Lamonte Bearden and Buffalo

Back in mid-July in Mequon, WI, senior point guard Lamonte Bearden turned out to be one of the top players in the stacked Under Armour Summer Jam tournament as he led his Wisconsin Swing AAU team to the semi-finals. While Bearden was busy winning converts with his play, Bobby Hurley, the newly name coach at Buffalo University and his assistant Nate Oats were parked on the bleacher seats throughout the five day event. In a surprise move Tuesday evening, Bearden announced that he had committed to Hurley and the Bulls.

Fresh off a disappointing 14-20 season the Bulls fired long time coach Reggie Witherspoon on March 15, 2013 and hired Rhode Island assistant Bobby Hurley less than two weeks later. It didn’t take long for Hurley and his staff to hit the AAU circuit as they were first spotted hanging out with the high major coaches at the Pitt Jam Fest in April. This trend continued in July where both Hurley and Oats were mixed in with many of the big name coaches at the Summer Jam. Their effort paid off by nabbing Bearden, the four star point guard straight out of the Midwest.

This past year, the 6’2” Bearden joined up with Indiana recruit Luke Fischer to help bring a second state championship and second straight 28-0 season back to Germantown, WI. During the year, Bearden averaged 13.1 points and 5.2 assists per game. 

After winning the state championship Bearden spent the spring and summer playing in AAU events primarily throughout the Midwest in addition to a trip to Las Vegas for the Fab 48. As noted above, Bearden led his team to the semi-finals during the second live recruiting session at the prestigious Summer Jam. He averaged 13 points per game and was very effective throughout the tournament at dribble penetration. Bearden likes to push the tempo and keep defenders off balance with his hesitation dribble. He can finish at the rim consistently and keeps defenders honest with his mid-range jump shot. While not on the same level athletically, the way Bearden dribbled the ball up the court and moved on offense was eerily reminiscent of future Florida point guard Kasey Hill.

Bearden was one of the top stock risers this past summer and the newly mined Buffalo staff cashed in with one of the surprise commitments of the year.