High On The UVA Radar, Beekman Continues To Impress

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Posted on Thursday, Jun. 13, 2019, 7:00 am

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By Scott Ratcliffe

If you haven’t already done so, Wahoo Nation, here’s your chance to get to know 2020 UVA point guard prospect Reece Beekman, who’s in town all week for the National Basketball Players Association’s 25th Annual Top 100 Camp.

The event, hosted each summer by John Paul Jones Arena, welcomes in over 100 of the nation’s top recruits for a week of hoops, as well as how to manage a blossoming professional career off the court.

Beekman is certainly deserving of his NBPA invite. A consensus 4-star, the 6-foot-4, 170-pound floor general out of Scotlandville Magnet HS in Baton Rouge, La., is currently rated as the country’s sixth-best point guard by 247sports.com (57th overall), the 13th-best PG (65th overall) by rivals.com, and the eighth-best (44th overall) by ESPN.

He can handle the rock and find the open man with precision. He can freeze a defender off the dribble with an ankle-breaking crossover or stop on a dime for a pull-up jumper. Beekman can drill the long ball, and you know he’s a damn-good defender if he’s on Tony Bennett’s radar. Here’s a pic from September of Bennett and Beekman, who actually grew up in Milwaukee — Bennett’s old stomping grounds:

All that, and his stock is on the rise. Take the rivals.com rankings for the Class of 2020, for instance — Beekman was regarded as the 119th-best recruit in November, jumped up to 88th by May 5 and has since vaulted himself 23 places to No. 65 in just over a month. But how did he get there?

Over his junior year in Baton Rouge, Beekman averaged a triple-double with 21.9 points, 10.2 rebounds and 10.2 assists — combined with 3.6 steals — per contest to lift his team to a third straight state championship. Now, he’s tearing it up on the EYBL circuit (you can check out some of his highlights here) and using the summer to open some more eyes.

Beekman said it felt great to get out and run on the JPJ floor on Wednesday, as his camp team (the “Chicago Bulls”), along with 11 other squads, played a pair of 36-minute contests.

“I could see myself playing out there, and just getting a feel for the court and everything,” said Beekman, who remains unsure of which school he will attend, adding that there’s no timetable as of yet regarding his college decision.

Rivals and 247 have each predicted that when all is said and done, Beekman will end up sporting Cavalier orange and blue next winter.

Having already taken his official visit to ‘Hooville in the fall, Beekman is pumped to be back in Central Virginia — this time, to showcase his talents and compete against the nation’s best. What’s more, beginning Thursday for the first time in camp history, college coaches will be allowed to evaluate the action.

Schools from every Power-5 conference have reached out for Beekman’s services. When you see the kid in action, you can understand why.

South Carolina was the latest to offer a scholarship, to go along with Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Texas A&M and nearby LSU out of the SEC. Georgia Tech and Wake Forest have also come calling from the ACC, while Arizona State, California and USC have shown interest from the left coast.

Don’t forget about the Big 12’s Iowa State, Kansas State or TCU… nor Minnesota or Wisconsin of the Big Ten. Beekman has been contacted by potential suitors from the Big East and American Athletic Conference, too.

Beekman described what the Wahoos would expect from him if C’ville indeed turns out to be his ultimate landing spot.

“They want me to come in, be a good [asset] to their offense,” said Beekman of Bennett and his staff. “Run, play defense and just be a good asset to the team.”

Could there end up being a package deal, should Beekman ink his signature? He reminded us of who was tagging along that November day when he toured UVA for the first time.

“Great official [visit], really fun,” Beekman admitted, adding that fellow UVA target Keon Johnson took his official trip to Charlottesville at the same time. This week, the two are backcourt teammates in camp — possibly a sign of things to come?

The chemistry is already there.

“We just did everything together,” Beekman recalled of the visit, when the duo toured Grounds alongside one another. He said they’ve kept in touch since then and will have a blast hanging out again this week.

“He’s a real good player — I like his game a lot,” Beekman said of Johnson, a 4-star, 6-5 shooting guard who recently announced that he’s narrowed his list to Virginia, Tennessee and Ohio State.

Beekman says his own skill set continues to get better as he inches closer to life in the NCAA, something he knows he’ll have to maintain throughout his upcoming final year of high school.

“Just making the right play all the time, making the open shot — the right shot — and just playing good defense,” Beekman said of his continued improvement.

When asked about seeing the ‘Hoos hoist the championship trophy in April, Beekman smiled.

“It was a good feeling knowing that they won,” he said of the Cavaliers’ first national title.

Perhaps the next time the Wahoos go on a championship run, the talented Beekman will be a participant rather than just an observer.