CHARLOTTESVILLE — Bundled up in a hoodie against the biting chill, Reece Beekman entered John Paul Jones Arena on Wednesday night about two hours before Virginia’s ACC clash against Virginia Tech. The words emblazoned on the back of his sweatshirt summarized the Cavaliers’ mission.
“Anti Offense Defense Club.”
The conference’s reigning defensive player of the year, Beekman is the linchpin of UVa’s renowned pack-line defense, but far too often this season he’s had minimal assistance.
In packages large and small, that changed dramatically against the Hokies, igniting the Cavaliers’ 65-57 victory.
Oh, Beekman was typically stout, largely responsible for Sean Pedulla’s sub-par, 6-of-16 shooting and season-high seven turnovers. But the X factors were reserve guard Dante Harris and emerging center Jordan Minor.
People are also reading…
Virginia’s Jordan Minor (22) defends against Virginia Tech’s Mekhi Long (4) during an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024, in Charlottesville, Va. (Cal Cary/The Daily Progress via AP)
Harris had missed the previous 10 games recovering from a nasty high ankle sprain. He came off the bench Wednesday and, whether paired with, or in relief of, Beekman, he again displayed the quickness, athleticism and ball security (five assists and no turnovers) that made him the MVP of Georgetown’s 2021 Big East tournament championship.
But the most essential piece was Minor, the Minor whom the Cavaliers (12-5, 3-3 ACC) must have if they’re to fashion a winning league record for the 13th consecutive year.
Tech center Lynn Kidd began the night averaging 14.8 points and shooting an ACC-best 67.2% from the field. He was fresh off an 8-for-8 outing against Miami.
Blanketed by Minor, Kidd didn’t attempt a shot until about 2½ minutes into the second half. He finished with two points on 1-of-3 shooting.
Understanding Kidd’s penchant for spin moves and shot fakes, Minor summoned the discipline to keep his feet. He muscled Kidd and kept him away from his preferred spots down low.
“They stoned him — bottom line,” Tech coach Mike Young said.
“We needed some real, legitimate man strength down there, and he’s got that,” UVa coach Tony Bennett said.
Bennett even compared Minor’s performance to those once authored by Jack Salt, the mountainous center who was a senior on Virginia’s 2019 national championship squad.
A graduate transfer from Merrimack, where last season he averaged 17.4 points and was voted the Northeast Conference’s top defender, the 6-foot-8, 242-pound Minor had, to date, disappointed. Not with his effort or attitude, mind you. Indeed, Bennett has praised Minor’s “joyful” outlook.
But Minor, accustomed to playing zone defense at Merrimack, struggled to grasp the pack-line’s intricacies. Projected as an interior stalwart on both ends of the floor, he was instead an afterthought, relegated to negligible minutes.
UVA, Virginia Tech square off in key game for postseason hopes | Teel and Barber podcast
A seven-minute cameo at the end of a Jan. 6 blowout loss at N.C. State offered a glimmer of hope. Nine points, five rebounds and credible defense in a season-high 22 minutes at Wake Forest a week later, again in a lopsided defeat, indicated additional progress.
Wednesday was a coming out party. Minor not only “stoned” Kidd, but also contributed 16 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Thirty-one of Minor’s 51 points this season have come in the last three games.
While Minor keyed Virginia’s interior defense, Beekman, as usual, anchored the perimeter. His challenge was considerable.
Pedulla was on a heater like Virginia Tech (10-7, 2-4) has rarely witnessed, 91 points in the three previous games. Former Hokie Erick Green, the nation’s leading scorer in 2012-13, never had such a stretch. Nor did Malcolm Delaney, who exited the program in 2011 as the school’s No. 3 career scorer.
Go back to 1988-89 and Bimbo Coles, who in a scalding five-game run late in his junior year lit up Virginia, Florida State, Louisville, Southern Miss and Charlotte for a combined 191 points, 38.2 per outing.
But Coles is Tech’s career scoring leader with 2,484 points, and he averaged 26.6 that season. Prior to this binge, Pedulla was a 13-point-a-night type, and his most-productive, three-game span against ACC competition was 50 points.
Pedulla scored a game-high 18 Wednesday, but Beekman and Harris made sure he earned them.
Up next for Virginia is a Saturday test at Georgia Tech, which in ACC play ranks second among the conference’s 15 teams in scoring. For a team that’s 0-4 on the road, defense from the likes of Beekman, Harris and Minor will be imperative.
“I would definitely say I’m a patient person,” Minor said of his time languishing on the bench. “I think this experience has just opened my eyes and blessed me. I thank God for this experience, even though it was hard at times. Knowing He put me in the right place … knowing that He surrounded me with an amazing coaching staff and amazing teammates. … They kind of helped me stay encouraged. Just leaning on my faith has helped me stay encouraged. …
“I just wanted to be ready for my team and coaching staff.”
