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How two impact players restored Virginia’s elite defensive status

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How two impact players restored Virginia’s elite defensive status


In the Tony Bennett era, Virginia Cavaliers basketball has cemented a reputation for their stellar defense. The signature Bennett Pack Line suffocates opposing offenses, forcing teams out of their rhythm and into contested shot attempts late in the shot clock. Other noteworthy defensive systems, like Shaka Smart’s “Havoc” at VCU or Bob Huggins “Press Virginia” at West Virginia, rely on intense on-ball pressure, pass denials, and frequent traps in order to force as many turnovers as possible. The idea is to create fast-break opportunities through disruptive plays.

Bennett instead emphasizes positioning, quick and fluid rotations, and solid defensive rebounding to stifle opponents and wear them down as the game progresses. Yet with an uncharacteristic Virginia roster in 2023-24, the Hoos defense has produced some havoc of their own, forcing turnovers at an astounding rate.

Here’s a look at what makes this iteration of Virginia’s defense different than past Bennett squads, for better and for worse:

Stock Season

It’s the season of the stocks for Virginia in 2023-24. The accumulation of “stocks” — total steals and blocks — has spurred Virginia to another top 15 defensive season (13th in the nation in Bart Torvik and 12 via KenPom) so far this year.

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The Hoos are one of two teams in the country who rank top-10 in both block and steal percentage. They force turnovers on 22.7% of possessions, the highest clip of any Tony Bennett team ever. You would expect a statistical jump like this to be the product of a major strategical change, but Tony hasn’t made anything more than a few tinkers with the Pack Line.

The reason for this statistical outlier is two individual defensive superstars: Ryan Dunn and Reece Beekman.

Tony Bennett has rolled with an unorthodox lineup this season, with no true center and three second-year starters. The five-men — Jake Groves and Blake Buchanan — lack experience in the Pack Line, which is made clear by some clunky rotations and poor defensive positioning. Easy layups from opposing big-men on Wisconsin, Memphis, and Notre Dame have triggered several blowout losses for the Hoos. The only piece keeping the defensive frontcourt together is arguably the most versatile defensive player in the nation: Ryan Dunn.

The Ryan Dunn Factor

Ryan Dunn is a one-man stock factory, churning out steals and blocks on a nightly basis. Dunn’s length, athleticism, and defensive instincts; combined with a year of experience in the Pack Line, position him as a true game-wrecker in the four-spot of Bennett’s defense.

In this play late against Texas A&M, Wildens Leveque breezes by Jake Groves after faking a dribble hand-off. Instead of forfeiting an easy finger-roll layup, Dunn instantly jumps into the lane to alter the shot.

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Early in the game against Syracuse, Dunn gets caught on his back feet after a quick rip through and drive by Kenny Williams. Nevertheless, Dunn recovers in time to come from behind and send Williams’ layup careening off the backboard.

As most Virginia fans (and NBA scouts) can tell, Dunn is a generational defensive talent. In football terms, he’s the ever-lurking free safety, ready to pounce whenever the slightest opportunity arises. Dunn’s multi-faceted skillset consistently covers up mistakes made by Groves and Buchanan, as he impedes otherwise open layups when Groves or Buchanan get beat through his quickness and length.

Without Dunn, the defense would be left with an irreplaceable, 6’8’’ with a 7’1’’ wingspan-sized hole.

Reece Beekman

If Ryan Dunn’s the free safety, then Reece Beekman is the lockdown cornerback. The reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Year has showcased his dominant defensive abilities in a season not encumbered by injuries. Beekman leads an inexperienced Virginia backcourt, taking on the best opposing guards every single night, and doing his best to make their nights miserable.

When Virginia needed a stop on the final possession against Florida, Beekman deflected Walter Clayton Jr’s pass attempt, grabbed the ball, and won the game for the Hoos.

