Back in August, Harlem basketball got an unexpected boost when Reggie Reid returned to the Bulldogs.
The senior point guard averaged 19 points per game as a freshman and led Harlem to the state playoffs with an impressive stat line (27 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 5.7 apg, 3.7 spg) as a sophomore, but spent his junior year at ELEV8 Sports Institute in Del Ray Beach, Fla.
Without their star 6-footer, the Bulldogs struggled to a 7-16 record in 2013-14, but have already matched that win total through eight games this year.
Asked how much of a difference Reid makes to his team, Harlem coach Kim Chambers quipped, “about 30 points per game.” The numbers show he’s not exaggerating.
Through six games this year, Reid, who has signed with Florida Gulf Coast University, is averaging 25.2 points, 10.7 rebounds, 9.7 assists and 3 steals per game. He’s missed the last two games with a knee injury, and in his absence the Bulldogs went 1-1, dropping their first game of the season, 72-58, to Class AAAAA Greenbrier, a team Harlem defeated 96-69 in the season opener.
“He makes us go,” Chambers said. “We have some guys around him, and they aren’t just role players, but without Reggie we just don’t have that dynamic guard.”
The hope for Chambers and the Bulldogs is that Reid’s absence, both last year and for the short amount of time he’s expected to miss this season, has made Harlem a tougher team. The Bulldogs are an experienced group, and players like seniors Rayshun Morris and Torien Beard – both averaging double figures each of the last two seasons – are now better able to share scoring responsibilities when Reid is out.
That said, there’s no question Reid’s presence makes Harlem more formidable.
"He's the first Division-I basketball player we've ever had sign here," Chambers told the Columbia County News-Times. "He's the best basketball player that we've ever had come through this area, not just Harlem but Columbia County."
Since injuring his knee a week ago in a win over Lakeside, Reid has returned to practice and is expected to be ready to play when the Bulldogs open their Region 3-AA schedule Saturday at East Laurens. That’s when he’ll be most needed.
Region 3-AA was dramatically reshaped by reclassification, with the top three finishers from last season (Laney, Westside-Augusta and Josey) now competing in Class AAA. They’ve been replaced by Jefferson County and Swainsboro, a Class AAA quarterfinalist from last season, but the pecking order for the new-look region is still very much undetermined.
“I think we can be highly competitive,” Chambers said. “We thought we could be a top-four team without Reggie, so we definitely want to be in the mix as one of the top one or two teams in the region with him.”
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