Milwaukee native Mike Dunleavy Jr., signed Reece Beekman to a two-way contract. The team has a trend of acquiring Milwaukee players, including Kevon Looney, Jordan Poole, and Patrick Baldwin Jr. Dunleavy, who played high school basketball in Wisconsin and later for the Milwaukee Bucks, has influenced these decisions.
Beekman, born in Milwaukee, joins this list. Despite being only 6’1”, he is a top-tier athlete and an excellent defender, having won the ACC Defensive Player of the Year twice. He maintains an impressive assist-to-turnover ratio of 3:1 over his last three college seasons. Though not a strong shooter, he improved his scoring to 14.3 points per game in his final year at Virginia.
The Warriors hope their development staff can help Beekman improve his shooting. Despite his likely role as a backup point guard, Beekman’s defensive skills make him a valuable addition to the team.
Ask Murphy about almost any aspect of the team, and he mentions two different coaches who are playing a role in it. Greene, promoted to a big-league coaching staff for the first time, is nominally the bullpen coach, but that’s an old-fashioned, rigid name for what will clearly be a novel and flexible role.
“We’re not that divided, that one guy can’t affect that,” Murphy said, when asked whether Greene can still be a boon to the team’s catchers from his new position. “He knows all these guys, he knows their personalities, he knows their backgrounds. He’s such a valuable resource, and he knows the game. So he’ll help in all areas. And [newly promoted assistant pitching coach] Jim Henderson is still gonna be heavily involved in the bullpen, so we’re just adding a great resource.”
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