Reece Beekman Repeats as ACC Defensive Player of the Year
Virginia senior guard Reece Beekman has been named the 2023-2024 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, becoming just the third player to ever win the award in back-to-back seasons. Beekman was named to the All-ACC Second Team and the ACC All-Defensive Team as well, while UVA teammate Ryan Dunn was named an All-ACC honorable mention and joined Beekman on the ACC All-Defensive Team.
See the complete 2023-2024 All-ACC Men's Basketball Teams and season award winners here, as announced the league on Monday and determined by a 75-member panel consisting of the league's 15 head coaches and 60 media members.
This is the third All-ACC selection for Beekman, who was an All-ACC honorable mention in 2021-2022 and a Third-Team All-ACC selection last season. The senior guard averaged 14.3 points per game and led the ACC in assists (6.0 apg) and assist/turnover ratio (2.91). Beekman narrowly missed the cut for a First-Team Selection, as Pitt's Blake Hinson got the final spot on the first team with 280 points, while Beekman was the second player listed on the second team with 263 points.
Beekman, who was named to the ACC All-Defensive Team for the third-consecutive season, finished second in the conference in steals at 2.1 per game and became UVA's all-time leader in steals. With Beekman winning ACC Defensive Player of the Year for the second season in a row, Virginia players have won the award six times under Tony Bennett: Beekman (2023 & 2024), De'Andre Hunter (2019), Isaiah Wilkins (2018), Malcolm Brogdon (2016), and Darion Atkins (2015).
Virginia owned the defensive awards for the Atlantic Coast Conference this season, as Reece Beekman and Ryan Dunn were the leading vote-getters for both ACC Defensive Player of the Year and the ACC All-Defensive Team. Beekman received 43 votes for ACC Defensive Player of the Year and Dunn picked up 19, while no other player had more than four votes. Beekman had 73 votes for the All-Defensive Team and Dunn received 65, while the next player on the team had 48 votes.
Ryan Dunn led the league in blocks at 2.4 rejections per game, posting five or more blocked shots in six different games. The sophomore forward averaged 8.2 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game.
Read more: Virginia Basketball Bracketology Championship Week Update
Isaac McKneely received one vote for the ACC's Most Improved Player, which went to Clemson's Ian Schieffelin, and Tony Bennett also picked up a vote for ACC Coach of the Year, which was won by North Carolina's Hubert Davis in a landslide.
Virginia (22-9, 13-7 ACC) is the No. 3 seed in the ACC Men's Basketball Tournament and has a double-bye to the quarterfinals, where the Cavaliers will face either No. 6 seed Clemson, No. 11 seed Boston College, or No. 14 seed Miami on Thursday at 9:30pm at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
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