Virginia, unranked to begin the season for the first time since the 2017-2018 season, made quick work of Tarleton State, winning 80-50 in the Cavaliers season opener here in JPJ on Monday.
UVA led by 24 at halftime, shooting 56 percent from the field and hitting five three-pointers.
The new-look Cavaliers looked, well, sharp.
At least everywhere but the foul line, where Virginia finished just 24-of-39 for the game, including a woeful 14-of-26 in the second half.
With a rebuilt roster that includes four transfers and a freshman, it was veteran guards Reece Beekman and Isaac Mckneely that led the Cavaliers.
Senior guard Beekman scored 16 points with seven assists, while sophomore guard McNeely added 15 points.
Virginia improved to 13-2 in season openers under coach Tony Bennett.
Redshirt freshman Leon Bond III added 12 points and nine rebounds in his collegiate debut, including a monstrous stick-back dunk that was the highlight of the evening for the JPJ gathering.
Beekman, who returned for his final season after testing the NBA waters, was 5-of-9 from the floor. His three steals jump-started a hopeful repeat of his ACC’s defensive player of the year honor in 2022-2023.
Reece Beekman is on a mission
It was clear early on that Beekman was back in a Cavaliers uniform to carry the team. He may not need to, but he’s capable of doing so.
From the opening tip, Beekman was obviously the best player on the floor, in many aspects. Offensively, Beekman appeared comfortable scoring and dishing the ball.
Defensively?
What Beekman did to Tarleton State was old news, picking up right where he left off last season, with the three steals, a block and just being a general pest for the Texans all night.
Beekman will be a serious threat for a repeat defensive honor and an NBA first-round draft pick.
Leon Bond is an energizer, on and off the court
While Bond’s stick-back dunk in the second half brought the house down during the game, his postgame demeanor in the media room was downright contagious.
The redshirt freshman looked amazingly comfortable in his collegiate debut, scoring 12 points while adding nine rebounds and two steals in only 17 minutes.
The athleticism of Bond and Ryan Dunn in the frontcourt will give opponents plenty to deal with this season.
Of that possibility Bond said, “You don’t want to see me and RD (Ryan Dunn) out there in the frontcourt, because that’s just athleticism, and we’re both long, we feed off one another. I know he’s good on the ball, and he knows I’m good on the ball.”
Blake Buchanan deserves a deeper look
Admittedly, I spent much of the game lamenting about Blake Buchanan being just another Virginia big man with limited offensive ability.
But wait, Buchanan isn’t being asked to be a scoring machine.
On defense, where I believe is where he’s going to have a major impact this season, he was smooth and comfortable.
OK, not getting carried away, this was Tarleton State, a vastly overmatched foe, who ran the YMCA offense. But Buchanan responded to the up-tempo play of the Texans, moving well, was rarely out of position, and he may be the Cavaliers best big man prospect since Mike Tobey.
Virginia has plenty of offensive threats. As the season progresses, Buchanan’s offensive abilities will improve as his confidence grows.
The transfer portal is in Bennett’s wheelhouse
Opening night for Virginia, which saw six scholarship players make their college debut, didn’t look much different from past season openers.
While the fans needed the roster card, the Cavaliers appeared comfortable with one another from the opening tip.
Bennett, who has a proven record of accomplishment of finding the diamond in the rough from the high school level, now has the data available of a player at an advanced level of play for a few years.
The intriguing part of this year’s Virginia team is the apparent versatility of the lineup and the overall athleticism of the roster.
Bennett, known for his ability to experiment with lineups, now has an almost unlimited number of combinations and skill sets that he can draw from.
That’s good news for Cavalier fans.
And unwelcome news for opponents.
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