Wizards' Beal draws Ray Allen comparisons

With Kentucky forwards Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist predictably off the board at No. 1 and No. 2 in Thursday night's NBA Draft, the Washington Wizards drafted a dead-eye shooter in Florida freshman Bradley Beal.

With Kansas big man Thomas Robinson on the board, the Wizards instead opted to draft Beal, a 6-foot-3, 202-pound shooting guard who has already been compared to Ray Allen by dozens of websites. 

Of course, to be a 19-year old with one year of college basketball under your belt and to already be compared to the NBA's all-time leading three-point shooter is a bit lofty -- but his build and game are similar to the 36-year old 10-time NBA All-Star. 

"At the end it was, 'Boy if we get lucky enough to get a kid like this.' Not only can he play, but he's a good, quality person," Wizards coach Randy Wittman said of Beal.

Beal averaged 15 points and a team-leading 6.7 rebounds per game as a freshman at Florida, serving as the team's second-leading scorer behind junior Kenny Boynton. 

His 45% from the field and 77% from the line, in addition to his 10-for-19 performance from the three-point line during the Gators' run to the Elite Eight, turned some scouts' heads. The Wizards were one of the worst three-point shooting teams in the league last year, and adding Beal should help that significantly. 

"Once you see the kid shoot, there's no question that he's going to make shots. Because of his stroke and his fundamentals and his footwork. From a coaching standpoint, there is not a question," Wittman said.

Beal immediately projects to the starting shooting guard role, and should start alongside star point guard John Wall in quickly forming one of the best backcourts in the NBA. Filling out the starting lineup will likely be newly acquired guard/forward Trevor Ariza and power forward Emeka Okafor as well as last year's trade acquisition Nene.