Jalil Bethea had impressive Miami debut before ejection

Five-star freshman Jalil Bethea showed his immense talent in the Miami exhibition game versus St. Leo on Wednesday before getting ejected for throwing an elbow. Bethea made all three of his shots from the floor and all four free throws with two rebounds, one assist, two turnovers and two fouls.

Bethea threw an elbow during a scramble for a loose ball with 13:37 left in the second half. Eight of the 10 points Bethea scored came in a 1:32 span in the first half after subbing in for the first time. Bethea looked comfortable on a jumper in the lane, followed by two layups using jump steps.

Bethea is part of an extremely deep Miami backcourt. Jim Larranaga and his staff will have a difficult decision whether or not to start Bethea as the season progresses. Nijel Pack led Miami with 18 points in the win over St. Leo and is a lock to remain as the starting point guard for the Hurricanes.

Jalen Blackmon and A.J. Staton-McCray started with Pack in a three-guard lineup. Miami was without Matthew Cleveland who could miss the regular season opener on Monday versus Farleigh-Dickinson. Cleveland is a lock to start once he returns from injury. Staton-McCray would return to the bench.

Blackmon, who has been a proven scorer throughout his college career and Bethea would compete to be the starting shooting guard for Miami. Bethea is the highest-ranked signee in the history of the Miami basketball program. Blackmon scored 11 points on 4-10 from the floor and 3-8 from three, with two rebounds, two assists and one steal.

Bethea will be able to ease into his college career. With Blackmon, Pack and Staton-McCray on the roster, Bethea doesn't have a lot of pressure to perform for Miami. The most pressure for Bethea is the projection that he is a potential 2025 NBA Draft lottery pick. If Bethea performs well this season, his NBA Draft stock will come later.