"In high school, I was kingpin. I was kingpin in the city. Every night I'd go to dinner with some coach, I was wined and dined all over this city. I always had people telling me how great I was and no matter how humble you are, it's eventually going to get to you."

Joe had his pick of colleges. He had a free ride wherever he wanted to go.

"I wanted to be an enigma. I wanted to be the kid who could have gone anywhere in the country and went to Harvard. People who weren't involved with basketball were impressed but a lot of those who were felt that I had thrown my basketball career out the window. I was ready to change Harvard basketball. I wanted a good education--no, a Harvard education. The biggest reason why anybody comes to Harvard is because it's Harvard."

But while Joe was shrouded in anonymity of freshman basketball at the IAB, Perry was making Sports Illustrated. All the fickle fans had disappeared: the stands were now empty. Joe was on his own, at Harvard.

"People told me students would be apathetic at Harvard, but Jesus...I'm 6' 10" and no one knew that I played basketball!! There are a lot of negative things here for athletes. The big, dumb jock image is a classic mockery. People say, "ugh, you sweat?"

One of the people who cautioned Joe about Harvard was his high school coach, Kevin Mackey, now assistance baseball coach at B.C.

"Harvard's a fantastic school," he said, "but I questioned the commitment Harvard had to basketball. I was concerned about their attendance, facilities, and past record. For my brother, football here was great. The atmosphere, the fans, the attention made it a fantastic experience. This was what Joe was accustomed to in high school.

"There is a lack of blacks in the Harvard program. Joe is the product of inner-city basketball, he's used to playing with black kids and their style of ball. I don't criticize Harvard's casual approach to the game, it's just not right for Joe. Joe would be cheating himself not to try to play pro. And to do this, you have to play every day, a gym has to be available, competition has to be available. You don't stay the same in this game, you either get better or worse."

Throughout high school, Mackey was a paternal figure for the fatherless Beaulieu, and Joe feels secure that he will be playing at BC under a man who is more than a coach, and who will push Joe's talents to their limits.

At BC, Joe feels he can take basketball more seriously and receive a good education--"though not a Harvard education"--at the same time.

Beaulieu feels that Satch was "too laid back," that he didn't drive his players hard enough. Mackey echoes Beaulieu's concerns, saying "Joe needs to be pushed, to be motivated."

Tom Davis is Bob Zuffelato's successor as head basketball coach at BC, and he brings with him an impeccable record from Lafayette.

"When Joe came to me," Davis said, "I let him know that he could meet his academic goals here, as well as his athletic ones. Joe's an intelligent person, he knows what he wants. We want to make BC basketball a competitive program and I'm going to get after Joe and push him to develop his potential."

Bobby Bigelow plays for the Kansas City Kings and has been a close friend of Beaulieu's for five years. He says he understands Joe's move to BC.

"Having played at Penn, I was one of the key reasons he went to Harvard in the first place," Bigelow pointed out. "The whole conflict between books and basketball has touched every player at a school like Harvard. I think at this point, basketball has become a bigger part of Joe's life than it was before. He has very good raw ability--it won't be easy, but he has the potential to be a professional."