Reaves showing that he's way more than a shooter
NORMAN — Austin Reaves arrived at OU with a reputation.
Spot-up shooter. 3-point specialist.
It was a reputation earned by shooting better than 45% from behind the arc during two seasons at Wichita State, including better than 50% as a freshman.
Nearly three years after his arrival, though, Reaves has completely remade his game.
His move to point guard, flipping spots with De'Vion Harmon, has played a big role in the Sooners' resurgence.
After an upset loss at Kansas State earlier this week, No. 7 OU will try to get back on track against Oklahoma State at 2 p.m. Saturday at Lloyd Noble Center (ABC).
Reaves was born to be a basketball player.
Both of his parents played at Arkansas State. His dad, Brian Reaves, was a point guard and is tied for third on the school's career assist list. His mother, Nicole Wilkett, had the second-highest season scoring average in program history in 1991-92.
At Cedar Ridge High School in Newark, Arkansas, Reaves averaged 32.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.1 assists as a senior.
“I really played point guard my whole life growing up until I got to Wichita State, then I was moved off the ball,” Reaves said. “I did what I had to do to stay on the court and play minutes.”
And Reaves started off off the ball with the Sooners, before taking over at point guard early this season.
He leads the team in scoring (17.2 points per game), rebounds ( 5.6) and assists (4.9). No Sooners player has ever led the team in all three categories.
The turning point for Re aves came during the 2018-19 season after he transferred.
“I think Austin during that redshirt year took full advantage of really working on broadening his game,” Sooners coach Lon Kruger said.
“It may be something he did in high school already but he hadn't done that at the college level in terms of
driving and kicking and creating his own shot as well as shots for others, getting better with the basketball off the dribble — all those
things that he's doing today. Would've been hard to project that just watching his first two years at Wichita State. But he worked at it.”
Reaves' teammates say he's handled the leadership aspect of being a point guard well also.
“He's talking to us, he's telling us the things that we need to do to go out there and get the victory,” Umoja Gibson said. “Everybody listens to him.”
That hasn't come easy for Reaves.
“One of the tougher things was being the floor general,” Reaves said .“I' m really a quiet guy. I don't have a loud voice. I kind of really … I don't stay to myself, but I don't talk a lot.”
But going into the summer, one of the primary focuses of Reaves' discussions with Kruger were his growth as a leader.
“It's become more natural, especially when I am on the floor,” Reaves said. “It was really more off- the- floor, practice-like. I kind of always had it when I am on the floor, being able to feel things and talk to my teammates during games. I would say off-the-floor, locker-room stuff was more of the challenge.”
Looking back on evaluating Reaves at Wichita State, Kruger — of course — says he expected Reaves to make a major impact.
But the total evolution of Reaves' game surprised even Kruger.
“He's been terrific in every way ,” Kruger said .“We liked his skill set, we liked his basketball mentality, his instincts, his ability to shoot it — all those things. I don't know that you can ever project a guy to do quite what Austin's done because it's been at such a high level.”