Fair! I loved SS at the time and maybe I’m misremembering him as more of a “good stats on a bad team” guy than he deserves. I’m just saying i don’t think RB getting it is absurd. But the poll is saying I’m very wrong about that! 
2 Likes
Realistically I think he’s at best 6th in line from the TB era. And you could debate a couple of other against Reece for 6th. Mike Scott, Joe Harris, and the big 3 are the top guys if anyone else under TB is going to get honored. IMO they all deserve the retired jersey tier that’s essentially only Staples at this point
Kyle probably deserves a retired number based on his accolades but I wonder if his place in the ‘Big 3’ and connection with Ty and Dre makes UVA hesitant to retire one without the other two
2 Likes
Yeah I agree that the big 3 need to be honored in some way but figured it was a requirement to have stayed four years for the Jersey/number
2 Likes
Look, I don’t want to be too negative because I really like Reece and am so appreciative of his time here. Glad he is a Hoo. But if we are just talking about the jersey/number retirement question:
-
I mean this right here (and you can add in his Syracuse game winner). That is not a particularly great selection of moments over a full four year career. He didn’t take the team on his back and lead us to particularly notable heights. I very much appreciate the two regular season ACC titles he contributed to (albeit during down ACC years), but every year he was here ended in disappointment/upset, whether it was his fault or not. The Reece era wasn’t a particularly notable one except for how we managed to largely disappoint after winning a national championship. In 20 years when you’re thinking back on these years, what are the great memories and heroic Reece performances you’re going to pull up? I doubt it’s that many.
-
If I calculated correctly, his career NCAA stats (the biggest stage on which college players are judged): 34.3% from the field, 0% from three, and 0-3 in the win-lose column with those three loses coming to Ohio, Furman, and Colorado St. That’s not the postseason resume of a guy in the rafters.
-
Yes, he was a great defender, but his offensive game was so inhibited by his inability to shoot any kind of contested jumper that other teams just sagged off him, creating all manner of offensive issues for years. When the other team considers it a win if a guy on our team is the one shooting, odds are decent that guy isn’t going in the rafters. (And yes, our island-of-misfit-toys roster construction the past few years didn’t help him out, but his own offensive limitations were also very much part of the problem.)
-
He was not a particularly vocal or noticeable leader on the court for most of his time here. For much of his time here he played second fiddle to Kihei, and for all the years he was here the teams seemed to struggle with general morale and on-the-court leadership. This one is, of course, more subjective though - maybe I’m wrong, but that was the impression I got watching through the TV screen.
-
As you note, he was never an all-American. I won’t look up all those other past greats, but I’m going to guess many were, or had significantly more accolades than Reece. Yeah, being a conference DPOY is certainly nice… but that’s not national recognition and as much as Tony would like you to believe otherwise, defense is only half of the sport of basketball.
Reece is a phenomenal defender and a good distributor, and he had a solid handful of nice regular season moments. But he wasn’t a nationally relevant player, his era at UVA is predominantly marked by bitter upsets in the biggest games, and his own game wasn’t sufficiently well-rounded that I think it makes sense for him to be hanging in the rafters with the guys up there now. But I’m glad he’s got some great records and appreciate how much he gave us.
5 Likes
I think the Reece problem is very simple:
No NCAA tournament wins in his four years
Did not win the ACC tournament in his four years
Twice upset by double digit seeds and blown out by CSU during his four years
2 Likes
If Reece does what he does on a Gillen era team, we think of him in the same category of Sean Singletary. Maybe not quite there, but up there. Singletary won ONE game in the NCAA tourney and had only one appearance.
There’s no question in my mind about this. ANY of those moments referenced above would have blown away the fan base under Gillen. But they’ve become the norm under Bennett.
The only reason Reece is not thought of more highly is because expectations post-natty were extraordinarily high (and for good reason). That’s it. And surely, the critiques of why we haven’t been better aren’t on the players, right? Or at least not on a single player?
2 Likes
Definitely fair to say that when they played matters how fans remember them, but also, to quote from directly above in the thread:
So more All ACC and national recognition.
Singletary also won an ACC regular season championship, so he literally did achieve what was also the Reece teams’ greatest achievement (and in an era when the ACC was widely considered stronger top-to-bottom.)
And as somebody who watched both, I don’t think it’s just the eras they played that affect how we remember them. But we’ll have to wait 20 years and see I guess. Maybe I’m being too tough on Reece’s resume, but I just don’t see retiring his jersey or number.
6 Likes
Also they have to graduate to get it retired
6 Likes
Thank you Reece for a wonderful career at UVA. Best of luck in the draft. It was a pleasure watching you play these last few years.
31 Likes
Andre Miller career coming. 18 years on 22 different teams. Lets go Reece!!
15 Likes
18 Likes
I will miss his old man posture and his oddly dynamic dunks. It surprised me every time.
14 Likes
Beekman should stand up and block Filip0wski from making it to the stage when his name is called. Just for old times sake.
Thanks Reece
19 Likes
Well that was briefer than it needed to be.
Hope they drop the extended cut soon.
6 Likes
9 Likes
Reece at 85 in Vecenie’s latest big board
3 Likes
One thing we have learned …it’s much easier for our program to teach a bucket getter to become system competent at defense than the other way around. If you don’t arrive with some offensive savvy and a feel as to how to create points … it ain’t happening.
12 Likes
I thought Reece got much better offensively in his time here and will probably be on a 2-way next year. That’s pretty good
18 Likes
What’s crazy is that I thought Reece took a step forward in basically all of the ways he needed to this year. His three point shot didn’t improve, but with the surrounding cast and offensive woes, you could argue it’s not a bad result.
I think he’ll impress in workouts and move up to late second round. The visibility and way our season ended is coloring some of this, imo.
7 Likes