Braxton Beverly Talks to Media about Reinstatement

Braxton Beverly met with the media after the first game back after the NCAA ruled him eligible…

On finding out he was eligible…
“Like he (Coach Keatts) said, when he called me, I didn’t believe it at first. I was like, ‘Don’t start playing with me. Don’t get me excited for no reason.’ It was really great to finally get out there and play my first game. Like he said, (I shot) one-for- seven, got the first game jitters, first college game, but overall, I’m really happy I’m finally out there.”

On the fans’ reaction…
“I was very excited. The first two games here, I’ve seen signs and posters and everybody yelling “Free Braxton,” and finally I’m free. I saw a poster that said “They finally let him go,” and it was a great feeling. (I’m) playing for such a great fan base. I’m finally playing in college and have my first game. To have that support, it’s amazing.”

On fan support…
“It’s been unbelievable. Everything going on social media, everything I read was nothing but great stuff like how they’re going to have my back and, no matter the outcome, they’re always going to pull for me and root for me, so it’s really great to have that.”

On his mental outlook through the process…
“I had to maintain hope if I was going to keep pushing forward. The biggest thing I tried to do, the first two times I didn’t get the decision I wanted, but I was just trying to take the positive out of the negative situations and use each day to continue to get better and mature and get ready for this moment.”

On the reaction from his teammates…
“They were as shocked as I was. When I came in and told them, they kind of looked around and were like, ‘We play in like an hour, and they just now told you?’ I said, “Yeah, that’s the news I got.’ So they were going crazy in the locker room for me, so it was great.”