Former LSU guard Jalen Reece has announced his commitment to Texas A&M.
At 6-foot and 185 pounds, Reece averaged 5.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.6 assists as a freshman for the Tigers. He shot 35.8 percent from the field, 29.9 percent from 3-point range and 72.3 percent at the free-throw line.
Don’t let the numbers fool you, Reece has proven he’s ready for the SEC. I know 5.8 points per game and under 30 percent from three don’t jump off the page, but the more you dive into it, the easier it is to see that Reece is a perfect fit for Bucky Ball.
On an injury-riddled LSU team, Reece was thrown directly into the fire as a true freshman who was barely playing 10 minutes a game in non-conference play. After LSU’s starting point guard Dedan Thomas Jr. went down with an injury right before SEC play, Reece was forced to step up and start. There were trials and tribulations, but ultimately, Reece came out the other side a battle-tested SEC point guard.
In the final eight SEC games of the season, Reece averaged 12.0 points per game and 6.8 assists while shooting 37 percent from deep. That looks and sounds more like a Bucky Ball guard who can create for himself, distribute the ball at a high level to his teammates and cash in from behind the arc. He’s aggressive defensively for his size and has the mental fortitude to thrive in this system as a youngster.
With how Reece handled himself last season, this staff sees another jump in his game as a possibility in this system, which is why they made such a focused effort to land him once he entered the portal last week.
Bucky McMillan and his staff first went in-home with him over the weekend, and then got him to campus for a visit on Wednesday, where he committed to A&M.
The Orlando, Florida, native finished eighth in assist percentage in the SEC at 25.5 percent, and he didn’t find his stride until the back half of conference play. When you add Reece into the mix with PJ Haggerty and Bryson Warren, A&M has quickly assembled one of the best back courts in not just the SEC, but the entire country.
McMillan and his staff beat out Missouri and Oregon for the talented young guard.
Reece arrives in Aggieland with three years of eligibility left.
