Long Island doesn’t have a long history of producing many basketball stars, but one Roslyn native turned himself into an international pro and a college legend.
“My mom put the basketball in my crib and I loved it from there,” said George Beamon, whose career started as the leading scorer of Roslyn High School.
Beamon began playing baseball at a young age, whether it was going to the park or playing with his older brother, Shanod Burton, someone who Beamon said was a true inspiration during his youth. He also said that watching Kobe Bryant helped him shape his style of play from a young age.
Beamon wasn’t the biggest fan of school growing up, but he knew that in order to be an athlete it would be something that he would have to do. He would finish class and immediately go play basketball at local parks whenever he could.
He was involved with his local school team as well as in local leagues by seventh grade. He began traveling to New York City to play in tournaments and leagues, saying the competition throughout the boroughs motivated him.
“Coming from Roslyn, it’s so much harder,” Beamon said. “Like, even if you were averaging 35, all the New York schools weren’t like let me go check this kid out, let me go see what’s going on out there. They were like, he’s doing it, but he’s who’s he playing against? That made me want to work harder, to go to the city and play against the top guys.”
Beamon quickly became a notable prospect during his time at Roslyn High School. He averaged over 30 points per game in both 2008 and 2009. He is also tied for the 11th-most points in a single game in Long Island history, as he scored 56 points in a game during his senior year.
Beamon had several local colleges interested in him, including an offer to play at Stonybrook University in his junior year. He ultimately attended a workout for Manhattan College, where he was offered a scholarship. He said that because of the location and its proximity to his family, it was the right choice.
“It was right in New York, I have family in Harlem, I grew up over there a little, and Long Island was a trip away,” Beamon said. “I was blessed to have my family there.”
Beamon appeared in 22 games as a freshman, fighting for a chance to earn quality minutes. He cited the team’s conference tournament matchup against Loyola as his coming out party.
“That was the game,” Beamon said. “Coach saw it and was like this kid is special. I want him to start for me.”
Beamon scored 13 points in 12 minutes and in the win, and despite coming off the bench in Manhattan’s final game of the year, he became the team’s leading scorer in his sophomore season. Beamon led the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference with 19.6 points per game during his junior year.
He played in just four games during the 2012-13 season after suffering an ankle injury. He received a medical redshirt and returned for his true senior year in 2013-14. Beamon led Manhattan with 18.8 points per game and helped his team win the conference tournament. The guard was named the MAAC tournament MVP, and he brought his team to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 10 years.
Beamon finished his college career with three All-MAAC selections and the fourth-most points in Manhattan’s history. He was inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame in November.
Beamon was selected in the third round of the 2014 G-League Annual Draft by the Oklahoma City Blue, the affiliate of the Oklahoma City Thunder. He was excited to get his professional start alongside some of the greatest players in the world.
“I’m working out in front of [Russell] Westbrook, [Kevin] Durant,” Beamon said. “Westbrook was always one of my favorite players growing up.”
Beamon played in 12 G-League games during the 2014-15 season. He then joined the Texas Legends in 2015-16 and appeared in six more games. Beamon then decided to take his talents internationally.
The 2015-16 season was the first of several in which Beamon bounced around from league to league. He played in Canada, Iceland and England before having his greatest season as a pro in Portugal. Beamon scored 21.5 points per game for CAB Madeira during the 2019-20 season. The year was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an event that the guard said altered the trajectory of his career.
“And that’s when I was really gonna take off,” Beamon said.
He returned to a different Portuguese team in the following season before continuing to bounce between leagues.
“I always put God first and worked my tail off,” Beamon said.
Beamon now lives in Baldwin, helping Long Island kids get better at the sport that he traveled the world playing.
“I’ve just been blessed to play 10 years pro, and kids dream about that, but I actually did it, put the work in,” he said. “And I wanna show kids, like hey, you’re up next. You can do this. I want to help the youth. I want to showcase my talent with them, so that’s what I do now. I still play professionally, and when I’m back, I coach, I train, and I just want to keep giving motivation to the younger generation. Let them know with prayer, work and dedication the sky’s the limit.”
