevin Mack and #8 Jaylen Brown are still on the table. Get Mack to Athens, and the class will be considered a success. Get Brown to Athens, and the class is a home run. Both, and you have yourself a grand slam. However, the margin of error is now razor thin.
I give Fox a lot of credit for signing two quality kids at positions of need this spring. Those signings on the heels of a pretty good season gave the program some momentum. I have also been preaching for a while now that this 2015 class could make or break his tenure in Athens. On Friday, that class got a little bit smaller.
h/t ESPN
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