May 21, 2012

Recruit Profile: Jamal Reynolds


Looking over the list of players that our recruiting staff has reached out to, it appears that finding a combo guard has become a top priority.  Guys like Zach LaVine, Kendal Harris, and D.J. Fenner are all known and sought after commodities, in the 2013 class, and have all been offered by the staff.  North of the border, in Ontario, 6’5 Jamal Reynolds exhibits all the characteristics of the player we’re looking for, but has not been recruited by Gonzaga to this point. In fact, for a player who averaged 33 points (three 50+ point games), 7 assists, and 5 rebounds last season (in a league comparable to Washington 3A), Reynolds doesn’t seem to be garnering anywhere near the attention one would expect.  

"There haven't been a lot of American scouts talking to me and that I'm really shocked at. He has done things that nobody in Durham has done since Devoe Joseph (16.6 PPG for Oregon last season) in high school basketball." Said Pine Ridge Coach, Cam Nekker

Up to this point, Maine, Albany, and Detroit are the only reported D1 schools recruiting Reynolds, but after a stellar start to his AAU season, including an all tournament team performance at the Pitt Jam Fest, things are undoubtedly picking up. Watching footage of JR, it is a clear that he is a very good athlete with an innate ability to score the ball. He excels in the open court and slashing to the rim, but needs to works on his perimeter shooting and strength. On the defensive side, Reynolds shows good instincts and intensity, and seems to take pride in shutting a player down. Currently Northpolehoops.com has him ranked the sixth best player in the 2013 class for Canada, right in the midst of a list of high major recruits. What excites me most of about Reynolds is that he is a player who has continually improved and consistently stands out at whatever level he plays. During the Junior National team tryouts, Reynolds has been receiving excellent reviews and is expected to make the team (alongside Zagcruit Xavier Rathan-Mayes). Jamal Reynolds has the making of a player just waiting to breakthrough on the national scene; here are some highlights of the 6’5 scoring guard.

Sophomore season:

Junior season: 

3 comments:

zagfan10 said...

Wow! What a great find and write-up. Nice job Pipeline.

Unknown said...

Send this info to the staff....quick! lol

50 point games are incredible, and I don't care what your competiton level is. wow!

Nice find Pipeline.

Mark Reynolds said...

Thanks Gaz! Since I posted the article, there have been some new developments with Reynolds. Seems like Iowa, Baylor, and Xavier are all showing interest in him, and he has just been selected to the Junior Men's National Team. Can't wait to see how he and Xavier Rathan-Mayes, perform against some of the best in the world!