No rush for Reese
Pelham junior Alex Reese isn’t in a hurry to make his college choice, but it’s not because he doesn’t have the options.
Reese, who stands 6-foot-9 and weighs 225 pounds, has multiple offers, including ones from Auburn, Alabama, UAB, Georgia, Vanderbilt and Tennessee.
He’s just not ready to choose one.
“I’m not even ready to narrow my list, yet,” Reese said. “I’m going to take my time.”
The 6-foot-9, 225-pound forward averaged a double-double as a junior scoring 25 points and grabbing 10 rebounds per game. The Alabama Sports Writers Association recently tabbed Reese a member of its 6A all-state first-team.
The voters saw in Reese what several college coaches did. He can shoot. He can drive and dish. He can rebound.
“Auburn came by this season to see me – Coach (Bruce) Pearl and the staff,” Reese said. “UAB coach (Jerod) Haase came by. Alabama and Coach (Avery) Johnson came, and so did coaches from Vanderbilt, Georgia, Virginia, Arkansas and Tennessee.”
Four of the schools have remained consistent in their recruitments of Reese. He isn’t ready to name a top group, but the quartet of schools is beginning to separate itself from the others.
“Auburn, Alabama and UAB are recruiting me really hard,” Reese said. “I also talk to Coach (Philip) Pearson from Georgia just about every day. Those four are recruiting me pretty heavy right now.”
Reese is very familiar with Auburn. He’s visited and camped at Auburn several times and also attended many games. His uncle, Quinton Reese, was a multi-sport star at West End High School in the early nineties and later a standout defensive end at Auburn.
“I’ve been around Auburn all my life,” Alex Reese said. “I grew up an Auburn person.”
But it’s not the primary reason the Tigers are an option for him.
“I like the coaching staff most of all,” Reese said. “I really like Coach Pearl and think he’s going to do well at Auburn. They had a lot of injuries and stuff this year so that set them back, but they’ll be OK. They have some really good talent coming in.”
Auburn currently has a top 15 recruiting class in 2016, according to Rivals. The Tigers also are off to a fast start in 2017. Five-star center Austin Wiley is committed. So is potential future five-star point guard Davion Mitchell.
“That helps Auburn,” Reese said of the two commitments. “I know both of them are really good.”
Reese also has visited Alabama and UAB and plans to visit Georgia during the offseason. That is, when he has time. He recently finished his junior season of high school ball, but now it’s time for the start of the spring AAU season.
Reese will play this year for Team Carroll, a new team in Birmingham sponsored by DeMarre Carroll of the Toronto Raptors. The team, which was formerly known as Southeast Elite, will compete in the Adidas Uprising Gauntlet series.
“It should fun,” Reese said.
Rivals ranks Reese the No. 51 overall player in the 2017 class.