Kowacie Reeves Enters the Transfer Portal, UF Still an Option
By Will Thomas
Florida Gators guard Kowacie Reeves enters the transfer portal
On Wednesday, the Gators received some discouraging news: rising star Kowacie Reeves would be entering the transfer portal.
This news came just after Florida announced that Belmont transfer Will Richard and LSU transfer Alex Fudge would be coming to Gainesville for the 2022-2023 season.
It is important to note that Reeves is keeping UF as an option for next season. We could see a similar situation to when Colin Castleton announced his return to Gainesville just a few days ago, as Castleton received a “lucrative NIL deal” from the Gator Collective to persuade him to stay another year.
While Reeves’ potential NIL deal may not be as impressive as Castleton’s at this point in time, he could still see some serious value as he is one of the rising stars in college basketball. It would make sense if the move to enter the portal by Reeves was simply to gain leverage in a NIL deal, as we are starting to see more and more college athletes make the most of these opportunities to profit off of their talents.
Even though Reeves wasn’t regularly involved in the Gators rotation this past year, he shined when he was given the opportunity. His stats for the whole year were 5.5 points a game and 1.4 rebounds a game. In games where Reeves saw at least 20 minutes of action, however, his scoring rose to 12.2 points a game. He also shot the ball at 37.9% from the field and 33.3% from 3 point range.
His shot-making ability is something that the Gators and coach Todd Golden would love to have next year, as he’s able to make difficult shots and create space on the floor.
Kowacie Reeves’ shot making has given some much needed juice to Florida’s offense. Shot prep, release, and footwork are all immaculate. NBA shooter at 6’7”. pic.twitter.com/vFSQHO8Jzl
— Eric Fawcett (@EricFawcett_) January 20, 2022
Perhaps the highlight of Reeves’ season last year was his two clutch threes against Texas A&M in the SEC Tournament. Although the Gators lost the game in the end, Reeves showed off his playmaking ability and willingness to take the big shots.
Breakout half for Kowacie Reeves comes at the right time for Florida, but the Gators fall just short in OT. The 6-6 19-year-old wing scorer finished with 21 PTS (6-11 FG/6-8 FT) and 6 REB.
— Max Feldman (@MaxFeldman6) March 10, 2022
Fluid shooting, rim pressure and length. Lining up as a prime sophomore leap to track. pic.twitter.com/s0HbBffYVF
Kowacie Reeves will be a star in college basketball, and Todd Golden and UF need to do whatever they can to get him to stick around in Gainesville.
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