Reece Beekman Scouting Report

A capable point guard hidden by a slow Virginia offense

Rich Stayman

Jun 21, 2024

Name: Reece Beekman

Height/Weight: 6’2/191

Wingspan/ standing reach: 6’7 / 8’4 ½

Hand size: 8 ½

Position: Guard

Pre-Draft team: Virginia

Tools: Defense

Background: Played soccer growing up, which he credits for his defensive footwork.

Season Stats: 14.3 PPG 3.6 RPG 6.2 APG 2 SPG 0.5 BPG 2.1 TOPG 1.3 FPG on 44/31/75 (career splits of 43/32/77)

Pros:

Great zone passer
High-level defender that can cut off strong first steps on drives; has excellent defensive footwork
Great feel for the game
Long arms
Comfortable with both hands as both a playmaker and scorer at the rim
Has a tight handle and can keep his dribble alive against pressure
Accurate passer that finds the shooting pocket every time and punishes napping defenders
Good burst out of screen sets (@ BC game) and over good P&R ball-handler
Does a good job of absorbing contact to draw fouls on drives

Cons:

Limited to guarding 1s and maybe 2s
Undersized for PG
Low scoring volume
Jump shot looks a bit labored
May struggle to get hard contests on shooters because of minimal athleticism
Lacks consistent explosion towards the rim

Swing Skills:

Unlocking aggression as a scorer
Playing & thriving at NBA tempo
Needs to become more consistent shooting off the dribble

Summary:

With a jumper that looks labored and forced, teams are skeptical to buy into Reece Beekman despite his skills elsewhere. He doesn’t seek out his own scoring often enough, but this may be a product of the Virginia system. With a questionable jumper, these two concerns go hand-in-hand and give him less of a margin for error defensively. With long arms, outstanding defensive skill and technique, and strong point guard skills, there is a strong sell for Beekman as a serviceable NBA point guard. His ability to consistently deliver the ball exactly where his teammates need (and at the right time) and an ability to read where the weakest link and holes are defensively, Beekman is a true two-way point guard that can make everyone around him better on both ends. This is still a valuable role in some capacity for teams to find, and he could have a more realistic path to success than given credit for nationally.

Ultimately, Beekman makes his teammates better on both ends and makes opposing offensive players work significantly harder to execute even simple and routine plays, while also being unpredictable as a passer himself on the offensive end. With NBA spacing and NBA tempo (compared to Virginia, who had the slowest offense in the country), Beekman projects well to the NBA, so long as he has anything that resembles a formidable jumper. Without a jumper and at his size, he would have to be elite at defense to even have a chance at earning a guaranteed roster spot in today’s competitive NBA climate.

Beekman’s stats were a bit hidden by UVA’s pace. He is one of two players in the country to average both 12+ assists per 100 possessions and 4 steals per 100 possessions, with the other being Jamal Shead. This is a testament to his abilities that were hidden because of UVA’s pace, and a chance for him to shine in a significantly faster NBA system.

Projected draft range: 35-undrafted

Expected role: Two-way point guard that does a lot of dirty work on both ends of the floor for a team.

Unplayable if: Jump shooting, particularly pull-up shooting, is poor and the shot cannot improve.

Exceeds expectations if: Free throw percentage accurately predicts his shooting improvements in the NBA, and if NBA tempo makes his offense more apparent.