‘He’s first-class’
Why UConn fans will love transfer Tarris Reed Jr.
You can call him “Big Hoss,” as he was dubbed by Juwan Howard, or “Baby Panda,” due to his love of ‘Kung Fu Panda’ movies, or “T-Reed,” his nickname at Link Year Prep in Branson, Missouri.
Just make sure that when you address him by his full name, address Tarris Reed Jr. just like that: Tarris Reed Jr. That last part is very important to him, just as it is to his father.
“Being our first-born, my namesake, he’s definitely a special kid and very dear to us,” Tarris Reed Sr. told CT Insider.
“The funny thing is,” Reed Jr. added, “I’m actually not a Junior. Legally, it’s ‘The Second’ (as in, Tarris Reed II). But growing up, everyone who knew me called me ‘Junior.’ So, the older I got, the more I ran with it. Everybody was calling me ‘Junior,’ or Tarris Reed Jr. or ‘T-Reed’ ... it varies from there.”
Although he’s currently finishing up his courses and workouts at Michigan, you can also call Reed Jr. a UConn Husky. He committed to the UConn men’s basketball team last week after spending his first two seasons at Michigan. The 6-foot-10, 265pound rising junior and St. Louis product figures to step right in next season as a key big man for the Huskies, who are losing 7-2 Donovan Clingan to the NBA.
“The tradition speaks for itself,” Reed Sr. said of UConn. “I think the style of play and the coaching staff were big parts of it. Granted, it’s a lot further away from home. Once we had a chance to get acquainted with the coaching staff, that was a big part of the decision-making process as we plan out our next two years. We felt like (Dan) Hurley and the rest of the staff had our son’s best interest at heart.”
Reed Jr. made his official visit to UConn the weekend of April 13, which neatly coincided with the Huskies’ second straight national championship parade through Hartford.
“Honestly, it doesn’t get better than that,” Reed Jr. said. “That was pretty cool, pretty big.”
He announced his commitment to the Huskies a few days after his visit.
“Honestly, it was just the culture,” Reed Jr. said. “It was something I was looking for: a coach that’s going to be hard, a coach that’s going to be strict. Family atmosphere. The biggest thing was, talking to a lot of people, from the