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14 CAVALIER CORNER country did not manifest overnight but rather over the course of his four years at Virginia. "I think over the years learning new stuff from different players, being in this system and the amount of work I put in shows on the court," Beekman said. Beekman is not a one-dimensional player, though. He also ranked first in the ACC and 17th in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.91). The 6-foot-3, 194-pound guard is known for his ability to defend off the ball, ren- dering Virginia's strategies particularly effective. That defensive prowess has generated offensive opportunities for Beekman, who averaged a career-high 14.3 points and 6.1 assists per game during the regular season. "It's great to be in those positions with a new team. I feel like that is going to take us a long way. You have to go through things to learn from that to later down the road be more comfortable," said Beekman, who recorded 186 assists this season (through March 13). While locking down some of the best guards in the ACC one on one, Beekman also managed to tally five 20-point outings. "A lot has been put on Reece's shoulders as a player this year because of our inex- perience and some of our deficiencies that we have, so he has been thrust into a spot where he has to do a lot," Bennett said. "And that is really hard but good for him, good for his long-term future, good for our team. "I know we have had a lot of hard losses, but the one thing that I appreciate is through this year, Reece has put us in a spot with his play, with of course the other guys but him being the leader and trying to contend for an NCAA Tournament bid, but that's thrust him into a spot that I think is good for him and has improved his game a lot." At Boston College Feb. 28, Beekman knew the team could not handle its third loss in a row approaching the postseason. He pro- duced another notable performance, finish- ing with 18 points, a game-high 8 assists, 5 rebounds and 1 blocked shot to send the Cavaliers to a 72-68 win over the Eagles. "I stepped up and made the plays we needed to win," Beekman said. STAYING TOGETHER As the Cavaliers entered the postseason, it was clear that to continue this season's success, it will come down to their defense. "Without that togetherness, without that connectedness of the defense it won't last," Beekman said. "And he [Bennett] has been preaching that since I got here on Day 1, and it hasn't changed for four years, so it's just following that criteria and following the system that's shown the work. "It's not always going to be perfect, there are going to be slip-ups, but if we stay together and trust each other it's hard to score against us." Dunn echoes Beekman in the impor- tance of communication and belief in one another. "Communication and trust, that's a big part of our defense," Dunn said. "Having people in the gap, having people help side, but without trust I feel like we wouldn't be as tight, so everybody connected as one has really taken us to the next level." No stranger to success, Dunn put up impressive numbers this season with 73 blocks and 41 steals. His 7-foot-1 wing- span allows him to eliminate passing win- dows when double-teaming opponents. Dunn ranked first in the ACC and 10th in the country in blocks per game (2.4) during the regular season, and was already clos- ing in on UVA's all-time top 10 in blocks with 106 through 62 career games. Only a second-year, Dunn is believed to be one of the most impactful wing defenders in col- lege basketball with his defensive playmak- ing and court coverage. He has registered 3 or more blocked shots in 11 games and has compiled 5 or more in six contests. Beekman ranked second in the ACC with 2.1 steals per game and became UVA's all-time steals leader, passing Othell Wilson with 3 steals at Duke March 2. (Photo by Jamie Holt/courtesy UVA)