NEW YORK — Of all the players in both the Underclassmen and Upperclassmen games at the Sharette Dixon Classic on Sunday night, Naz Reid may have the biggest upside of them all.
A 6-foot-9 sophomore at Roselle (N.J.) Catholic ranked the No. 5 power forward in the Class of 2018 by 247Sports.com, Reid has all the physical tools to make basketball his profession one day in the future.
“My idea of basketball is just to try to get way better and try to make it to the NBA,” Reid said after he went for 20 points, including three 3-pointers, as the New Jersey underclassmen beat their New York counterparts, 96-89, at the Gauchos Gym. Markquis Nowell of Bishop Loughlin was the MVP with 20 points, including four 3-pointers.
“Nazreon Reid showed great ability, shoots 3’s, he runs the court,” said longtime New York recruiting expert Tom Konchalski. “He just has to learn how to play the game, not just shoot 3’s.
“Last year he put up too many 3’s, didn’t use his size, he would play selectively, not every possession, but he’s really talented. Really talented.”
This past week, Seton Hall made news by offering scholarships to what it hopes will become their “Fab Five” of the future: Reid and his Sports U Team Izod teammates Jahvon Quinerly, Luther Muhammad, Atiba Taylor and Louis King. Muhammad and King also played in the game.
The group is tentatively set to visit Seton Hall on Sunday and Reid says it’s not impossible that they could all end up on the same college campus.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for all of us to play together,” Reid told SNY.tv. “It was a great idea for them to do that and knowing that we’re going to be together forever is going to be the best thing in the world to me.”
Asked if it was realistic for all five of them to go to the same college, Reid said, “Most definitely.”
Reid already holds offers from Kansas, Maryland, Villanova, St. John’s, Georgetown Syracuse, Louisville and UConn, among others, with interest from Kentucky.
“I really don’t keep track [of recruiting] right now, but a lot” of schools are interested,” he said.
Asked about Kentucky coach John Calipari watching him last season when he was teammates with current Kentucky freshman Isaiah Briscoe, Reid said, “That was a great experience having him there. Knowing that he was there made me show off my ability to him and him seeing what I can do.”
Briscoe is now at Kentucky, but Reid said he learned about “maturity” and “leadership” from him.
“That’s what I’ll be doing this year, taking his spot and leading and hopefully it goes alright,” he said.
Roselle Catholic has re-loaded with the additions of transfers Leondre Washington, Nate Pierre-Louis (who went for 18 in the Upperclassmen game) and Andre Rafus.
“It’s going to be wonderful this year,” he said.
Reid thinks this year’s team could potentially be as good or better as last year’s which won the New Jersey Tournament of Champions.
“I think we’re going to be great,” he said. “We have more talent than last year actually but I believe if we just keep working hard, another state championship” is possible.
