It was evident early in the ACC tournament quarterfinal between Virginia and North Carolina on Thursday night that Cavalier guard Reece Beekman was going to have himself a game. The 2023 ACC Defensive Player of the Year was in his bag early with three steals and eight points in the first 13 minutes of the game.
Beekman finished with a stat line that included 15 points, five assists, five steals and no turnovers, something that hasn’t been done in the ACC tournament since 1997.
For teammates like Jayden Gardner, it’s easy to tell when Beekman is going to have one of those games. “When he’s playing in the passing lanes and getting a lot of steals and dunking it, you know,” Gardner said after Virginia’s nine-point win over the Tar Heels.
“I know he’s going to cook every game,” first year shooter Isaac McKneely said with a smile as fellow freshman Ryan Dunn chimed in with a chorus of “Buckets. Just buckets.” from the locker next to him.
Beekman swipes and scores! @UVAMensHoops | #ACCMBB | 🏆🏆🏆
📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/8mVJavZdv5
— ACC Men's Basketball (@accmbb) March 10, 2023
Beekman had a slightly different reasoning for his big performance. “It’s usually when I don’t wear an undershirt. That’s a key sign right there of a good game for me.”
After saying that in Virginia’s open locker room post game, fifth year Kihei Clark chimed in from a couple spots over. “You should do that more often.”
“My roommate Leon [Bond] was like, ‘I don’t think you should wear a shirt today,'” Beekman continued as he laughed. “I said, ‘Really?’ and just stuck with it.”
Based on some very in-depth research [read: skimming box scores and deep-diving into the team Instagram], Beekman might be overselling the tee-less performances. He wore no undershirt just four times in ACC play, and all on the road at Syracuse, Wake Forest, Florida State and Pitt. Virginia went 3-1 in those four games, with the lone loss coming at Pitt.
In those games, he went a combined 11-for-29 (38 percent) from the field, but 8-for-15 (53 percent) from three with 13 rebounds, 15 assists, four turnovers, one block and one steal. If you add in Thursday night’s performance, his shooting bumps up to 16-for-40 (40 percent) from the field and dips from three to a still solid 9-for-19 (47 percent) with 16 rebounds, 20 assists, four turnovers, one block and six steals.
So does he actually play better sans tee shirt? In the other 16 ACC games where he was burdened with sleeves, Beekman his stats per game for rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks are pretty comparable. His shooting from the field — 48-for-125 (38 percent) — is a hair below the average set in that five game sample, but his three-point shooting is a dismal 8-for-32 (25 percent) in ACC games where he covered his shoulders.
After conducting this VERY (not very) scientific research, it feels fair to say Beekman needs to let the arms breathe for the postseason if the Hoos want to see that three ball go through.
Virginia plays Clemson on Friday evening in the ACC tournament semifinals. The game is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
