Brandy had played volleyball at University City High in St. Louis, where she was coached by Besta Beal, whose son, Bradley, would become an NBA All-Star. Brandy sometimes babysat Bradley, and the two families became close. When Jayson was in seventh grade at Chaminade Prep and Beal was a senior, they trained together after school, and Beal would drive Tatum home when they finished. Beal’s trainer, Drew Hanlen, refused for two years to start working with Tatum, because he was simply too young. Finally, when Tatum was a high school freshman and Beal was preparing for his rookie year with the Washington Wizards, Beal made one more pitch. “You could just see Jayson could be a Magic Johnson-type player, or a scorer like Kevin Durant,” Beal said. “So I told Drew, ‘You’ve got to trust me on this one. Jayson is special.’ ”
