"Give him more minutes and he’ll do that more": Fans demand game time for Jalil Bethea after insane lay up

Miami Hurricanes' guard Jalil Bethea showcased his Ja Morant-like finishing athleticism and finishing touch at the rim in Tuesday's 78-68 loss against Boston College Eagles. During the seventh minute of the game, the freshman utilized a screen from Lynn Kidd at the top of the arc to get past Chas Kelley III.

The athletic guard found an open lane, only to finish with a balanced windmill layup around two Boston College defenders (Dion Brown and Elijah Strong). Bleacher Report and March Madness collaboratively posted the highlight on their Instagram handles with the caption:

"Miami freshman Jalil Bethea with an ELITE finish😮‍💨."

Fans stormed the comment section to highlight the minute restrictions on Jalil Bethea:

"Yo maybe give him more minutes and he’ll do that more," a fan wrote.

"They needa stop playin wit his minutes ..," another fan commented.

"He deserves more minutes. It's not normal that a 5 star arrives at the Canes and he plays so little," another fan wrote.

More fans followed suit, praising the freshman's elite skills.

"Tuf Layup, high degree of difficulty to pull this off," a fan commented.

"Wanna be like you when i get in college😮‍💨," another fan wrote.

"Omg that was kyrieesqe like," another fan commented.

Fans react to Jalil Bethea's highlight clip against Boston College (Credits: Instagram/@br_hoops)

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What is the reason behind Jalil Bethea's low minutes?

Since Jalil Bethea came to Miami as one of its best recruits ever, fans expected a dispute between coach Jim Larranaga and the five-star high school prospect as a possible reason behind his low minutes.

Another reason was Larranaga's pursuit of protecting his senior players - Nijel Pack and Jalen Blackmon. More minutes allow them to showcase their skills in their last year of college. In case Blackmon and Pack garner good contracts in the big league, it will indirectly raise Miami Hurricanes' stature as a program that can help players transition to the big league.

With that, Bethea will have to earn his minutes with Miami, at least during his freshman year. However, with Jim Larranaga stepping down as Hurricanes head coach right after Christmas, there could be an automatic shift in the freshman's minutes.

Bethea is currently averaging 13.7 minutes off the bench (1 start) and 6.7 points on 39.4% shooting. Twelve games into the season, the highest minutes he has earned was in the Dec. 21 game against Mount St. Mary's Mountaineers (29), where he posted his career-high 17 points and four rebounds.

Bethea and the Hurricanes' next game is against the Virginia Tech Hokies on Saturday.