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At the end of the first half against Louisville, Beekman tiptoed the sideline to intercept a pass before lobbing an alley-oop to Ryan Dunn on the other end.

Both Dunn and Beekman make winning plays on defense, shifting the momentum of games through fast breaks generated by steals and crowd-erupting shot blocks. Beekman has shut down a slew of talented scoring guards, from Texas A&M’s Wade Taylor to Syracuse’s Judah Mintz. As ACC play progresses, Beekman needs to continue to erase opposing stars from games, commanding the young defensive backcourt for the Hoos.

Bad Defensive Rebounding

The most glaring weakness in Virginia’s defense is their inability to secure defensive rebounds. The Hoos are undersized without a true center, and it shows in their failure to keep even average-sized, mediocre rebounding teams off the glass.

Virginia allows offensive rebounds on 31.2% of attempts (KenPom) which ranks 236th in the nation and 13th in the ACC. For reference, from 2014-2023, Virginia averaged 25.0% offensive rebound percentage allowed, finishing in the top-50 in the nation in 9 out of 10 seasons. Bennett places an emphasis on defensive block-outs as a core principle in his defense, and this undersized, less physical unit is not meeting expectations.

To make up for their lack of physical gifts, Virginia needs to crash the defensive glass as a team, guards and bigs alike. Perhaps this means more minutes for a player like Taine Murray, who rebounds well for a wing player, utilizing his relative size and strength to position himself for defensive rebounds.

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Team rebounding is essential, but most rebounds come from the four and five spots, where Virginia really lacks size and physicality. Ryan Dunn and Jake Groves frequently find themselves in one-on-one battles where they’re giving up forty pounds and three inches to opposing bigs. No matter how hard they fight down low, it’s an uphill battle for Virginia.

Therefore, the single-greatest piece in the equation is the development of Blake Buchanan. Buchanan has the tools necessary for a fantastic rebounder, he’s 6’11” and athletic, but his true freshman body is often overmatched against stronger veteran opponents. Buchanan’s looked soft and hesitant in matchups against quality opponents, such as Wisconsin or Memphis. For Virginia to improve on the defensive boards, Buchanan will need to improve, taking his lumps as ACC play picks up in 2024.

Overall, Virginia’s defense is improved from the past few seasons. They’re anchored by the two stars, and there’s reason for optimism surrounding their overall improvement this season with encouraging signs from young players such as Elijah Gertrude and Leon Bond. While the defensive upside is evident, Virginia is missing the consistency that defined previous Tony Bennett powerhouse teams. Virginia can only reach their ceiling this year if they find that consistency, which starts with better defensive rebounding, defensive rotations, and continuing to create turnovers.



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Pregame availability report for Iowa State women, Addy Brown is out

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Pregame availability report for Iowa State women, Addy Brown is out


Iowa State’s Addy Brown and Arianna Jackson will miss Sunday’s women’s basketball game against West Virginia at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, according to the Big 12-mandated pregame availability report released 90 minutes before tip-off.

Jackson is expected to miss a significant portion of the season with a leg injury. Brown has a lower body injury and was listed as questionable on the Saturday night availability report.

Brown is averaging 13.1 points, 9.0 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game for Iowa State. The Kansas native is also shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor and 42.2 percent from 3-point range.

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Iowa State vs. West Virginia is scheduled for 2 p.m. (ESPN+).

Iowa State players listed as out

  • #2 Arianna Jackson
  • #24 Addy Brown

Iowa State players listed as questionable

West Virginia players listed as out

West Virginia players listed as probable



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Everything From Virginia Tech HC Mike Young After California Win

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Everything From Virginia Tech HC Mike Young After California Win


Virginia Tech men’s basketball head coach Mike Young spoke to the media after the Hokies’ 78-75 victory over California. Here’s the entirety of what Young had to say Saturday.

