Four-star 2021 big man Reid keeps his focus on his game
This summer there are going to be a host of highly-rated recruits in the class of 2021 who pick up offers left and right. And many of them will be excited to rush to their phones, hunt down pics of those teams, and post about the offers on social media.
Not every kid takes that route. And four-star big man Efton Reid is certainly one of them.
The 6-foot-11 center from the Steward School doesn’t shy away from competition but he does shy away from the hype that comes along with being the No. 36 player overall in his class and accompanying recruiting noise.
“I don’t like to talk about my recruiting,” he said during Top 100 Camp in Charlottesville. “Me and my family, we don’t discuss it. We just don’t pay attention to the hype. I’m just focused on getting better right now and next year, I’ll probably start taking official visits and stuff and then I’ll talk about recruiting.”
Reid averaged 9.4 points and 6.4 rebounds during the event, shooting 56.3 percent from the fioor. It was the kind of experience that really could catapult his game.
“It’s been teaching me a lot about the classroom and about life on the court and off the court basically,” he said of the star-studded camp. “The ball’s going to stop bouncing at some point.
“It’s better than in AAU,” Reid said of the competition he faced in Charlottesville. “You have all of the shoe brands coming together and stuff. Always got to play hard, never take a play off, because everyone’s always playing as hard. So you’ve got to outwork everybody else at the camp.”
When asked to describe his game Reid, who added an offer from UVa after Top 100 Camp, was concise: “Rebounding, [be good on] the offensive side, I’m a leader on the court, just lead and play hard.”
One of the players Reid has faced a number of times over the years is 2020 four-star Mark Williams. And the two in-state rivals certainly enjoyed going at each other once again.
“I love playing against Mark,” Reid said. “See where I’m at, see where he’s at. We just go at each other every single time we’re on the court together.”
Playing in front of so many NBA guys as well as coaches for the first time certainly made this year’s camp meaningful as well.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity to be able to play with scouts and college coaches here,” Reid said. “This is the first year and we’re the first people that get to participate in that, so it’s a tremendous honor.
“Every time I step on the court, I’ve just got to play hard,” he added. “It’s a tremendous honor. I’m just humbled by this opportunity I get. It’s exciting.
“I just play,” he said when asked if got wowed at all given the number of coaches in the building. “I don’t let it distract me.”
While he may not be keen on talking recruiting, he doesn’t mind describing what he’s searching for during the process.
“I look at the system and what kind of shots I’m going to be taking,” he said, “and whether they develop bigs to go to the NBA and stuff.
“I want to feel like it’s at home, first,” Reid added. “And I want to feel the environment and make [sure] it feels good, that my family feels good in the environment. And I want the environment to be like I’m actually playing, like I get to immediately.”
As he moves forward in his development, the Richmond native said that he likes to models his game after Tim Duncan and watches his film, though he’s also been compared to Anthony Davis and LaMarcus Aldridge.
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