The Virginia Cavaliers men’s basketball team opened its 2023-2024 season confidently with an 80-50 victory over the Tarleton State Texans. With the win, we have five takeaways for the Wahoos’ future.
Reece Beekman is as expected
Breaking news: Reece Beekman is good at basketball. In a shocking development, Beekman was the best player on the field against Tarleton State, filling the stat sheet with 16 points (5-9 from the field, 0-3 from three, 6-7 from the line), seven assists and three steals, four Rebounds, one block, zero turnovers and a decent +34 in 27 minutes.
Beekman was one of the men among boys on the field against the Texans, and while that was to be expected, it doesn’t make it any less remarkable. He’s a real contender for ACC Player of the Year and a 2024 first-round NBA draft pick.
Beekman was the catalyst for UVA’s offensive drive in the first game. He took the ball to the basket himself when necessary, most notably to close out the first half, but also continued to spread love as a passer, particularly on the perimeter. In fact, six of his seven assists were three-pointers, showing what he can do as a point guard with the shooters around him.
This team can shoot
Fair warning: This was probably a takeaway from a few games in November last season before UVA was doomed late in the season. But through 40 minutes this season, this group is made up of some certified flamethrowers who shot 45.5% from distance against Tarleton State. Isaac McKneely (15 points, 4-8 from the field, 4-8 from three) is the obvious one and will be the only real big shooter for the ‘Hoos this season, and he delivered in the first game.
In fact, McKneely shot two three-pointers in the first four minutes of the game and stuck with it as the game progressed. He was also reliable for his teammates as a creative player and provided four assists in 29 minutes. He didn’t make many plays off the dribble (as evidenced by his zero 2-point field goal attempts). But he hustled when plays were called for and punished the Texans when they gave him space on the sidelines.
Jake Groves was as promised in his Virginia debut, scoring nine points and shooting 3-4 from long range. He got beat defensively a few times and wasn’t as solid on the defensive boards as Tony Bennett probably would have liked. But that’s acceptable when his deep balls are falling at a 75% clip. Andrew Rohde’s shooting (2-5 from three) also looked smooth and he seemed comfortable catching and shooting from distance, something he hadn’t done much as a freshman at St. Thomas.
These three in UVA’s starting lineup represent a respectable group of shooters, and Reece Beekman (0-3) and Ryan Dunn (1-2) should be able to join in the fun at a lower volume. Frankly, it’s refreshing that all five starters have capable outside shooters, and the ability to have these guys play together should pay dividends down the line.
Blake Buchanan is UVA’s best defensive center prospect in years
In my 10 bold predictions for Virginia this season, I predicted that Blake Buchanan would be UVA’s best true star this season alongside him, Jake Groves and Jordan Minor. Groves’ shooting performance likely put him ahead of Buchanan in their respective Virginia debuts. But Buchanan looked so confident out there and made very few mistakes as a rookie.
Well, that was against Tarleton State, an inferior opponent that lacks size and hardly ever runs real ball screens. As the season progresses, Buchanan faces far tougher tests. And both Minor and especially Groves will continue to have their moments. But Buchanan looked best on defense in the season opener.
The Idaho native’s stats weren’t particularly eye-catching, with one point including a 1-4 performance at the free throw line. But that’s hardly the important part of his performance. He slid well against Tarleton State’s motion and committed just two fouls in 17 minutes, even though the Texans didn’t play anyone taller than 6 feet.
The offensive production will come as he gets more comfortable. And at some point, he’ll need to be an even more prominent presence on the glass — he had four defensive rebounds against the Texans. But especially when evaluated on the freshman center curve at Virginia, he passed the Numero Uno test with flying colors.
Leon Bond the Third (!!!)
12 points (4-5 shooting), nine rebounds (five offensive) and two steals in 17 minutes.
Need I say more?
The redshirt freshman winger looked absurdly comfortable in his career debut, delivering a series of absurd highlight plays.
Bond’s activity on the offensive boards was a sight to behold, and he played just about anywhere on the field. At 6-foot-3, he’s undersized for a forward, but he makes up for it with tremendous effort, limitless motor skills, athleticism, and a level of suppleness that belies his suitability for a redshirt freshman.
The Wisconsin native will be a Swiss Army knife on UVA’s team this season, and it’s really nice to have a player like that who can make an impact without having the ball in his hands.
Tony Bennett is still experimenting with lineups
Logically, on a team that had six scholarship players making their Virginia debuts in this game, the staff experimented with many different lineups. We have a Groves-Buchanan combination up front, a Dunn-Bond combination and everything in between. Yes, it was a blast, but 10 players played double-digit minutes and all got there before Bennett sent in the walk-ons.
This was a comfortable win from start to finish, and that’s encouraging considering how new this team is. Part of what’s fascinating about this team is how versatile the lineups can be. Where they lack true size and strength in depth, they make up for it with diverse skills in the backcourt and on the wing.
How this turns out should be really fun. The 2023-2024 Virginia team is built to get better as the season progresses, but there aren’t too many niggles (cough free throw shooting) in the season opener.
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