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Opening statement:

“Night in, night out. That’s just the way it’s going to be. I was texting with coach [Jim] Boeheim, who I admire tremendously. Eric Devendorf, one of his former many great players, was on the call today for the ACC Network and I was texting back and forth with Coach about a couple of things. And he said [that] it’s such a balanced league and such a good league. Again, there are a lot of opportunities to compile good wins. Got to take care of home. You got to go on the road. You got to find ways to win and we’ve got a haul on the road. But a quality win for the Hokes and to Dallas we go on Tuesday to compete against the [SMU] Mustangs on Wednesday.”

On the final play, where Justin Pippen got a good shot:

“I think the rules are so new now, okay? And they’re going to rip that thing up the floor. The continuation rule has really disrupted a lot of people’s thinking. He turns and you are a split-second late and he throws that thing at the rim and that’s called. The official’s going to come to me every time in that situation. Are you going to foul? And I have done it more often than not. I have fouled just to negate that three from going in. The only way you lose is that thing to go in the basket and you also foul. All right. Heaven forbid. I’ve never had that one happen. But the continuation, you get turned and Dai Dai Ames is really smart, been around a long time. Pippen’s been around a long time. That kid catches that ball maybe with his back to his basket and turns real quick and shoves it, knowing that you’re going to hit him. That’s a disaster. Uh he got a pretty good shot. I thought it was pretty well contested. I’ll see it several times tonight on film. Caught a break.”

On Tech’s 23-10 advantage on points from turnovers:

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“Well, we flipped that on the glass in the first half. We got our ass handed to us on the glass and that is that’s hard to stomach. They don’t have a very big front line other than [Lee] Dort and we thought that that was a real advantage for our team and I think it was 19-8 or something like that in the first half [Editor’s note: It was.]. Second half, we did a much better job. But the turnover part, they had seven more shots in the first half. That’s a big deal. They have seven more shots on goal than your team has. It’s going to come back to your rebounds. It’s going to come back to your turnovers. We’d handled the ball. So, obviously, we didn’t rebound it well enough. I hope I answered your question.”

On Cal’s 14-0 run, which was subsequently countered by an 11-point run from Virginia Tech:

“We were in good shape and I remember it going up 11. We had a media timeout in there. I thought we were fine. “Certainly, no time to panic. But right back, we come offensively. Had a really nice flurry, and I think, tied it up pretty quickly. I guess it was tied at the half. We’re 17 games in. Now, this thing comes at you fast. We’ve seen a lot of situations. Next best action. What’s next? Not too high when you have a 10-0 run, not too low, when you have a 10-0 run the other way. Just the next play, just move on to the next play. And this team has been pretty good with that.”

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On what lessons Young learned from the Stanford game, a one-point loss for Virginia Tech:

“You better have a short memory in college athletics. You better have a short memory in any athletic endeavor. It was a kick in the pants. Now you can pout, all right, and feel sorry for yourself or you can suck it up and come back the next day in practice and prepare for Cal. That game today was every bit as important as the Wednesday game. That one [against Stanford] hurt. There’s no getting around that. But you’ve got a choice to make and we got high character people in that locker room. And right back they come. Cal was desperate. We were desperate and feel great about winning.”

[Editor’s note: Viriginia Tech On SI staff writer Josh Poslusny started off his question with: “You talked a little bit about rebounding-” after which Young said, “Josh, I can’t see your eyes.” Poslusny then took off his hat.]

Q: There was a stretch you guys were out rebounded 18 to three and y’all shot five for 23 for three. I mean, what do you have to do to overcome that adversity?

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“We’ve got a good rebounding team, Zach. Right. Zach? [Editor’s note: Poslusny corrected him by saying “Josh.”]. I was close. We have a good rebounding team, Josh. We have a good rebounding team. [Amani] Hansberry is awesome. Tobi [Lawal] being back in the lineup obviously really helps us. Our guards have to rebound better. Where we’re getting in trouble, and I’m going to get way into it, Duffy Bear has no idea what I’m talking about. But when there’s dribble penetration and a post player has to step over, that takes him out of where he’s supposed to be on the glass. The shot gets up on the rim. You’ve got to have a guard cracking down on his matchup who’s a post player, who’s a big person, Dort or 17 [Mantas Kocanas] or eight [Milos Ilic]. And we did a poor job with that. Much, much better in the second half. Guarded the ball better in the second half.”

