Entering the season, there was no way to know whether any of Virginia’s true freshmen would provide an immediate impact. But through four games, it’s become clear that one of them will provide an instant boost.
From almost the moment he stepped on the court, Reece Beekman was a pleasant surprise. That moment came earlier than most might have expected, with Beekman appearing within 10 minutes of the start to Virginia’s first game of the season. Putting aside the gripe that Beekman’s minutes may be coming at the expense of top-40 recruit Jabri Adbur-Rahim’s, that Tony Bennett feels confident in playing him so early is undoubtedly a good thing.
Bennett’s faith in freshman guards has, with one notable exception, been backed up by their play later on in the season. There’s no better example of this than Kihei Clark, who took heaps of criticism before the praise began.
Where Beekman’s path contrasts with Clark’s is that Beekman has begun his first year by playing efficient basketball, whereas Clark had a rather rough introduction to college hoops. What Clark became after that start seems to indicate that Beekman will reach even greater heights.
But the flip side of the equation must also be considered. Look at Casey Morsell, who went for 19 points in just the sixth game last season before seeing a significant drop in minutes for much of the ACC slate.
In Morsell’s case, however, that game was more of an outlier. He hadn’t been playing all that well prior to that explosion, and didn’t play so well after it either. Morsell was given big minutes right out of the gate, and those minutes progressively dropped as the season wore on.
Beekman, through four games, is averaging 25 minutes a game, a number that will probably not shift much. Him playing well will have a massive positive effect for this team, and he’s going to get the minutes to showcase that. Here’s why.
What he brings to the table
Looking at the other guards on the roster who are averaging more than 14 minutes a game, each has a defined skill set that plays to the benefit of the team in certain situations. Kihei Clark is the smart distributor who can score from anywhere on the floor, Tomas Woldetensae the three-point specialist, Trey Murphy III the shooter that can also get to the basket, and Casey Morsell the lockdown defender who makes solid decisions and can score if needed.
Those four seem to cover a lot of ground, at least as far as the guard position is concerned. So what does Beekman have to add to that group?
Well, if we continue looking at just these facets of the point guard position, it’s a tough question to answer. Beekman can’t shoot the three as well as Woldo and Murphy, can’t defend like Morsell, and can’t pass like Clark. The only part of the position where he might have the upper hand over his fellow guards is driving to the rim.
But with only four games under his belt, before that box can be checked the freshman needs to prove it against a good defense. He certainly has the quickness to get to the rack and his finishing has been second to none, so it seems that this will be one of his greater attributes.
Yet driving to the rim was not the primary motivation behind writing this article. Yes, it’s very good, and sure, it’s an important part of success on the offensive end. But the biggest thing that Reece Beekman brings to this team is much more simple.
There’s no one word, or even one phrase to describe it. He’s simply another reliable player to go to, somebody that can and will do everything you ask of him, who understands his role on the floor and will execute that role as effectively as possible.
Beekman simplifies the game in many ways, and in that sense he’s been reminiscent of first year Kihei Clark. It took Reece over 70 minutes to commit his first collegiate turnover, meaning that his assist/turnover ratio for the first three games of the season was 8:0.
What else can he do? Knock down threes, force turnovers, hit his shots… And we’ve already talked about assists and finishing. In brief, Beekman can step in and fill any role that needs filling, and can be trusted to do so in a more than satisfactory way.
It is this quality that makes Reece Beekman so valuable to Virginia basketball, and why his continued solid play is integral to a successful season.
Image – UVA Athletics