Virginia's Reece Beekman Declares for NBA Draft, Maintains College Eligibility

Beekman has until May 31st to withdraw from the NBA Draft if he decides to return to Virginia for another season

Virginia junior guard Reece Beekman has declared for the 2023 NBA Draft while maintaining his college eligibility, Beekman announced in an Instagram post on Thursday afternoon. 

"I want to thank Coach Bennett, Coach O and all of the UVA coaches and staff for believing in me and allowing me to play at Virginia for the last three years," Beekman said in the post. "Thanks to all of the fans, the Charlottesville community and my teammates for all the memories that I will never forget."

A 6'3" guard from Milwaukee, Beekman appeared in 92 games over the last three seasons for the Cavaliers, starting in 87 of them. This season, Beekman averaged career-highs in points (9.5), assists (5.3), and three-point shooting (35.1%). Of course, Beekman's most prized attribute is his defense, as he was voted the ACC Defensive Player of the Year at the end of the season and was named to the ACC All-Defensive Team for the second season in a row. Beekman had a 3.36 assist to turnover ratio this season, which ranked first in the ACC and second in all of Division I men's basketball. 

Beekman elected to maintain his college eligibility, which means he has the option of returning to Virginia, where he has two more years of eligibility. The deadline to withdraw from the NBA Draft is May 31st, so Beekman must decide to either come back to college or stay in the draft by that time. Until then, Beekman can participate in pre-draft workouts and receive an evaluation from the NBA in which experts will predict where they think he will be drafted. The 2023 NBA Draft will be held on June 22nd at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. 

If Beekman decides to stay in the NBA Draft, he would be the seventh player to depart from the Virginia men's basketball program this offseason, joining transfer portal entrants Francisco Caffaro, Isaac Traudt, and Kadin Shedrick and graduates Kihei Clark, Jayden Gardner, and Ben Vander Plas. 

Keep track of all of Virginia's movement in the transfer portal here: Virginia Basketball Transfer Portal Updates

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