Mike White and his staff of talented assistants have really cranked up the intensity when it comes to recruiting talent to Gainesville and with the key pieces in place for the 2020 class with Samson Ruzhentsev, Niels Lane, and Osayi Osifo we can start to look towards who could be coming in 2021.
Florida’s top target right now is Kowacie Reeves Jr., a perimeter talent from Macon, Georgia. The Gators were his first scholarship offer back in May of 2018 and have stayed on him ever since as he has climbed the recruiting rankings to where he sits now at 83rd in the class. A tweet he sent out announcing the offer from Florida remains his pinned tweet to this day.
Long thought of as the best shooter in the class he’s kept up that billing while also adding to his offensive arsenal the ability to beat his man one-on-one and finish above the rim in transition. Extremely intelligent on and off the court his basketball IQ allows him to see the floor and make reads much more advanced than you see from his peers at the same age.
Coming from a tremendous family with a background in grassroots basketball Reeves Jr. has went through his recruitment tactically and has recently taken visits to both Florida and Stanford. Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, and many others have also been keeping a close eye on him as he continues to open eyes with his polished offensive skill set. I’m fully expecting his recruitment to explode this season as more elite programs pick up on his abilities and the Gators are going to be extremely happy that they got in on him early. Watch for more top-tier programs to offer Reeves Jr. this year and expect him to continue to rise up recruiting rankings.
I had the chance to catch up with him for the first time since I spoke to him and his father in the summer of 2018 after his Florida offer. Here is what he had to say.
EF: So it’s been a while since I last talked to you. What all has been going on for you basketball-wise?
KR: Well, recruitment really jumped. Started in this summer in the AAU season.
EF: What do you think kick started your recruitment even more? Was it anything you added to your game or was it just coaches getting the chance to see you for their first times?
KR: A little bit of both. I started to handle the ball more and I’ve always played with a high motor so coaches were just seeing it for the first time.
EF: So a couple times I’ve referred to you in writing and on podcasts as the best shooter in the 2021 class. Then, a bunch of Gators fans found video of you dunking all over guys and I’ve now been accused of selling your game short by mostly talking about your shooting (laughs). What have you done to develop your ability as a ball handler and a slasher?
KR: (laughs) Well growing 6 inches helped a lot but most importantly I’ve been starting to get in the weight room, taking it more serious and doing lots of ball handling drills.
EF: I’ve seen your height listed differently a few places now, how tall are you actually?
KR: 6’5”.
EF: Yeah, that would definitely help with your finishes above the rim (laughs). So a few weeks ago you took a visit to Florida. What all did you do on the visit?
KR: It was official so I did pretty much everything possible to do on officials, from spending quality time with the coaches, to going to the football game, to watching practice and hanging out with the players.
EF: That Gators were an early offer for you and have been recruiting you hard since. What have they been telling you recently to try and sell the program to you?
KR: Just that I’m their guy in the 2021 class and that I will have great opportunities in coming to UF.
EF: While you’ve already had a lot of great programs offer you I’m expecting your recruitment to explode even more this upcoming season. How do you sort through all of these different offers when you have so many coaches telling you so many things?
KR: I base my recruitment off actions, relationships, the future of the coaching staff that’s recruiting me, and seeing will I fit there for the next four years.
EF: You also seem to be pretty academically focused, does that play much of a role in what schools you look at?
KR: Yes sir, most definitely want to be surrounded by erudite players.
EF: Yeah man, just the use o that word makes me know you’re academically focused (laughs). Your dad is obviously very involved with basketball and is really knowledgeable about the process. How has he helped you with your recruitment?
KR: He has always been honest with me and helped me notice things in coaches and is guiding towards the best situation for me.
EF: You have a lot of time until you need to decide but do you have any timeline for when you think you might make a decision?
KR: Sometime after this high school season. My decision won’t be long and drawn out.
EF: Just one more thing for you then I’ll let you go—can you give me a preview of your upcoming high school season, both of what you’re going to accomplish and what your team is looking like.
KR: I want to really push myself defensively and also do other things than just scoring such as rebounding and making players around me better, just by my presence on the floor. And as a team we are looking good, just need to be faster and more in shape than our opponents because we have no true big man.
EF: Thanks so much for your time Kowacie, I can’t wait to keep up with what you accomplish this year.
KR: No problem and I appreciate your support and you reaching out to me man.