NEW YORK – Naz Reid was among the biggest people – and names – on hand Wednesday night at the Entertainers Basketball Classic at the famed Rucker Park.
The 6-foot-11, 220-pound Class of 2018 big man arrived with his Sports U teammates Jahvon Quinerly and Louis King. Reid will be back in New York City on Saturday for the Big Strick Classic at Gauchos Gym.
That Reid is healthy and on the court at all now is good news. He displaced his left kneecap during an Elevate Hoops event in Philadelphia in July.
“I was scared,” he said. “It popped up but it went back in by itself.”
Had he torn his ACL, Reid would have been lost for the rest of the summer and beyond. Instead, he was back on the court as Sports U won the U16 championship at the Under Armour Association finals in mid-July.
Had he severely injured his knee, he also would be out for the upcoming high school season, likely dashing Roselle Catholic’s chances for a third Tournament of Champions title since 2013.
Now that he’s healthy, he has big expectations for the Lions, who just added Khalif Battle, a Class of 2019 shooting guard and the younger brother of Syracuse freshman Tyus Battle.
“We could be very good,” he said. “All we have to do is play together and learn how each other plays and we should all jell together.”
As far as recruiting, Reid listed Cal, Kentucky, Syracuse, Seton Hall, Kansas and UConn among those “working hard.”
Cal coach Cuonzo Martin is now recruiting both Reid and Quinerly.
“I’ve seen him at a couple of the games,” Reid said.
The Roselle Catholic big man has no plans to take any visits soon.
“Right now I haven’t really been thinking about it, I’m thinking about finishing my summer and then I’m going to get into that,” he said. He added that he wants to visit “all” the schools “to get experience and see what’s going on during school-wise, it’s not just about basketball.”
Reid and his Sports U teammates — Quinerly, King, Luther Muhammad and Atiba Taylor — hold “Fab Five” offers from several schools, including Seton Hall, Rutgers and UConn.
Reid said Tennessee has also made the group offer.
“It was actually Tennessee, too,” he said.
Asked if that was realistic, he said: “It actually can because we’re brothers on and off the court and going through anything we’re always going to be together, we’re always going to be there for each other.”
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