WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Before Darius Garland’s brief stint as a Vanderbilt Commodore, prior to him making it to the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Garland played for a different team: Brad Beal Elite.

Yes, that Brad Beal. The one who plays for the Washington Wizards. The 2012 third overall pick. The two-time NBA All-Star who entered Friday’s matchup against the Cavs ranked sixth in the NBA in scoring.

Back in 2017, Garland was the top player on Beal’s 17U AAU squad. At that time, Garland was a highly-touted prep point guard, already holding offers from Duke, Kansas, Louisville and a handful of other major programs.

Brad Beal Elite, formerly known as the St. Louis Eagles, the team Garland started playing for in 2015, competed against teams from the United States and Canada in Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League -- the most competitive grassroots circuit in the country. That was one of the settings where the Cavs first scouted Garland in person and where Beal got a glimpse of Garland’s limitless potential.

“I love him. That’s my brother,” Beal said following Friday night’s game. “He’s a man now. It’s just crazy. It’s kind of surreal in a way.”

In his first NBA matchup against his protégé, Beal watched as Garland drained jumpers, attacked in transition and spun layups off the backboard from awkward angles -- exactly what Beal remembers from the summertime.

“Being able to coach him and teach him a little bit about the game, he was already destined for this a long time ago, but I was happy I was part of his life for a couple of years,” Beal said. “Now to see him thrive … where he is, it’s an unbelievable feeling for me and for his family and our program. I take pride in that. I wish him luck. I know he’ll do well in the league. I wish he was over here.”

Here is with the Washington Wizards. Only they didn’t have a chance. The Cavs nabbed Garland with the No. 5 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft. He was long gone by the time Washington selected ninth. Back in June, unseasoned Garland was the draft’s unknown, so it was a bit of a risk to take him in the top 5. But the Cavs couldn’t resist, making him the centerpiece of a three-player class expected to guide the Cavaliers into a new era.

Friday highlighted why they made that bet. Garland -- whose rookie year was off to a rocky start, shooting below 30 percent from both the field and beyond the arc -- finally put it all together.

Searching for his offense early and sparking the Cavs in the first quarter, Garland was decisive. He made good decisions. His outside shot, the tool that was supposed to carry him through his rookie campaign, finally started to fall. That opened up the rest of his game.

“We’ll find every way we can build off of it,” head coach John Beilein said. “I think as he gets into better game shape ... I think you’re coming from a year off a college season, 20 minutes a game, and playing against these bodies, it wears you out. I think he’s in better shape, so he goes at a better speed. And I think we’ll see that. I liked his pace today and he’s in my ear the whole game about what we should do next. That was a good step.”

The Cavs didn’t have to simply cling to the flashes Garland had shown during various points in the first seven games and on the practice floor. This was the complete game. Garland finished with career highs in points (15), assists (6) and shooting percentage (54.5). He also had two steals, stayed out of foul trouble and only committed a pair of turnovers.

By the end of the night, the Cavs had outscored the Wizards by 13 points with the 19-year-old point guard on the floor, and instead of going away from him late, which Beilein had done recently, Garland was part of Cleveland’s closing group that rebuffed a Wizards rally. His bucket with about three minutes remaining gave the Cavs needed breathing room and seemed to inflame his confidence.

In front of a national audience -- and his AAU mentor -- Garland helped lead the Cavs to a needed 113-100 win over the Wizards, snapping a three-game losing skid and collecting the first road win of the season.

Beal had seen that kind of performance plenty of times. Only Friday night he was on the other side. The student got the best of his teacher.

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