Reeves picks PC
Talented 6-6 wing informs Cooley Sunday he will join program in 2018
PROVIDENCE – A.J. Reeves didn’t want to tell Providence basketball head coach Ed Cooley over the phone. The newest member of the Friar family made it a point to look Cooley in the eye and deliver the news concerning his verbal commitment.
With Cooley and his staff hosting their annual Elite Camp on Sunday, Reeves along with his parents Louise and Andre Sr. made the trek from Roxbury, Mass. to PC’s campus. If you’ve been in the company of Reeves, you know that pomp and circumstance isn’t his style.
He’s no fan of a big gathering where one sits at a table and picks up a school logo hat, then another, and another until there’s one left that signifies his choice.
“Doing something like this in person makes it that much more important … seeing the
body language and the reaction,” Reeves said while standing outside the Peterson Recreation Center on Sunday afternoon.
“He wanted to make sure he looked at (Cooley) face-toface with his family and tell him this is where he wants to commit to,” said Tom Nelson, Reeves’ head coach at Massachusetts’ Brimmer & May. “He could have called, but he wanted to come down.”
Taking the direct approach provides a snapshot of what kind of take-charge player the Friars are getting. The pledge from Reeves is also a huge domino to fall as it relates to PC’s 2018 recruiting efforts. Now the 6-foot-6 multidimensional wing, who depending on the scouting service is viewed as a consensus top-50/four-star prospect, can shift gears and persuade some his fellow 2018 classmates to perhaps join him.
“Of course I’m going to do some recruiting,” Reeves said with a wide grin. “Now that I’ve committed, I want to bring a few more guys in with me. There’s a good core here already with (incoming 2017 freshmen Makai AshtonLangford and Nate Watson) and we can add to that and see what happens. We can so something really special here.”
One player who Reeves figures to target with a fullcourt sales pitch is Providence native David Duke, his AAU teammate with Mass Rivals. Duke’s presence at PC’s Elite Camp on Sunday is encouraging on a day that saw Reeves scoop up one of the five open scholarships that Cooley is dangling.
“I’ll be talking to (Duke), trying to get him to come up here,” Reeves said. “The (PC) coaches are glad I’m the first [member from the Class of 2018] to commit.”
“He wants to be a leader, which he has been,” Nelson said. “He’s a humble kid, but he wants to win a national title. He thinks he can bring in a few guys and help Providence get to the next level.”
To put in perspective just how major of a coup this is for the Friars, understand that Reeves made his selection over Villanova, Louisville, and Virginia. It’s a group that includes two recent national champions.
Providence offered Reeves a scholarship during Late Night Madness in 2015 with the relationship only growing stronger over time. PC assistant coach Brian Blaney was the chief point person with Reeves.
“Since getting that offer, they’ve just been on me. They showed they cared so much. Not just with basketball, but with life,” Reeves said. “It wasn’t one of those offers where they offer you and don’t communicate any more. They stayed in my life and that was really important.”
Reeves saw members of PC’s coaching staff during the two live periods this spring as Mass Rivals hooped it up in Dallas and Atlanta. With summer AAU excursions on tap in South Carolina, Orlando, Springfield (Mass.) and Las Vegas, Reeves said it was “super important” to arrive at a decision before the height of the July live recruiting period.
“With the recruiting stuff, it’s fun, but it’s also really hard. These schools are really on you,” Reeves said. “I feel great because (PC) is a great school and I feel comfortable here, but now I can focus on basketball because I’m set. We want to win a championship with Mass Rivals.”
Reeves made no bones about being an offense-first guy. His athleticism was a major talking point during last weekend’s visit to Virginia for the NBA Players Association Top-100 camp. Not only can he finish at the rim and hit the outside shot, but his length enables him to disrupt smaller guards or switch out and guard other forwards.
“I’m an energy guy who likes to get everyone involved, but the little things like playing the passing lanes on defense are just as important to me,” Reeves said.
“He’s going to be able to put the ball in the bucket and guard multiple positions,” Nelson said. “They’re going to get a helluva player.”
The reaction that Reeves received from Cooley on Sunday morning told him that he had arrived at the correct choice.
“He was super excited, but so was I,” Reeves said. “How happy he got told me just how much he appreciates me.”