Player profile Austin Reaves

By: Chris Plank

The Reaves family is a basketball family and in an offseason unlike anything any of us have ever experienced, that passion for basketball helped Sooner standout Austin Reaves persevere.

After having his junior season cut short, Austin went home and as his preparation began for his senior season at Oklahoma, a familiar face was there to help.

“It was right when everything shut down with COVID in March, my older brother Spencer got to come home from overseas and we got to spend two to three months together working out, hanging out,” Austin said looking back at the time during lockdown “It was very beneficial. He taught me everything I know about basketball. Going back home, being comfortable and just going to work at the gym with him was helpful.”

Spencer’s third season playing in Spain was cut short due to COVID-19 as Austin was coming off his first season of eligibility with Oklahoma. Both had storied high school hoops careers for Cedar Ridge High School in Arkansas and both have a deep-rooted passion for basketball that started at a young age.

“We definitely had a half court behind the house, and it was very intense,” Austin said of backyard matchups between the two brothers. “We’d end up leaving not liking each other too much.”

Spencer is two years older than Austin and had a successful collegiate career at North Greenville (SC) and Central Missouri before signing to play professionally overseas. Spencer is currently on the UBU Tizo Burgos as part of the Spain-LEB Gold League. The grind for success is something that even through the tough times has pushed Spencer Reaves.

“It’s definitely tough at times,” he said. “I love the process, though, because that’s what’s gotten me to where I’m at. I’ve never been the most athletic, didn’t have many college scholarships offers when I was coming out of high school. I just really had to grind my way through everything, and if that’s what it’s going to take to continue to get better, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”

Beyond the success that Spencer has had on the court, Austin has consistently credited his older brother for helping to develop and fine tune his passion for the sport. But Spencer has always seen something special in his younger brother.

“You could just tell that he always had it,” Spencer said. “And of course, when he was playing his age group, you could see how much better he was than most of those kids and you could just see him keep developing.”

The family passion for hoops goes well beyond Austin and Spencer. Both parents, Nicole Wilkett and Brian Reaves, starred in college at Arkansas State. Wilkett was a two-time, all-conference performer for Arkansas State and averaged 20 points per game during her final season. Brian played point guard and is currently tied for third on the Red Wolves all-time assists list.

“It’s helpful with both of my parents playing Division 1 and Spencer playing professionally,” Austin said. “It’s a lot of IQ and a lot of knowledge towards the game. I’ll be seeing something a different way and they’ll see something a different way so it’s all communication to find a different way to attack the sport.”

Sometimes it might not necessarily be what he wants to hear, but it is what he needs to hear to continue to elevate his game.

“They have no problem telling me things I don’t want to hear, the truth regardless of what it is,” Austin said. “It’s really nice having people that really know the game. It’s a learning experience and it’s helpful that I have them to lean back on.”

When Austin made the decision after two seasons to transfer from Wichita State, it was a surprise to many across college basketball. He had developed a nice role within Shocker head coach Gregg Marshall’s system, shooting 47% from beyond the 3-point line. In fact, more than two-thirds of his shots in his two seasons at Wichita came from beyond the 3-point line.

“It was tough to leave because I felt like I had good relationships with a lot of people there,” he said of his time at Wichita State where he averaged almost seven points in 66 games. “But I think when it came down to it; it was the right thing for myself.”

Since his move to Norman, he has blossomed into a legitimate number one scorer. He is more than just a spot-up, three-point shooter like he was during his days in the Missouri Valley Conference. After his first full season in a Sooner uniform, Austin almost doubled the number of free throws he had taken in two full seasons at Wichita State and has continued that trend into 2021. He is also one of the top scorers on the Sooner roster after having averaged 8.1ppg during his final year at Wichita. Austin also transformed his body bulking up nearly 30 pounds since his days with the Shockers.

“He had a good first two years at Wichita State, even though he was more of a catch-and-shoot guy at that time,” said Sooner head coach Lon Kruger. “He shot the ball for over 40 percent from the three. Then during his redshirt year, he challenged himself to do all the things that he didn’t do earlier as a player, in terms of putting the ball on the floor and driving and making plays off the dribble.”

“At Wichita, you had a little stricter coach with his system, and you had to figure out your role and what you could do to stay on the court,” Austin said. “So, for me at that point, I was a shooter and that’s what I did to get on the court. But I feel like I’ve always had the ability to do what I’ve been doing now, and Coach (Lon) Kruger has put me in the position to do the things I’m doing now.”

Nothing magnifies the complete nature of Austin’s game than his performances against TCU.

In what ended up being the final game of the 2020 season, Reaves had one of the more explosive performances in recent Sooner and Big 12 memory. He scored a career-high 41 points, including 25 in the second half, and hit the game-winning basket in the closing seconds. He added six assists, five rebounds and three blocks against the Horned Frogs, joining Ben Simmons as the only players in NCAA Division 1 over the past 20 years to post at least 40 points, five rebounds, five assists and three blocks in a game.

“I wanted to come in and just do whatever I could to help the team win,” Austin said. “That was really my focus from day one. You always have that mentality where you think you can kind of just take over at times, but I ultimately just wanted to help the team win as much as I could.”

He found yet another level again against TCU to tip off Big 12 play in 2021. Reaves scored 32 points while dishing out nine assists in an 82-78 Sooner victory.

“It’s just basically being in the moment,” he described being in a zone. “Players and coaches put me in a position to be successful. You give the credit to them but at that point, you’re just doing what you can to get the win.”

Student-athletes have faced many challenges trying to not only play but also prepare in the middle of a pandemic.

“The routine is different,” Austin said. “Everybody’s daily life is different … You’ve got to take it as seriously as possible; you’ve got to do the things that are necessary to make yourself stay up to the task in these times. It’s not ideal right now. Everything happens for a reason, and you must stay ready.”

Beyond the daily challenges of testing and protocols, he has also challenged himself to be a more vocal leader.

“I would prefer to be a lead by example guy, but Coach pushes me to be more vocal,” Austin said. “It’s something that if you continue to do, you’ll get better at. It’s been a work in progress… I want to be another one of the guys on the floor who can be an extension of the coaching staff, it never hurts to having multiple guys talk, guys knowing exactly what we want to do.”

As Austin continues to play a starring role for the Sooners in the Big 12, his family is still at the core of who he is. From the competition of battling with his older brother to the critique and advice given by family and the personal challenge of growing as a leader, Austin Reaves has become everything that Sooner fans could have hoped for, and through it all his family is right here with him.

“Wherever he’s going,” Spencer said, “I’m following.”

Now, the next step awaits as Austin Reaves prepares for his first March Madness as a Sooner. – BSM