The 3-2-1: What Beekman's return means for the Cavaliers

When news broke last week that UVa guard Reece Beekman was indeed going to pull out of the NBA Draft process and return to Charlottesville for his senior season, it was one of a number of last-minute decisions that helped shape college hoops for the coming season.

For Virginia fans, it was exactly the news that they’d been hoping to hear.

With the Milwaukee native officially coming back for one last ride, we’re taking a 3-2-1 view of his return, what it means, and how it changes things for the Cavaliers at this point.

1. Beekman’s return will raise the ceiling, and preseason expectations, for 2023-24.

UVa basketball has had an offseason full of disappointing departures and quality talent acquisitions. Ultimately, the (likely) final piece of the puzzle fell into place last week when Beekman made his decision.

UVa has had mixed results with players testing the draft waters in the past, with Mamadi Diakite crucially returning at the last minute, while Kyle Guy and Trey Murphy decided to stay in the draft despite some hope that they could return to school. Beekman did nothing to hurt his draft stock during the process; he was invited to the |NBA Draft Combine and played well, and by the time decision day rolled around he was projected as an early second round pick by most prognosticators.

Beekman said on Instagram after news broke that he was “betting on himself.” Tony Bennett and Cavalier fans should be thrilled that he’s done so.

On paper, UVa loses about as much production as any major program, with Kihei Clark, Jayden Gardner, Ben Vander Plas, Armaan Franklin, Kadin Shedrick and Francisco Caffaro all departing for various reasons. UVa has a core of young players who could take a leap and have added some impact transfers, but Beekman’s return will be the most important roster shakeout, and should give Virginia more credibility as an ACC contender when November rolls around.

2. With so many roster changes, Beekman’s experience and leadership will be critical.

Not to discount the basketball-specific talents that Beekman will bring back to the program, but it’s also evident that this is now his team to lead. He will become a four-year player, which is increasingly rare in college hoops. He’s had an impact on all three teams he’s been a part of and now he’ll be asked to do more both on and off the court.

Beekman has a chance to improve his NBA Draft stock further if he can demonstrate some improvement on the offensive end to go along with his elite defensive traits. And in the process, he’ll certainly have a chance to demonstrate leadership skills as the elder statesman on a younger UVa team with a lot of new faces.

This season, UVa will play a game without Clark in the backcourt for the first time since the loss to UMBC, more than five calendar years ago.

So now, at least for one season, the leadership torch is passed to Beekman.

3. The Cavaliers have a deep backcourt with a variety of skillsets.

With Beekman in the fold, UVa has experience, talent and depth in the backcourt. He is a known commodity and when healthy Cavalier fans should expect an elite defender with offensive upside. Most of the remainder of the backcourt may require introductions but it’s a talented group nonetheless.

Isaac McKneely is another returnee with the ability to take his game up a notch, as many players do from their freshman to sophomore seasons. McKneely flashed in postseason play and will be counted on to stretch defensives with outside shooting. UVa added rising sophomore Andrew Rohde from the portal after one season at Saint Thomas. Rohde was the Summit League Freshman of the Year and is a natural scorer. It’s also a boost that he can handle the ball and also play as an off-ball guard. And don’t forget about Georgetown transfer Dante Harris, who practiced with the team in the spring while sitting out. Harris, who won Big East Tournament MVP in 2021, will give the Hoos versatility and more lineup combinations as another ball-handling option. Finally, UVa adds four-star freshman Elijah Gertrude, a talented combo guard who seems like a great fit for the UVa program on both ends of the floor.

1. Is the 2023-24 roster set?

With Beekman back UVa has 12 scholarship players. This offseason, the Wahoos have lost six scholarship players to transfers or eligibility exhaustion and have added six through the 2023 recruiting class and a trio of transfers. UVa added Anthony Robinson to the 2023 class this spring, with the former USF signee expected to redshirt in his first season in Charlottesville.

Beekman’s return is probably the final piece of the puzzle for this team. At this late date, there aren’t many, or any realistic, options on the transfer market that would move the needle. Given the depth in the backcourt that we laid out above, the only addition that would really make sense at this point would be a rim-protecting big man. Merrimack transfer Jordan Minor will be asked to fill that role next season but he is a bit undersized and is going from NEC competition to ACC ball. Still, it seems far more likely that the Hoos stand pat than it is that they make another addition.

2. Will Beekman play more as a prototypical point guard next season?

Since the 2019 title run, Virginia has played multiple point guards together in the backcourt plenty to varying degrees of success. For the most part, having multiple ball handlers has been a good thing and has allowed for more role flexibility at the guard spots. But for Beekman, a player best suited to play point guard, playing alongside Clark often took him off the ball.

With Harris on the roster, there’s still a good chance that Beekman will play off the ball quite a bit. But perhaps Beekman becomes more of a de facto starting point guard and in a lineup that has him, Rohde, and McKneely playing together, Beekman would run the show. It will be interesting to see how Bennett manages this particular roster, with at least three different guards that can handle the ball and run the offense.

Beekman will repeat as ACC DPOY.

UVa will need Beekman to be great on both ends of the court but he will really have a chance to shine on the defensive end. The college basketball world views Beekman as one of the nation’s top defenders and that’s the reputation that he’ll take into the season.

UVa won’t be league favorites, but Beekman’s return does make the Hoos look like a more competitive roster. If the they compete for a league title and Beekman can remain a lock-down defender on the perimeter, we like his chances to win ACC Defensive Player of the Year again next spring, becoming the first player since John Henson to repeat as the award’s winner, and third this century in the conference (Henson, Sheldon Williams).