Jermaine Beal

High school career

Beal attended DeSoto High School in DeSoto, Texas, where he was a two-time All-State honoree and helped the Eagles to a 5-A state title as a freshman and a state runner-up finish as a junior. After earning District 7-5A Sophomore of the Year honors in 2003–04, he went on to average 25 points, eight assists and five rebounds per game as a junior in 2004–05, leading the Eagles to a 37–4 mark and a runner-up finish in the Texas 4A state championship game.

On November 10, 2005, Beal signed a National Letter of Intent to play college basketball for Vanderbilt University.

As a senior in 2005–06, Beal averaged 21.5 points, six assists and five rebounds per game, becoming the school's all-time leading scorer.

College career

As a freshman at Vanderbilt in 2006–07, Beal finished among the SEC's freshmen leaders in steals (fourth with 1.06 per game), free throw shooting (fifth at 80.0 percent) and assists (sixth with 1.79). He appeared in 34 games for the Commodores and made two starts, while averaging 3.8 points and 1.8 rebounds in 16.8 minutes per game.

As a sophomore in 2007–08, Beal totalled 158 assists, the most ever by a Vanderbilt sophomore. He was also named to the South Padre Invitational All-Tournament team for his play against Utah State and Bradley. In 34 games (33 starts), he averaged 7.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 27.5 minutes per game.

As a junior in 2008–09, Beal was named to the Cancun Challenge All-Tournament team after averaging 14.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game in the final two games. In 31 games (all starts), he averaged 12.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.1 steals in 33.1 minutes per game.

In August 2009, the Commodores travelled to Australia for a five-game tour in which they finished with a record of 3–2. In the final game against the Townsville Crocodiles, Beal scored a tour-high 31 points.

As a senior in 2009–10, Beal earned first-team All-Southeastern Conference honors. He was also named to the NABC Division I All-District 21 second team, and the USBWA All-District IV team. In 33 games (32 starts), he averaged 14.6 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.0 steals in 32.5 minutes per game.

2010–11 season

After going undrafted in the 2010 NBA draft, Beal joined the Miami Heat for the 2010 NBA Summer League, where he averaged 5.8 points, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals in four games. On August 4, 2010, he signed with Polish team Trefl Sopot for the 2010–11 season. However, he was released by Trefl on October 20 after appearing in just three games.

On December 5, 2010, Beal was acquired by the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League. On February 28, 2011, he was traded to the Erie BayHawks in a three-team deal. In 44 D-League games during the 2010–11 season (29 with Austin, 15 with Erie), Beal averaged 7.9 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.

2011–12 season

On August 10, 2011, Beal signed with Belgian team VOO Verviers-Pepinster for the 2011–12 season. In 31 games for Verviers, he averaged 11.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.

2012–13 season

On September 1, 2012, Beal signed with Brazilian team Minas for the 2012–13 season. In 37 games for Minas, he averaged 16.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game.

2013–14 season

On September 2, 2013, Beal signed with the Perth Wildcats for the 2013–14 NBL season. After starting the season in poor form—shooting a dismal 6-of-34 from the field over the first three games—Beal began to hit his stride in Round 3 with impressive back-to-back road game efforts against the New Zealand Breakers and Sydney Kings, scoring 19 points against the Breakers on October 24, and 24 points against the Kings on October 27. This Round 3 performance was the kick start Beal needed, and on December 6, he equalled a Wildcats' single-game franchise record with eight three-pointers made in a 95–91 win over the Breakers, on his way to a season-high 30 points. He and fellow import James Ennis were a dynamic duo, with the pair leading the Wildcats to a league-best 21–7 record to finish first on the ladder following the regular season. In the wake of the Wildcats' 2–0 semi-final series win over the Wollongong Hawks, Beal was named to the All-NBL second team. He went on to earn Grand Final MVP honors after helping the Wildcats win the 2014 NBL championship with a 93–59 Game 3 victory over the Adelaide 36ers, winning the best-of-three grand final series 2–1. In 33 games for the Wildcats in 2013–14, he averaged 15.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game.

On June 6, 2014, Beal signed with Piratas de Quebradillas for the rest of the 2014 BSN season. He was released by Piratas on June 23 prior to the start of the playoffs. In six games for the team, he averaged 7.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.

2014–15 season

On July 17, 2014, Beal re-signed with the Wildcats on a one-year deal (with the option of a second). On November 14, 2014, he scored a game-high 29 points on 10-of-16 shooting in the Wildcats' 93–78 win over the Townsville Crocodiles, recording his second best scoring game in his Wildcats career. He went on to earn Player of the Week honors for Round 6 after also scoring 27 points against the Sydney Kings on November 16.

After finishing fourth on the ladder with a 16–12 record, the Wildcats faced the first-placed Cairns Taipans in the semi-finals, where they were swept 2–0 in the best-of-three series. He averaged 16.4 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 30 games and was subsequently awarded the Gordon Ellis Medal as the Wildcats' Most Valuable Player for the 2014–15 season.

