Sports blog information from USA TODAY.
No Notre Dame players.
We would like to wish you and your a Happy New Year. We continue to explore new ways to make this site a wonderful place to visit, and we can’t wait to share them with you. The fact that you keep coming back here motivates us to do better.
Here are the ACC’s major statistical leaders as we begin 2024:
No Notre Dame players.
First of all, we hope you have a very Merry Christmas. We appreciate everyone who comes to our site to read our content because we wouldn’t be here without your support. Whatever reason you have to come to this site, we hope you continue to do so for a long time to come.
Now that the holiday greetings are out of the way, let’s take a look at the ACC’s major statistical category leaders:
No Notre Dame players.
The ACC season has reached the middle of December. Time is running out for players to get their numbers up before conference play really begins. If they don’t do it now, it might be more difficult for them to do so. Here are those who have answered the call though:
No Notre Dame players.
ACC teams are about to get to the middle of December. Full-time conference play isn’t here yet, but it’s creeping closer. Now is the time for all teams to get their mistakes out of the way before the games really start to count. For now though, here are the players atop the major statistical leaderboards:
No Notre Dame players.
All ACC teams got a taste of what conference play will look like during the past week. We also started to see some more stability atop the statistical leaderboards as the criteria for making them tightened a bit. That means the numbers we’re seeing are a bit more honest. Here’s who we have atop those leaderboards right now;
No Notre Dame players on this list.
We are heading into the end of November. What does this mean as far as college basketball? Not much because no conference games have been played yet, so we only are left to imagine how well the current statistical leaders will play against that competition. Until then, here are those leaders as we get close to December:
Rookie Wire took a look at where the next draft class stands following the NCAA Tournament.
The NBA pre-draft process is in full swing as prospects around the world prepare to transition to the next level.
Teams around the league will begin hosting private workouts in the coming weeks as they finalize their draft boards. There will be various pro days on the radar and, of course, the draft combine and G League Elite Camp next month in Chicago, Illinois.
Underclassmen have until April 23 to declare for the draft. Several notable players have already decided to return to school, including Kyle Filipowski, Harrison Ingram, Baylor Scheierman and Kel’el Ware. Others are still mulling over their decisions.
Related: Key dates for NBA draft, combine, lottery and deadlines
With players still in the process of making decisions, some prospects were excluded from this mock draft because they are projected to return to school next season. However, most players projected to be drafted have already announced their decisions.
Rookie Wire took a look at where the draft stands following the NCAA Tournament. It is important to note that team needs were not necessarily taken into account with each pick. The projections are rather a look at where each individual player stands at this point of the process.
Note: The order of the draft was pulled from Tankathon as of April 14. The draft will have only 58 picks this year because the Bulls and 76ers were stripped of their second-round picks by the NBA due to tampering violations.
Beekman was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year after averaging 9.5 points, 5.3 assists, three rebounds and 1.8 steals.
Virginia junior guard Reece Beekman announced in late March that he will declare for the 2023 NBA draft while retaining the right to return to school next season.
Beekman was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year after averaging 9.5 points, 5.3 assists, three rebounds and 1.8 steals on 35.1% shooting from 3-point range. He ranked second in the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.36), second in steals (57) and third in assists (168).
He is projected to be a potential second-round pick this year after a strong season. He is considered a great defender with an overall ability on the offensive end of the court. He was limited by a hamstring injury but still had a productive campaign.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CqbBEmXJKmn/
Beekman will have the opportunity to gain feedback from executives and scouts over the course of the pre-draft process. He could be among those invited to participate in either the draft combine or G League elite camp in front of teams.
He will have until May 31 to withdraw from the draft and return to school.
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=650262453]
Here’s the best the ACC had to offer this year.
Miami made it to the Final Four but will not be playing for the national championship. Therefore, the 2022-23 ACC men’s basketball season is over. It was another down year for the conference as it didn’t have many NCAA Tournament berths once again, and only the Hurricanes made it to the second weekend. Duke and Pittsburgh made it to the second round, and Virginia and NC State were bounced without a win.
With the conference in a slump, it’s fair to wonder when and if it will become must-watch basketball once again. Right now, it’s a power conference in name only. Could NIL and the transfer portal make this step back a permanent one? Hopefully not, but those very things have made college basketball more unpredictable than ever.
All of the above questions will be answered as time goes on. In the meantime, here are the leaders from the major statistical categories this season:
An in-depth and very serious investigation into Beekman’s stats with and without a tee in ACC play.
It was evident early in the ACC tournament quarterfinal between Virginia and North Carolina on Thursday night that Cavalier guard Reece Beekman was going to have himself a game. The 2023 ACC Defensive Player of the Year was in his bag early with three steals and eight points in the first 13 minutes of the game.
Beekman finished with a stat line that included 15 points, five assists, five steals and no turnovers, something that hasn’t been done in the ACC tournament since 1997.
For teammates like Jayden Gardner, it’s easy to tell when Beekman is going to have one of those games. “When he’s playing in the passing lanes and getting a lot of steals and dunking it, you know,” Gardner said after Virginia’s nine-point win over the Tar Heels.
“I know he’s going to cook every game,” first year shooter Isaac McKneely said with a smile as fellow freshman Ryan Dunn chimed in with a chorus of “Buckets. Just buckets.” from the locker next to him.
Beekman swipes and scores! @UVAMensHoops | #ACCMBB | 🏆🏆🏆
📺 ESPN pic.twitter.com/8mVJavZdv5
— ACC Men's Basketball (@accmbb) March 10, 2023
Beekman had a slightly different reasoning for his big performance. “It’s usually when I don’t wear an undershirt. That’s a key sign right there of a good game for me.”
After saying that in Virginia’s open locker room post game, fifth year Kihei Clark chimed in from a couple spots over. “You should do that more often.”
“My roommate Leon [Bond] was like, ‘I don’t think you should wear a shirt today,'” Beekman continued as he laughed. “I said, ‘Really?’ and just stuck with it.”
Based on some very in-depth research [read: skimming box scores and deep-diving into the team Instagram], Beekman might be overselling the tee-less performances. He wore no undershirt just four times in ACC play, and all on the road at Syracuse, Wake Forest, Florida State and Pitt. Virginia went 3-1 in those four games, with the lone loss coming at Pitt.
In those games, he went a combined 11-for-29 (38 percent) from the field, but 8-for-15 (53 percent) from three with 13 rebounds, 15 assists, four turnovers, one block and one steal. If you add in Thursday night’s performance, his shooting bumps up to 16-for-40 (40 percent) from the field and dips from three to a still solid 9-for-19 (47 percent) with 16 rebounds, 20 assists, four turnovers, one block and six steals.
So does he actually play better sans tee shirt? In the other 16 ACC games where he was burdened with sleeves, Beekman his stats per game for rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks are pretty comparable. His shooting from the field — 48-for-125 (38 percent) — is a hair below the average set in that five game sample, but his three-point shooting is a dismal 8-for-32 (25 percent) in ACC games where he covered his shoulders.
After conducting this VERY (not very) scientific research, it feels fair to say Beekman needs to let the arms breathe for the postseason if the Hoos want to see that three ball go through.
Virginia plays Clemson on Friday evening in the ACC tournament semifinals. The game is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
