Joshua Beadle: You’ve Got To Earn That Good Game
Joshua Beadle - Cardinal Newman High School - Class of 2021 - Clemson Commit
For Joshua Beadle, the opportunity to play at Clemson strikes the perfect balance. Being less than three hours away from home gives him the chance to become a self-reliant adult, but still be there for his family. “I was fortunate enough to have the family and friends I grew up with,” he said, “they helped me become who I am.” His parents, Torrance and Kristy Beadle keep him grounded. Getting a “good game” comment is a rarity and earned, said Beadle, and you “know you played really well when you hear that”.
His parents worked hard to provide for Josh and his three sisters. Torrance is the owner of a car lot and Kristy is a certified nurse. When prompted about the athleticism in his family, Beadle said with a wry smile “rumor is my dad was athletic, I haven’t seen it yet.” Among those who played a major part in his development, on and off the court, were his sisters, Tyra and Taylor. Tyra played for two years at nearby Newberry College. “I grew up playing one-on-one with my sisters and they definitely went hard on me every day,” he admitted, “but once I turned 14 and started winning, I never looked back.” It may have taken some time to outplay his sisters, but it sparked his desire to keep improving until he attained his goal. Looking back, he appreciates how tough they were on him.
As hard as his family was on him on the court, when they’re off the court, they’ve “got nothing but jokes.” We’re all the same, always joking and being goofy around each other”, he continued. Although he admits his oldest sister, Taylor, is probably the funniest, he’d like to think he’s high in the rankings. No matter where he ranks in the humor department, he knows that his family’s tough, but lighthearted love gave him the foundation to thrive in any environment.
Although he’s looking forward to his future at Clemson, he’s thankful for the past four years at Cardinal Newman. “We did everything as a team and I think that’s what helped us win,” he recalled. Their jokes, dinners, and conversations on the way to games translated to the court and a championship win in his sophomore year. Not only did they have to get past former highly-touted five-star recruit, Josiah James, to get to the championship game itself, they ended up beating James’ team by 30 before taking the championship by 20. After losing in a regional game during his freshman season, they embraced the expectation of winning every game.
He also knows how lucky he is to have been coached strong leaders and mentors. “Coach [Phillip] Deter and Coach [James] Abrams helped me a lot, especially during the recruiting process…without them I wouldn’t know how to handle the situation,” he said. Abrams, who played at East Tennessee State University, has been through the process, and was able to guide Beadle on what to do to utilize his connections to give him the proper advice. Much of that advice was summarized to keep your head in the books and your body in the gym.
The recruiting process was slow to develop for Josh. “Before it began, I was excited and wondering why I didn’t have any offers yet, but once you get into it, it’s really stressful,” he admitted. The “random calls from random numbers, never knowing who it was” were a lot for him to deal with, but his parents saw the value in letting him handle most of it himself. They offered small notes of advice like “talk to this coach, tell this coach thank you”, but wanted him to feel like he made the right decision. Their main priorities were the well-being of their son, “a high level of education, and a place where he can eventually thrive on the court.”
Despite Clemson being so close to home, Josh still hasn’t explored the campus, due to the pandemic. He’s looking at that as a positive, however, as he’ll be embarking on a new adventure with no preconceived notions. Even with the lack of time on campus, he knows it was the right choice to don the purple and orange. “Every staff member has come to at least one game of mine,” he said, “and I really earned my offer from them at the Chick-Fil-A Classic.” He felt a bond with the Clemson staff and eventually Clyde Trapp, a South Carolina native who played under Coach Brownell at Clemson and graduated this year. Trapp’s advice and reviews further swayed him towards Clemson. It also helped speaking to future teammate Ian Schieffelin, a three-star recruit from Georgia. For now, Beadle’s looking forward to moving on from high school. He eagerly awaits new experiences, the challenges of living alone, and the opportunity to “make everything [his] own.”. He’s already considering pursuing a marketing degree giving himself plenty of options once his basketball career is over.
In the meantime, he’s already begun his preparation to compete for playing time next season with his primary focus being weight-gain. Already 13 pounds heavier since his high calorie diet introduction, he feels like he’s on the right track. He “eats what he wants”, but has also tried to clean up his sugar intake as a self-admitted candy fanatic. The one thing he won’t be giving up anytime soon, however, is his mom’s spaghetti. Kristy’s infamous spaghetti is the perfect pre-game or post-game meal. Before a game, during his junior year, Josh invited some of his teammates over for dinner. To some of his teammates’ surprise, Josh’s plate had notably more spaghetti than everyone else. After the first few bites, they found out why, all going back for second servings immediately. The spaghetti requests kept coming in weeks after and although Josh welcomes his friends back, he knows the leftovers probably aren’t going to make it past him.
He’s also preparing himself for the added attention at Clemson and feels like the recruiting trail was a great introduction. He saw his fair share of recruiting pitches from fans, mostly positive, and tried to do his best to respond to as many of them as possible. He knows that attention could become more negative depending on his on-court production. “I look at it as a challenge, a really big stage…and I like the attention,” he said. He appreciates his friends for treating him the same way and tries to convey that he’s just a normal person to the kids that looked up to him.
For Josh, the main pressure comes from within. “There’s always been pressure”, he said, “I got accustomed to it, especially the past two seasons.” When asked what drives him to play, he looks back at one particular moment at an AAU tournament when he faced off against a top ten player in the nation. Beadle missed a shot and heard “you’re sorry and you suck.” He holds onto that until this day. He looks forward to proving those with that same opinion wrong. He also plays for his friends that had a passion for the sport, but passed away before they could pursue it. He knows how blessed he is to have the life and opportunities he's been granted. Any added energy he needs comes from his music…a little Drake to get the heart pumping.
In the end, he knows he can’t control what people say and do. The pressure is going to be there no matter what. You “can’t control the rankings.” One night you could be a star, “the next you’re overrated.” There was pressure when he was originally listed as a four-star recruit and pressure when he committed to Clemson. But Beadle uses that as motivation. “The pressure doesn’t affect me…I just go out there and play,” he said. He’s learned to not react to negativity and brush it off his shoulder.
It's not worth getting emotional and potentially making a mistake for Beadle. He’s not going to let the opinions of others set his path. He once told his mom he never saw anyone as a role model. Instead, he took a different take on modeling his behavior. “I’ve seen people up around me make mistakes and instead of making those same mistakes, I learn from them”, he reflected.
Some people, Beadle noted, have taken his nonchalance and stoicism as “being mean”, but they just haven’t met him yet. Off the court, he’s usually more focused on making people laugh and supporting others, like his family does for him. The latter extends beyond his circle with Beadle always looking to help the less fortunate. “I try to at least give the homeless food if I don’t have any money”, he said, “it’s a tough situation they go through.” Tough situations are what Beadle prepared for growing up. It’s why he knows he’ll earn that “Good Game.”