Beekman named ACC Defensive POY; Clark, Gardner earn All-ACC recognition

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Virginia’s Reece Beekman, Kihei Clark and Jayden Gardner earned All-ACC honors, the league announced Monday. Beekman was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year, All-Defensive Team and All-ACC Third Team. Clark was named All-ACC Third Team and All-Defensive, while Gardner earned All-ACC honorable mention honors.

Beekman anchored the league’s top defense (10th nationally) by ranking third in the ACC with 1.6 steals per game. Beekman leads the ACC and ranks second in the nation with a 3.68 assist-to-turnover ratio. Beekman averaged 9.3 points and ranked third in the league with 5.3 assists per game. He has 25 assists and one turnover in his past three games, and is shooting career bests from 3-point range (40.4 percent) and the charity stripe (79.2 percent).

Clark averaged 11.1 points and 5.7 assists en route to his second All-ACC third-team honor. Clark ranked second in the ACC in assists and assist/turnover ratio (2.9). He set ACC career records in wins (74) and minutes (5,307). Clark also became UVA’s all-time leader in assists (705), wins (120), games (157) and starts (137) this season.

Gardner averaged 11.8 points and 5.5 rebounds as Virginia’s primary offensive threat. Gardner has led UVA in scoring in nine contests and has reached double figures in scoring in 10 of the last 13 games. He Gardner ranks second among active Division I players in career free throw attempts (794), fourth in free throws made (588), sixth in field goals made (870), seventh in points (2,340), ninth in double-doubles (39), 10th in rebounds (1,087) and 12th in field goals attempted (1,729).

ACC Player of the Year Isaiah Wong (Miami) was joined on the All-ACC first team by Armando Bacot (North Carolina), Tyree Appleby (Wake Forest), Hunter Tyson (Clemson) and Jamarius Burton (Pitt).

Kyle Filipowski (Duke), Terquavion Smith (NC State), Jarkel Joiner (NC State), Jordan Miller (Miami) and Blake Hinson (Pitt) were named to the All-ACC second team.

Joining Beekman and Clark on the third team were Norchad Omier (Miami), PJ Hall (Clemson) and Jesse Edwards (Syracuse).

Leaky Black (North Carolina), Dereck Lively II (Duke) and Edwards joined Beekman and Clark on the All-ACC Defensive team.

No. 6 seed Virginia (23-6) will play No. 7 seed North Carolina (19-12), No. 10 seed Boston College (15-16) or No. 15 seed Louisville (4-27) in the quarterfinal round of the 2023 New York Life ACC Tournament on Thursday. Tipoff at Greensboro Coliseum is set for 7 p.m.

𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫

🔶⚔️🔷#GoHoos | @reece_beekman pic.twitter.com/ee4mpbC1vB

— Virginia Men’s Basketball (@UVAMensHoops) March 6, 2023

2022-23 ACC Award Winners
Player of the Year – Isaiah Wong, Miami
Defensive Player of the Year – Reece Beekman, Virginia
Rookie of the Year – Kyle Filipowski, Duke
Sixth Man of the Year – Nike Sibande, Pitt
Most Improved Player – Quinten Post, Boston College
Coach of the Year – Jeff Capel, Pitt

2022-23 All-ACC Team
First Team
Isaiah Wong, Miami, 337
Armando Bacot, North Carolina, 324
Tyree Appleby, Wake Forest, 319
Hunter Tyson, Clemson, 271
Jamarius Burton, Pitt, 262

Second Team
Kyle Filipowski, Duke, 258
Terquavion Smith, NC State, 243
Jarkel Joiner, NC State, 203
Jordan Miller, Miami, 148
Blake Hinson, Pitt, 132

Third Team
Norchad Omier, Miami, 131
PJ Hall, Clemson, 126
Kihei Clark, Virginia, 102
Jesse Edwards, Syracuse, 54
Reece Beekman, Virginia, 54

Honorable Mention
El Ellis, Louisville, 50
Grant Basile, Virginia Tech, 43
Judah Mintz, Syracuse, 40
Jeremy Roach, Duke, 35
Quinten Post, Boston College, 33
Jayden Gardner, Virginia, 31
RJ Davis, North Carolina, 26
DJ Burns Jr., NC State, 24
Caleb Love, North Carolina, 21
Notes: All-ACC Team points are determined on a 5-3-1 system (five points for first team, three points for second team, one point for third team); 75 total voters.

ACC Player of the Year
Isaiah Wong, Miami, 30 votes
Tyree Appleby, Wake Forest, 23
Armando Bacot, North Carolina, 9
Hunter Tyson, Clemson, 4
Kyle Filipowski, Duke, 3
Jamarius Burton, Pitt, 3
Jarkel Joiner, NC State, 2
Jeremy Roach, Duke, 1

ACC Rookie of the Year
Kyle Filipowski, Duke, 68 votes
Judah Mintz, Syracuse, 7

All-Defensive Team
Reece Beekman, Virginia, 63 votes
Jesse Edwards, Syracuse, 56
Leaky Black, North Carolina, 55
Dereck Lively II, Duke, 45
Kihei Clark, Virginia, 26

All-Freshman Team
Kyle Filipowski, Duke, 75 votes
Judah Mintz, Syracuse, 72
Tyrese Proctor, Duke, 51
JJ Starling, Notre Dame, 39
Dereck Lively II, Duke, 39

ACC Coach of the Year
Jeff Capel, Pitt, 57 votes
Jim Larrañaga, Miami, 8
Brad Brownell, Clemson, 6
Kevin Keatts, NC State, 2
Tony Bennett, Virginia, 2

ACC Defensive Player of the Year
Reece Beekman, Virginia, 29 votes
Leaky Black, North Carolina, 18
Jesse Edwards, Syracuse, 13
Dereck Lively II, Duke, 6
Federiko Federiko, Pitt, 3
Ja’von Franklin, Georgia Tech, 3
Justyn Mutts, Virginia Tech, 2
Norchad Omier, Miami, 1

ACC Most Improved Player
Quinten Post, Boston College, 23 votes
Sean Pedulla, Virginia Tech, 14
Jordan Miller, Miami, 14
Chase Hunter, Clemson, 10
Cameron Hildreth, Wake Forest, 3
Casey Morsell, NC State, 3
Wooga Poplar, Miami, 3
Jesse Edwards, Syracuse, 2
JJ Traynor, Louisville, 1
Federiko Federiko, Pitt, 1
Jeremy Roach, Duke, 1

ACC Sixth Man of the Year
Nike Sibande, Pitt, 47 votes
Ben Vander Plas, Virginia, 8
Ryan Young, Duke, 7
Dariq Whitehead, Duke, 6
Bensley Joseph, Miami, 3
Deivon Smith, Georgia Tech, 2
Devin McGlockton, Boston College, 2