Antonio Reeves was a top 20 scorer nationally last season at Illinois State and shot almost 40 percent from 3-point range. (Photo by Illinois State)
Even though he didn’t commit to Kentucky over the weekend as many had expected him to do, Illinois State transfer Antonio Reeves left no doubt about his infatuation with the Wildcats when he told ESPN national recruiting director Paul Biancardi Wednesday about his decision to play for John Calipari.
“Coach Cal loves his players, he loves the game, has developed pros and won a national championship. That’s what attracted me to Kentucky,” Reeves told Biancardi.
The 6-6 Reeves averaged 20.1 points per game last season —19th best in the nation — and shot 46.9 percent from the field, including 39 percent from 3-point range, and 82 percent at the foul line. He also contributed 3.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game in 33 games. Only Detroit’s Antoine Davis (23.9 points per game) averaged more points than Reeves among players in the transfer portal.
Reeves is from Chicago and current UK assistant coach Chin Coleman has ties to the AAU program where Reeves played. He picked UK over Oregon, Xavier, Nebraska and DePaul.
He started 57 of 58 games at Illinois State the last two years and got up plenty of shots last season when he averaged 15.3 shots and 5.9 3-pointers per game while playing almost 35 minutes per game. He also got to the foul line 4.1 times per game.
He scored in double figures in 31 of 33 games and had 18 games with 20 points or more points and two 30-point games. He was 9-for-19 from the field when he scored 25 points in an 89-85 loss at Wisconsin.
Illinois State coach Dan Muller was fired late in the season and replaced by Ohio State assistant Ryan Pedon. Reeves put his name in the transfer portal not long after that.
Reeves obviously is a potent wing scoring threat but could also play point guard — starter Sahvir Wheeler has announced he’ll be back for his senior year — if needed much like Davion Mintz did the last two years.
Kentucky will also have Cason Wallace, a top 10 recruit, in the backcourt. He’s a five-star combo guard who most recruiting analysts thought was the best high school floor leader in the country last season.
CJ Fredrick, an Iowa transfer last year who did not play due to injuries, is also back and is a 3-point threat like Reeves.
4 Responses
Typical Calipari recruiting, another wing. Where’s the beef?
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Wendy’s !
Antonio looks like the kind of guy that has thrived in the Calipari system! Love his game. I am glad to have him on our team