Beekman on Ratcliffe Show: “Growing up, I’ve always been a winner”

By Jerry Ratcliffe

It has been a difficult offseason for incoming Virginia point guard Reece Beekman.

With the unexpected death of his older brother, Bryce, a defensive back at Washington State, and the pandemic virus shutting down every gym in America, the 4-star point guard has had more obstacles to overcome than most. He has bounced back strong and we caught up with him recently in Milwaukee where he was celebrating Father’s Day with his family.

The 6-foot-3 blue-chipper is champing at the bit to get to Charlottesville and start playing basketball with his new UVA teammates. One of the Cavaliers he wants to get to know even better is rising junior point guard Kihei Clark.

“I’m really excited,” Beekman said during an appearance on the “Jerry Ratcliffe Show,” on ESPN-Charlottesville (here is the link if you’d like to listen to the entire Beekman interview). “Seeing him as a sophomore and as a freshman, I can’t wait to get new ideas, new techniques and new things to add to my game and learn from him.”

Beekman has always been a quick learner, having played against older kids growing up, taking away things he could use to boost his game.

We call him an “old-school” point guard, one that would rather pass first.

“Yeah that’s most definitely me,” Beekman laughed.

Don’t mistake that quote for someone who is gun-shy. Beekman is a fabulous scorer who averaged 19.7 points, 9.9 rebounds and 9.2 assists his senior season in leading Scotlandville Magnet High in Baton Rouge, La., to its fourth consecutive state championship. That’s almost averaging a triple-double, something he accomplished in the state tournament where he was named “Most Outstanding Player” for the second straight year.

“My junior year, my shot was kind of inconsistent. My senior year I took it upon myself to make it better. I worked a lot on it and take pride in what I accomplished. I was in the gym daily working on it.”

And defense? That’s the staple of Virginia basketball.

“I take pride in playing defense,” Beekman said. “When I was little, my coach said you’re going to have to play defense to get on the court. Defense wins championships. I used my length and my arms to my advantage.”

Beekman is a three-level scorer who can shoot the 3, drive to the hoop and draw fouls in order to get to the free-throw line.

With dozens of offers from basketball powers, Beekman chose Virginia and committed a little over a year ago while attending the NBA Top 100 Camp at UVA.

What attracted him to the Cavaliers, separated Virginia from everyone else?

“The winning would probably the the most attractive thing,” Beekman said. “Growing up, I’ve always been a winner. Virginia is a winning program and they win the right way.”

Again, to listen to the complete Beekman interview, click here.