Video: Bradley Beal Says UNC Pulled Scholarship Offer After P.J. Hairston Commit

Before Bradley Beal played college basketball at the University of Florida, but he could have ended up at North Carolina if not for P.J. Hairston.

On the Run Your Race podcast, Beal explained then-Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams called to tell him they had to pull his scholarship offer because part of Hairston's requirements for committing to the program were they couldn't recruit other players in the same class.

Beal and Hairston were both 5-star recruits in the 2011 class, per 247Sports' composite rankings. Beal was the top-ranked shooting guard and No. 5 overall player. Hairston was the third-ranked shooting guard and No. 15 overall player.

Hairston was one of five players in the Tar Heels' 2011 recruiting class. Power forward James Michael McAdoo was the only other 5-star prospect they brought in.

Beal and McAdoo were teammates for the United States squad that won gold at the 2010 FIBA Under-17 World Championship. Beal was named MVP of the tournament after averaging 18.2 points on 48 percent three-point shooting with 3.5 rebounds and 2.3 steals per game in eight appearances.

Hairston played sparingly as a true freshman for the Tar Heels in 2011-12. He averaged 5.7 points on 30.8 percent shooting and 2.2 rebounds per game for a team that finished 32-6 before losing to Kansas in the Elite Eight.

Things worked out just fine for Beal after landing at Florida. He was named to the All-SEC team after averaging 14.8 points on 44.5 percent shooting, 6.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game in 37 starts.

Beal raised his stock even higher in four NCAA tournament games with a scoring average of 15.8 points per contest on 60.5 percent shooting overall (42.1 percent from three).

After his standout freshman campaign, Beal declared for the 2012 NBA draft and was selected No. 3 overall by the Washington Wizards.