We saw big things for Michael Beasley before the college basketball season ever got underway. For the cover of our new issue we got up with Beasley way back in December, the day before he made his Madison Square Garden debut at the Jimmy V Classic in NYC. We found a guy who was just starting to learn how to deal with the pressure of the national spotlight on a scale larger than he had ever experienced in the past as a blue-chip high school recruit.

Below is the behind-the-scenes video of that shoot and an excerpt from the cover story of the current issue, on newsstands now…

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Maryland’s done it again. Following the path set by native sons Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Durant, Kansas State’s Michael Beasley dominated college basketball in his freshman season. The NBA is next…

Words. Austin Burton

As the calendar year 2007 came to a close, a few weeks after he had posed for the cover of this magazine, Michael Beasley walked into the office of Kansas State University associate head coach Dalonte Hill to talk about his future. The Wildcats were in the end stages of a 10-4 run through their nonconference schedule, and Beasley, their freshman superstar, was already the biggest story in college basketball, averaging 25 points and 12 rebounds per game.

“He asked did I think he’s ready for the NBA,” remembers Hill.

“I said, ‘Why would you ask me that now?’ He said, ‘I don’t think I’m ready.’ I told him, ‘I think you are, but why not wait until conference play?’ He said, ‘Oh, I’m not worried about the basketball part. It’s just being on my own and handling the business part.’”

When it comes to 19-year-old Michael Beasley, no one is worried about the basketball part. The 6-foot-10, 235-pounder is threatening to become the second freshman in consecutive years to sweep all relevant national Player of the Year awards, one season after Kevin Durant did it at Texas. At press time Beasley’s averages still sat at around 25 points and 12 boards per, and Kansas State was in first place in the Big XII conference. The number one prospect on any 2008 mock draft worth noting, Beasley is expected to be the top pick no matter what team – whether it has a solid pro at his position or not – wins the Lottery and the first crack at acquiring a potential franchise player.

“I never thought I would be here,” admits Beasley, relaxing in the Wildcats’ players lounge after a late-January practice. “Two years ago I couldn’t find Kansas on a map.”

In the national high school basketball Class of ’07, Beasley was considered by some experts to be the best overall talent, but never without argument. Whether it was West Virginia-bred O.J. Mayo, Chicago’s Derrick Rose, Oregon products Kevin Love and Kyle Singler, Indianapolis’ Eric Gordon, or Beasley – a native of Frederick, Md., who spent his senior year at Notre Dame Prep in Fitchburg, Massachusetts – opinions varied on who was the true top dog.

But just weeks into the college hoops season, Beasley was being handed the title almost unanimously. In his first game he put up 32 points, four blocks and a Big XII-record 24 rebounds against Sacramento State. Two nights later he gave Pittsburg State 30 and 14. His third game was a 28-point, 22-rebound effort against Western Illinois. Beasley’s dominance continued through K-State’s nonconference schedule: 40 points against Winston-Salem; 30 apiece against George Mason and Central Florida; and in three games in a 12-day span against major-conference competition (Oregon, Cal and Notre Dame), Mike averaged 20.6 points, 12 boards and three blocks.

Beasley was just starting to torch the Big XII conference when his status as the nation’s best player regardless of class was cemented. On Jan. 30, he scored 25 points while leading the Wildcats to a monumental upset over then-undefeated Kansas, ranked #1 in the country on DimeMag.com’s Top 25 poll. It was K-State’s first win over its cross-state rival since 1983, and Beasley had made headlines beforehand by guaranteeing victory. His impact on that game could be seen immediately: the deep and almost unfairly-talented Jayhawks were determined not to let Mike beat them, using double- and triple-teams whenever he ventured near the paint. Beasley, in turn, stepped outside, knocking down four three-pointers and opening up space to drive to the basket. Against arguably the country’s best defense – which was specifically geared to stop him – Beasley could not be denied.

What elements make up the best player in all of college basketball? Beasley has a power forward’s size with a small forward’s athleticism. He’s got a shooting guard’s outside stroke (left-handed), a point guard’s handle and court vision, and hands the size of medium pizza pies.

“The thing about him is he’s so versatile that he’s hard for anybody to guard,” says Oklahoma freshman forward Blake Griffin, a fellow 2007 McDonald’s High School All-American who watched Mike go for 32 points and 11 boards against his U of O squad. “He’s got a big body, he’s quick, and he can shoot. He has finesse. He can go inside or outside, like a dual-threat. You really have to pick your poison when you’re guarding him.”

“Mike’s always talking about getting buckets,” laughs Philadelphia 76ers rookie Thaddeus Young, who played against Beasley on the summer circuit when Young was in high school. “He can score from just about anywhere, over one or two defenders. He rebounds the heck out of the ball and can handle the ball. He’s big and strong and can do a lot of things off the dribble. He’s agile for a four – most fours can’t get up and down the court like he can. To me he’s more like a three. He’s a real good player.”

Bill Walker, a redshirt freshman on the Wildcats who was O.J. Mayo’s high school teammate and a five-star recruit in his own right, is still sometimes taken aback by what Beasley can do on the court.

“When he had 40 against Winston-Salem, I think there was one point where he went for like 25 straight,” Walker says. (Note: During one second-half run, Beasley scored 21 of K-State’s 29 points.) “He was scoring from a variety of places: inside, outside, mid-range, dunks … He did everything.”

Even before the Kansas game, Beasley had been the main ingredient in cultivating a basketball-crazy atmosphere on the Manhattan, Kansas (pop. 49,000) campus known primarily for football, one whose hoop team hadn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 1996.

“Sometimes it’s like I’m a rock star,” Beasley says. “I can’t walk to class without being noticed. Everybody wants autographs and stuff. Sometimes there’s a little line of people. But everybody’s treating me cool. It’s gravy.”

To read the whole story, pick up Dime #41, on newsstands now. For more info on what’s in the issue and how you can subscribe to Dime, click HERE.