On Virginia Tech’s play down the stretch after taking the lead for good with slightly less than four minutes remaining:

“Well, again, 17 games in and I think back to the Providence game, that game had some moments where it didn’t look real good for the Hokes. South Carolina, on the road. Virginia, here in triple overtime. You click them off. Those experiences are invaluable for moments like that and I thought they had a good look about them and I thought the response was quite encouraging.”

Q: Going back to that overtime Elon game… you’ve had five straight close games, and you’ve won three of them. Is that a learned skill to win those close games?

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“You’ve got to be able to play in pressure moments, all right? And that’s why that non-conference schedule [matters]. Those moments, who’s going to respond, who may not respond? You got to step up and make foul shots. [Jailen] Bedford missed one. [Jaden Schutt] missed one that we walk out of here comfortably if we get those down. But we shot our fouls great today. Again, I said it earlier, we’re going to have a lot of these [tight games] and I wish it weren’t so. But it’s a really good league. Good, good teams, and we’re going to have to respond time in and time out. So, we look forward to it.”

On how pleased Young was with his team’s physicality:

“We haven’t gotten to the line as much as I’d like for us to, but we’ve got a physical team. David Jackson does a remarkable job with them. They’re men. They’re men and one of our toughest kids, Tyler Johnson, obviously is out of the lineup for the time being. We’ll have him back soon. But very, very encouraged. I really am.”

On the team’s defense down the stretch:

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“We did [step up]. [We went] 5-for-23. We are second or third in the ACC in three-point field goal percentage defense, And you got all the damn numbers, so if I’m wrong, correct me. It’s our rebounding, David. It’s our rebounding. We’re getting the stop. But that second one typically finds the bottom of the barrel. You’ve got to rebound the ball. You got to rebound that first carom. much, much better in the second half. But that’ll of critical importance on Wednesday in Dallas against the Mustangs.”

More Virginia Tech Basketball News:



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Virginia Tech gains commitment from ACC transfer QB

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Virginia Tech gains commitment from ACC transfer QB


North Carolina QB transfer Bryce Baker has committed to Virginia Tech out of the NCAA transfer portal. Baker was a freshman at UNC this past season and didn’t see any action for the Tar Heels.

Before arriving in Chapel Hill, Baker played high school football at East Forsyth (NC), where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 87 overall player and No. 9 QB in the 2025 recruiting cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Rankings which is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services.

During his senior season in high school, Baker threw for 3,523 yards and 40 touchdowns, while only throwing five interceptions. Moreover, he logged 303 yards and six scores in the ground game.

North Carolina finished at No. 8 in On3’s 2025 Team Transfer Portal Rankings after losing 41 players to it while adding 42. The team will look to have another successful offseason in the upcoming year, but hope for a better outcome on the field.

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Meanwhile, Baker will transfer across the ACC to play for James Franklin at Virginia Tech. Franklin arrived in Blacksburg after a successful stint at Penn State, where he’s one year removed from leading the Nittany Lions to a national semifinal.

Franklin now replaces Brent Pry, who worked under Franklin with the Nittany Lions from 2016-21 as the defensive coordinator. Pry was 16-24 as Virginia Tech’s head coach, but was fired after an 0-3 start this season. Pry now works under Franklin and will be the team’s defensive coordinator for the 2026 season.

Franklin will look to turn the program around in short order, and doing well in the NCAA transfer portal is the first step. Could they have possibly found their QB1 in Bryce Baker? For now, that remains to be seen.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.





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