(Picture credit: Josh Ragan @dopesteditz1)
Antonio Reeves, the transfer from Illinois State, has announced that he has committed to Kentucky! (per ESPN)
The 6'5" guard averaged 20.1 points per game on 46.9% shooting from the field and 39.0% from behind the arc in his junior season before entering the transfer portal this off-season. Those stats earned him a spot on the All-MVC (Missouri Valley Conference) Second Team and was awarded the conference's most improved player.
A very common - and warranted - fear of taking players that averaged great statistics but played for a small school is that they most likely played against weaker competition. This leaves us unsure of how these stats will translate to high major basketball and the much more difficult SEC schedule.
However, Reeves had one of his best games of the season playing on the road against a ranked Wisconsin team who ended up as a three seed in the NCAA Tournament. Reeves put up a game high 25 points on 9/19 shooting to go along with 4 assists and 4 rebounds. While his team fell short, losing 89-85, he single handedly kept his team close against a far superior opponent. While it is a small sample size of just a single game, it is a great indication that Reeves is capable of playing up to his competition.
Reeves, from the minute he entered the transfer portal, was immediately connected to Kentucky due to his Chicago connection with assistant coach Chin Coleman. This early recruiting lead turned into a near Kentucky lock after his official visit to Kentucky this past weekend, so it is no surprise that we saw a commitment from him this quickly.
Just a week ago, Kentucky only had 4 scholarship players committed to next year's roster: freshmen Cason Wallace and Chris Livingston and returnees Daimion Collins and CJ Fredrick. Now, with Oscar Tshiebwe announcing his return, John Calipari saying he expects Sahvir Wheeler, Jacob Toppin, and Lance Ware to return, and the commitment of Antonio Reeves, Kentucky's roster is very quickly taking shape. I expect Kentucky to add one more guard in the transfer portal if Shaedon Sharpe stays in the draft, and maybe even one more depth piece after that. But John Calipari is not wasting any time trying to build a final four caliber team following a second consecutive disappointing end to the season.