Spent nine years in the NBA as a player...Highlight of his career came in the 1974-75 season when he was the point guard for the NBA World Champion Golden State Warriors... Finished his playing career with the New York Knicks where his head coach was current Net General Manager Willis Reed... This is Beard's second stint on the Net bench...He served as an assistant to both Willis Reed and Bill Fitch prior to taking the head job at Howard University, where he led that school to an NCAA berth in 1991-92...Was named MEAC Coach of the Year in 1991-92 after leading his club to both the regular season and postseason tournament titles.