Beckham: A Coach’s Perspective
Twany Beckham makes three for Coach Rick Stansbury’s signing class. Beckham will make a return to south after a one year stint in the Great North while he attended prep school at New Hampton. NHS head basketball coach Pete Hutchins believes the Bulldogs will be happy with their newest addition.
Antiquawn Beckham profile
The prep school route is certainly the path of choice for high profile baskteball prospects who fall just a little short of meeting NCAA entrance requirements out of high school.
Twany Beckham elected to attend prep school to polish his game and possibly boost his stock in the eyes of college recruiters. He proved to be a valuable commodity in the New Hampton Huskies’ program this past season.
“Twany may have been our most dynamic kid,” said Coach Hutchins. “He did a good job for us. He’s a very hard worker. He’s a lefty and a guy that can finish around the rim. He has worked hard to improve his game from the perimeter. That was probably his one difficiency when he came to prep school.”
New Hampton has produced college stars like Rashad McCants and Wes Miller who both went on to standout careers at North Carolina. The NHS staff knows a thing or two about talent.
Coach Hutchins and his staff really sought to challenge their team this season and they looked forward to take on some of the top teams in the prep school ranks.
“I am not sure anyone played as tough a schedule as we did on the prep school landscape,” explained Hutchins. “We won some big games, but we certainly lost more than we wanted to. We went down and beat Fork Union in their tournament. That was a big win for us.”
In the upset win over the tournament host, Twany netted 15 big points. The following night Beckham and his Huskie teammates fell to fellow MSU signee Dee Bost and eventual national champion Hargrave.
According to Coach Hutchins, Twany’s exploits on the basketball court are only surpassed by the quality of his character.
“He’s a very respectful kid,” said Hutchins. “He is a kid with good characer. He does the right thing. He was good in the classroom and a good teammate.”
Beckham plans to enroll for classes at Mississippi State June 3rd.
Scout.com
4/17/08
Magnolia Tribune
