Recruits visit for Late-Night Madness
Friars hoping to entice prospects to commit to program Saturday
PROVIDENCE – When A.J. Reeves attended the Friars’ Late-Night Madness event two years ago, the then 16-yearold received a pleasant surprise as Ed Cooley presented the Roxbury, Mass. native with a scholarship offer.
Fast forward to this weekend as Reeves will once again visit PC’s campus with the school set to conduct its annual tip-off celebration for the student body on Saturday night. This time, it will be under vastly different circumstances as he’s on his official visit. Back in June, the four-star/top-50 prospect became the first pledge from the Class of 2018 that Providence received. There’s no pressure for the 6-5 shooting guard to deal with. He doesn’t have to go in with a cautious mindset because he already knows what his basketball future holds once he graduates from Brimmer & May next spring. The commitment he provided Cooley with buys him total peace of mind on a weekend when the Friars will once again roll out the welcome mat for plenty of local prospects.
“You don’t have to recruit or make a pitch to him. He can go there and have a good time. Definitely less stress,” said Tom Nelson, Reeves’ high school head coach. “This fall, he’s been totally locked in heading into his senior season. A year from now, the goal is to play right away. Everything he’s doing now is with that in mind. He’s playing better and working out harder.”
The preseason heading into Reeves’ final year as a high school contributor has seen him focus on his ballhandling and creating scoring opportunities for his teammates. Those elements should nicely compliment his existing skills, which includes a strong outside shot and the ability to finish at the rim.
“He’s used to being the guy who we would run stuff for to get him shots. Now he’s the one who’s directing traffic with the understanding that he can still get his shot whenever he needs to,” said Nelson. “Having him become more of a playmaker rather than just a pure scorer will be a good thing moving forward.”
Reeves will get to spend time with one of his fellow 2018 Friar commits as North Carolina schoolboy Kris Monroe is also in town for Late-Night Madness. A 6-7 forward, Monroe committed to Providence back in August despite not visiting the school during his recruitment.
“A.J. is looking forward to bonding with his future teammates. He wants to go there and get to know their personalities and let them get to know him so they have a little bit of a rapport,” said Nelson.
Nelson is also involved with the Mass Rivals AAU program that Reeves suited up for during the past few years. The guest list of those with ties to Mass Rivals that will be at PC on Saturday includes Akok Akok, a 2019 6-8 forward who attends Putnam Science Academy; Wildens Leveque, a 2019 69 forward who reclassified and is now at Gould Academy; and DeMarr AshtonLangford, a 2019 6-3 guard via Saint Peter Marian and the younger brother of current PC freshman Makai AshtonLangford.
“There’s a slew of young guys that aren’t names right now, but they’ll be known soon enough,” Nelson said.