GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Bradley Beal saw the NBA draft projections with his name listed among the top five picks, which would have been the realization of his lifelong dream.

But Florida's 6-foot-3 freshman guard still felt the pull of Gainesville.

Potentially playing for a national championship for a coach he likes and respects was a powerful counterbalance to beginning his professional career as one of the top players in the country. For two weeks he agonized over the decision, but eventually the NBA won -- barely.

"Making this decision was probably one of the hardest things I've ever had to do in my life," Beal said Friday. "It was hard to just tell coach [Billy Donovan] in the face that I was going to enter the draft. Just the feeling, like the emotion that I had, it was worse than losing to Louisville.

"This place is great. I loved this year, I had a great year here and my teammates were great, coaches were great. Just the school in general is just great. People treat you right here, and just everything about this place is beautiful. I'm real sad that I have to give it up for something else, but I believe that there's bigger things that I have to accomplish in my life."

Beal's decision involved consultations with his family, several former AAU coaches and Donovan, who supplied Beal with information from the NBA regarding his potential draft status. Beal and Donovan met several times, once in a conference room at Florida's basketball facility where Beal compiled a pros and cons list of leaving versus staying.

There were some sleepless nights. Some mornings Beal would wake up, turn on ESPN's "SportsCenter" and see highlights of NBA games and be sure that's where he wanted to be. Other times he pictured himself playing alongside Patric Young and Kenny Boynton -- both of whom decided to return to UF -- for another season.

Beal didn't allow anyone to influence his decision, and he said nobody tried. His parents told him they'd support whatever he decided. Donovan, as he does with every player who has considered leaving UF early, gave him information but never made an argument for Beal's return.

Donovan was impressed with how Beal handled the process.