Beekman is becoming the player we all thought he would be

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Prior to Wednesday night’s Virginia win at Pitt, the last time a Cavalier posted as many as 19 points and 8 assists in a game was seven years ago when point guard London Perrantes accomplished the feat.

When Reece Beekman was informed he had just become the first Wahoo to put up equal numbers to Perrantes’ 2015 game, Beekman was flowing with appreciation.

“I used to watch London on TV, him shooting 3’s and making plays,” Beekman said. “Having stats matching his is a great feeling.”

Beekman was a key figure in UVA’s win at Pitt as he led the Cavaliers with that 19 and 8 performance. He knocked down 8 of his 11 field goal attempts, was 3 for 5 from behind the arc and was solid on defense. It was just another example of how the sophomore from Baton Rouge (he will quickly remind you that he’s really from Milwaukee) has developed his game this season.

Beekman is now becoming exactly who we thought he was when Virginia grabbed him out of Louisiana two years ago. Perhaps everyone was a little guilty of expecting too much his freshman season, but he has moved beyond that and is now ready to take over this team.

We already knew he was an elite defender, something that Pitt coach Jeff Capel pointed out in last week’s ACC coaches virtual conference, but Beekman has otherworldly on-ball skills at the point of attack and a great sixth sense for stealing the basketball.

He is the only player in the country to make at least 40 steals and 15 blocked shots this season. He leads the ACC in steals per game and is in the top three in assists (he has 15 over the past two games, and more than point guard Kihei Clark for the season).

“The last handful of games, Reece has really trended in the right direction,” Virginia coach Tony Bennett said. “He’s continuing to grow. That’s what you love to see as a coach, a level of belief in themselves.”

While Pitt’s Capel was well aware of what damage Beekman could do defensively, he wasn’t quite as concerned about the other end of the floor. Big mistake.

In fact, Capel’s game plan was to play off Beekman, knowing that the Virginia guard was making only 25.8 percent of his 3-point attempts and was almost gun-shy in terms of shooting.

There was some justification in that theory because during the first nine games of the season, Beekman was only 2 of 17 from the arc (12 percent). Since then, he’s 9 for 17 (53 percent) and blistered the Panthers from Bonusphere on Wednesday night, knocking down his first three triples.

“[Beekman] had a spectacular game,” said Panthers guard Jamarius Burton. “We followed the scouting report and he made us pay.”

Music to Beekman’s ears.

“It feels good,” Beekman said. “I’ve been working hard on improving my offensive game and it’s coming together.”

He told a media gathering back in October at the ACC’s Basketball Tipoff something similar, about how much time he has devoted to his shot. Now, it’s paying dividends.

Does that mean Beekman will put up 19 points a night going forward? No. Sometimes he will, sometimes he won’t.

Still, he’s the most explosive player that Bennett has coached at UVA, which is saying something considering Justin Anderson was pretty athletic. What’s surprising about Beekman’s ability to attack the basket, is that he’s not getting to the free throw line. He hasn’t even attempted a free throw since Dec. 20 when Clemson beat the daylights out of Virginia in Charlottesville.

However, Beekman’s rapid development is turning him into the “complete” kind of player that Bennett cherishes in his program.

He’s becoming the guy we all thought he would be and it couldn’t come at a better time.