NC State's Braxton Beverly gets lawyer as push to play continues

NC State freshman Braxton Beverly has retained an attorney, and the school will resubmit the guard's waiver to play basketball this season.

Beverly attended summer school at Ohio State this past summer and then transferred to NC State after Buckeyes head coach Thad Matta was fired in early June. The NCAA has twice denied his request for a waiver.

"Braxton is a young man who has been severely penalized through no fault of his own," Beverly's lawyer, Scott Tompsett, wrote in a letter obtained by ESPN. "He did what he was told to do and enrolled briefly at Ohio State last summer, then made an understandable decision to transfer to NC State after Coach Matta was let go. He should not have to sit out his freshman year for doing nothing more than attending summer school to get a head start on his academics."

On Monday, in apersonal essay posted on Twitter, Beverly said, "I want to play in games. I can't wait to put on an NC State uniform and play in front of our fans. And I really want to do it this season."

Beverly is a 6-foot guard from Kentucky who attended Hargrave Military Academy -- the Virginia prep school that NC State head coach Kevin Keatts led from 1999 to 2001 and also from 2003 to 2011. NC State assistant A.W. Hamilton coached Beverly last season at Hargrave.