Beekman responds to challenge with near-perfect performance at Louisville

By Jerry Ratcliffe

After last Saturday’s loss to Florida State, Tony Bennett challenged sophomore guard Reece Beekman to be more consistent.

It was a heartbreaking, last-second loss at John Paul Jones Arena to a team that was down on its luck and missing four starters, a loss that likely spoiled Virginia’s chances of returning to the NCAA tournament for the eighth straight season. Beekman wasn’t at his best. He scored eight points, two assists, a steal and a couple of blocks.

Beekman took the challenge to heart, intensified his preparation for the next game, worked extra on his shot after practices, and Saturday at Louisville’s Yum Center (aka JPJ West), the ever-improving guard put on a show.

Bennett looked at the boxscore after a 71-61 regular season finale — UVA’s eighth win in 10 trips to Yum — and was surprised.

“If you look at Reece’s stat line it was quite a stat line,” Bennett said. “I went to look at the stat sheet and did not realize how good of a game it was.”

Beekman stepped off the floor for only 38 seconds Saturday. While he was on the floor, he scored 15 points, converted 6 of 9 shots from the field, all 3 of his attempts from behind the arc, a career-high 12 rebounds, posted 5 assists, 1 turnover, 5 steals and a block.

How’s that for responding to a challenge?

“I was staying continuous the whole game and I felt like at the end of the Florida State game just kind of had too many breakdowns,” Beekman said. “So [Bennett] just challenged me to show my ability to do what I know I can do, so it was good to have that kind of intensity in practices the whole week. I felt like that prepared me.”

Beekman isn’t exactly known for his 3-point shooting, but he drilled all three attempts against the struggling Cardinals (Louisville has lost 14 of its last 16 games this season). Two of those triples came midway through the second half when Louisville was making a run, as the two teams exchanged six consecutive 3’s.

Beekman’s contribution to that scoring flurry was back-to-back 3’s that kept the Cardinals at bay (55-38 and 58-41). He had worked on his shot in UVA’s zone offense, something the Cavaliers anticipated because Louisville had used some zone defense against Virginia in the first meeting at JPJ.

His third came down the home stretch of the game after the Cardinals rallied yet again and drew within 66-59 at the 3:30 mark. This time, Beekman drilled his triple at the shot-clock buzzer for a 69-59 advantage.

“I feel like zone offense has been a bright spot for us this whole year,” Beekman said, “so we’ve worked on it a lot over this past week. I just felt like making plays, getting to the right spot, just being able to knock it down and have confidence to shoot it.”

Already a strong candidate for ACC Defensive Player of the Year (Beekman’s 5 steals Saturday moved him past Othell Wilson for second on UVA’s single-season steal list with 62), the Baton Rouge, La. athlete who hailed from Milwaukee, Wisc., before his family moved, turned offensive versus the Cardinals.

“We were 7 of 12 from three and we only took one in the first half,” Bennett said. “For us, when we can knock down some threes it takes the pressure off.”

To watch Beekman answer his challenge and continue to grow his game, Bennett was delighted.

“I love seeing guys improve, get after it, and understand what we are trying to accomplish,” Bennett said. “I thought he really responded in the right way. We will continue to need that.

“Reece got a ton of experience last year and now he’s in his second year. All those games and understanding what needs to be done for this team on both ends, I think he has a clearer picture of that. The longer you are at a place, the more comfortable you get in all areas, so that’s a joy for me to see.”

Teammate Kody Stattmann, who has unlocked his game late in this season, has admired Beekman’s work ethic in practices and even after practices.

“He’s been really working on his shot a lot after practice and during practice,” Stattmann said. “Everyone knows that he can drive to the rim and finish really well around the rim. So if you can consistently knock down threes and be dangerous, that is really good for us.”

Adding the long-distance threat to his resume could make Beekman almost unguardable, because he could shoot the three, draw out defenders and drive past them. Bennett said in preseason that he believed Beekman just might be the most explosive player he’s ever coached. Parlay that with his defensive ability and his great passing and you’ve got the complete player, something that Bennett holds homage for.

As much as he continues to improve offensively, particularly from beyond the arc, the more his reputation will grow, but Beekman is a fierce defender. He’s aware of his candidacy for ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors.

“That would mean a lot because ever since I was little, I put a lot of pride in my defense, a little more than I think others did,” Beekman said. “So just having that mindset, you’ve got to have defense to play the game.

“[Defensive player of the year] would mean a lot to me. Having that would be great. Even if I don’t get it, I’ll still be thankful of how my defense was this season, so either way will be a good experience.”

Now, on to Brooklyn and the ACC Tournament, where the Cavaliers will make their debut in the event in the nightcap Wednesday night.

Maybe Bennett should issue another challenge or two, or three.