Gardner: It’s a crime Beekman wasn’t chosen ACC Defensive POY

By Jerry Ratcliffe

A crime was committed Monday by the panel that overlooked Virginia guard Reece Beekman for ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors.

Those of the 78-member panel that consisted of the conference’s 15 head coaches and 63 media members who were found guilty will be given a two-year sentence of watching Beekman prove them wrong. Beekman was beaten out for the award by Duke sophomore center Mark Williams by a 46-20 vote, with 12 other votes going to three other players.

“I just think it’s a crime that [Beekman] didn’t win Defensive Player of the Year,” said teammate Jayden Gardner. “It’s way different having to guard multiple positions, and his impact on the game with steals, blocks, rebounding.

“Reece can guard one-through-five, probably, but most nights one-through-four. He’s very versatile, so I don’t know what the committee saw in not seeing Reece Beekman. He just had five steals a game ago (at Louisville). He just does a lot for our team, so we appreciate him a lot even if other people don’t.”

Beekman led the ACC in steals-per-game average with 62 swipes in 30 games (2.07), compared to Miami’s Charlie Moore (31 games, 63 steals). Next closest to those two was Miami’s Kameron McGusty (55 steals, 31 games).

Duke’s Williams led the ACC in blocked shots per game (2.81) and finished 14th in defensive rebounds (87 blocks in 31 games).

Perhaps there was some evidence not introduced to the jury before they submitted their ballots.

Exhibit A: Beekman played approximately 50-percent more minutes in conference play than Williams.

Exhibit B: Virginia gives up 103 DRTG (defensive rating) with Beekman on the court, 118 with him off the court.

Exhibit C: Max Feldman, a national scouting analyst and NBA draft evaluator, testifies that we would be “hard-pressed to find a more impressive point-of-attack guard defender nationally.” Plus, Beekman’s steal rate has risen to 4.0 percent, and that he owns the ACC’s second-highest DBPM (defensive box plus-minus) to Williams.

Exhibit D: Beekman’s hand speed, quickness, toughness and consistency ahead of the opposing action.

Exhibit E: Synergy Sports said that Beekman holds opponents to .715 points per possession — 171 points on 239 usages — on 33.7-percent shooting (56 of 166), a 21.8-percent turnover rate, a 10.5-percent free-throw shots rate and a 7.5-percent shooting foul rate.

If all that mumbo jumbo doesn’t impress you, perhaps Notre Dame’s all-time shot blocker and ESPN-ACC Network analyst Jordan Cornette’s testimony will.

During UVA’s lopsided win over Louisville to close out the regular season last Saturday, Cornette said Beekman was his pick as ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Here’s why:

“Beekman, to me, I’m just gonna come right out and say it here,” Cornette said. “He’s the Defensive Player of the Year in my opinion in the ACC. When he’s engaged, he gives up no advantage. He’s on the driver the entire time, impeccable timing, he’s athletic, he’s got length, but he’s such a high-IQ defender.

“I waffle back and forth with Mark Williams, the big from Duke, shot-blocker, rim protector, that allows Duke’s defense to take risks, but I just go to Reece Beekman, who gets the toughest assignment. He locks in and he depletes the opposition and brings it every game. To me, you’re looking at the conference’s defensive player of the year.”

When questioned about a former big not selecting a current big for the honor, Cornette defended his choice.

“It’s a dynamic, multi-faceted approach to how Reece does it,” Cornette said. “Reece is getting the toughest assignment. Mark is protecting the basket, both of importance, but more challenging on a night-to-night basis is Reece Beekman trying to take away the head of the snake.”

Beekman’s backcourt mate, Kihei Clark, who knows a little something about defense, agreed with Cornette’s assessment.

“Yeah, I think [Beekman] should have gotten that award,” Clark said. “I think he’s the best defensive player. He guards the best guards on each team and his hands are quick. I mean, he gets steals. His anticipation is great, so he’s a really good defender and I think he deserved it.

“You could tell from the summer, I mean his hands were quicker. He was picking people’s pockets. He might have picked me once or twice, I’m not gonna say if he did or not,” Clark chuckled. “You could tell early on that he’s just a great defender. His anticipation is really good. He just has a good knack for the ball.”

It’s not like Beekman can’t rebound either. In the win over Louisville last weekend, he had a career-high 12 rebounds — all defensive — to go along with five steals.

Oh, and when Beekman delivered the dagger that beat Duke at Duke on a 3-pointer from the wing at the buzzer, he was wide open. Who was supposed to have been the defender assigned to stopping the Virginia guard? None other than Mark Williams.

It’s a crime that Beekman was overlooked. The rest of the ACC will pay for it over the next two seasons.