In April 2015, Beal signed with Al-Ittihad Jeddah for the 2015 Saudi Premier League playoffs. The following month, he returned to Perth after Ittihad were defeated in the semi-finals.

2015–16 season

On November 11, 2015, Beal scored a then season-high 26 points and hit 6-of-10 three-pointers to lead a Wildcats' fourth-quarter comeback over the Illawarra Hawks to win the game 99–96. Beal scored 14 of his points in the fourth despite shooting 2-of-10 from the free throw line on the night. A week later, he recorded 16 points and a career-high nine assists in a 94–88 win over the Adelaide 36ers. On December 10, Beal scored a career-high 40 points on 14-of-26 shooting to lead the Wildcats to a 113–83 win over Melbourne United. Of his 14 made field goals, he hit 10 three-pointers—a Wildcats' record (eight three-pointers was the previous record). Beal also became just the second player in NBL history to score 40 points in a game after going scoreless in the first quarter, and became the first Wildcat to score 40 points since teammate Shawn Redhage did so in October 2007. In the following game just three days later, Beal recorded 23 points and a career high-tying nine assists in an 87–69 win over the Sydney Kings.

Beal struggled with consistency toward the end of the regular season. He scored 22 points against the Illawarra Hawks on January 21, 15 points against the Cairns Taipans on January 25, 10 points against Melbourne United on January 29, and then had a season-worst performance on February 5 as he recorded no stats in just 12 minutes of action against the Sydney Kings. Following the game against Sydney, Beal was ruled out of the Wildcats' final away game of the season on February 10 due to suffering from back tightness. He consequently missed a game for the first time in his Wildcats career. He returned to action for the team's final regular season game against the Adelaide 36ers at home on February 14, recording 15 points, five rebounds and three assists in a 100–84 win. The Wildcats finished the regular season in second place with an 18–10 record, qualifying for their 30th straight post-season. Beal helped the Wildcats defeat the third-seeded Illawarra Hawks 2–1 in the semi-finals, which moved them on to the grand final series where they faced the New Zealand Breakers. With home court advantage in the series, the Wildcats defeated the Breakers 2–1 to claim their seventh NBL championship. Beal appeared in 33 of the team's 34 games in 2015–16, averaging 15.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.

Return to Belgium (2016)

On March 27, 2016, Beal signed with Telenet Oostende for the rest of the 2015–16 Belgian Basketball League season, returning to Belgium for a second stint. He helped Oostende finish the regular season in first place with an 18–2 record. They made it through to the finals series with a 2–0 victory over Liège Basket in the quarter-finals, and a 3–2 victory over Limburg United in the semi-finals. In Game 3 of the semi-finals, Beal scored a season-high nine points in a 78–64 win. Beal helped Oostende win their fifth straight championship with a 3–1 finals series victory over Okapi Aalstar. In 18 games for Oostende, he averaged 3.6 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 17.5 minutes per game.

Brisbane Bullets (2016–2017)

On August 12, 2016, Beal signed a one-year deal (with an option for a second season) with the Brisbane Bullets, a franchise returning to the NBL after an eight-year hiatus. The move saw him link up with former Wildcats championship teammate Tom Jervis. He made his debut for the Bullets in their season opener on October 6, 2016, scoring 14 points in a 72–65 win over Perth in Brisbane. On October 16, he scored a season-high 21 points in a 96–93 overtime loss to the Adelaide 36ers. On November 19, he scored 20 points in a 105–87 win over Adelaide. On December 17, he had a 20-point, 7-assist performance in a 100–90 win over Melbourne United. While he did contribute over the first half of the season, Beal struggled to find consistency after Christmas. His steady decline in form beginning in late December culminated in a zero-points, zero-assists effort in the Bullets' heavy loss to the 36ers on January 19. As a result, the Bullets released Beal from his contract two days later. Bullets coach Andrej Lemanis said parting ways with Beal was "in the best interests of the team, both in terms of winning games this season and building for the future". In 23 games for Brisbane (9–14, 8th), Beal averaged 11.2 points, 2.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.

Israel (2017–present)

On February 17, 2017, Beal signed with Ironi Nes Ziona of the Israeli National League for the rest of the 2016–17 season. Ironi finished the regular season in fourth position with a 16–10 record and advanced through to the National League Finals, where they swept Hapoel Be'er Sheva 3–0 in the best-of-five series. Beal scored a season-high 25 points in Game 1 of the series, and scored five points in the title-clinching 72–68 Game 3 win. In 16 games for Ironi, he averaged 14.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.

On September 18, 2017, Beal signed a one-month contract with Ironi Nes Ziona, returning to the team for a second stint as injury cover for Daequan Cook.

Personal

Beal is the son of James and Rubye Beal, and has an older brother, James Jr. He is commonly referred to by the nickname "Dolla". Beal and his long-time girlfriend have a daughter.