What Beal wants to see Hachimura improve during Olympics originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
During Bradley Beal's unfortunately short-lived stint with USA Basketball ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, he had a conversation with Gonzaga head coach Mark Few about his former pupil and Beal's current Wizards teammate, Rui Hachimura.
Hachimura's name came up and Beal and Few quickly found they agreed on something.
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"Coach Mark is here with USA Basketball and we had a conversation the first day of camp here. I was saying the same thing. He was like 'you need to tell him to be aggressive, stay on his ass, make sure he's aggressive.' I'm like 'I've been trying to tell him, coach, I don't know what you want me to do,'" Beal told NBC Sports Washington.
Beal won't be playing in the Olympics due to health and safety protocol, but Hachimura will, as he is set to star for the host country of Japan. Hachimura is expected to be the top scoring option for Japan, which should present a good opportunity for his basketball development in between his second and third seasons in the NBA.
Related: How to watch Rui Hachimura at the Tokyo Olympics
Hachimura may have no choice but to look for his own shot with Japan, given he is their best player. But once he returns to action with the Wizards, it may require a different mindset than he has had before. Hachimura through two seasons has averaged 13.7 points per game while shooting 47.3 percent from the field and 31.3 percent from three.
Beal believes he can be much more than that.
"He needs to be aggressive, man. He has a tremendous upside, we all see it. Honestly, I think he should work on his ball-handling more. I think he can play a lot more three than four. He has those intangibles. His shot is better than the year before, more consistent. His midrange is really good, too," Beal said.
This is not the first time Beal has said he thinks Hachimura can be more of a three than a four long-term in the NBA. But ball-handling and shot creation will be key for that, so will outside shooting and quickness on the defensive end.
Whatever position Hachimura plays, Beal wants to see more assertiveness because he believes it will lead to more impact plays.
"His biggest [area for] improvement is his ball-handling and getting to the basket and finishing at the rim more. I want to see that a lot more vs. always in transition. I want him dunking on somebody in the halfcourt, too," Beal said.
