Scotlandville Magnet (Baton Rouge, LA) point guard Reece Beekman drew Tony Bennett’s attention in the months following his sophomore season, earning a scholarship offer from Virginia’s head coach on July 30, 2018. Bennett followed up with a visit to Baton Rouge last September and pushed for the standout prospect to make an official visit to Charlottesville. Clearly, the 3-time National Coach of the Year pegged Beekman early as one of his top targets in the class of 2020.

 

The Louisiana native ultimately felt Virginia was a great fit as well, verbally committing to Bennett last week while in Charlottesville for the 2019 NBPA Top 100 Camp.

“Just talking with my family every day,” Beekman said, discussing with media last Thursday (June 13) – the day he announced his commitment – how he came to his decision. “Just trying to find the best fit for me. Best situation. [The decision to commit to UVA] came a little while back, but me and my mom decided to tell this … to announce it [at the Top 100 Camp].”

Beekman’s first visit to Charlottesville came last November, when he made an official visit. The 6’3”, 170-pound prospect’s official was originally scheduled for late September – the same weekend Cavalier class of 2019 recruits Casey Morsell and Kadin Shedrick as well as class of 2020 small forward prospect Terrance Williams were in town – but was postponed because of weather. Fortunately for the Hoos, Beekman followed through on his plans two months later.

During his latest experience at the John Paul Jones Arena, Beekman said: “It’s all nice. Everything is kind of new. Everything is nice. I like [JPJ] a lot.”

Virginia’s national championship run was nice, too.

“It’s not a big factor, but it’s a factor because just knowing that they win a lot and they still want me, that’s impressive,” Beekman said when asked how the Cavaliers 2019 title run impacted his decision.

While he likes the facilities and appreciated the interest from a program that has surged to the top of major college basketball under Tony Bennett, the primary factors in Beekman becoming a Hoo were …

“[Bennett] as a coach and the school as a whole just was the main factor in me coming here,” Beekman said.

Additionally, the Scotlandville Magnet star also seemed impressed with how Ty Jerome and Kyle Guy played last season, especially during the tournament.

“I was like, I can picture myself out there, kind of doing what they’re doing, making plays how they were making plays,” Beekman said. “Them two together was a good duo and they led their team to a national championship.”

Beekman, who describes himself as “kind of pass-first point guard” who wants to “make everything go and make everybody else better,” has been a premiere player in his three years at Scotlandville Magnet, helping the boys varsity basketball team to three consecutive state titles. He averaged a triple-double in points, assists and rebounds during the 2018-19 regular season before pouring in 28 points and dishing out nine assists in the Division 1 state championship game.

Beekman’s all around game has captured the attention of national recruiting outlets such as ESPN, which ranks him as the no. 44 overall junior in the nation, Rivals, which ranks him as the no. 65 overall junior in the nation, and 247Sports, which ranks him as the no. 65 overall junior in the country. All three outlets have the future Cavalier as a 4-star prospect, and ESPN and 247Sports rank him the no. 8 point guard in his class.

Longtime scout Thom Jones, who runs TJ

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