Shooting Guard Antonio Reeves Reportedly Returning to Kentucky
At long last, the Antonio Reeves saga appears to be over.
On Wednesday morning, 247Sports' Travis Branham reported that the veteran shooting guard is back on campus in Lexington and is expected to return to the Wildcats for a second season. LEX 18's Keith Farmer later confirmed the report.
After entering the NBA draft waters, he worked out for the Atlanta Hawks, Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks, and also competed in the G-League Elite Camp, but was not invited to the draft combine in his home city of Chicago.
Reeves withdrew his name on May 31, but an initial return to UK was up in the air, as he was "weighing his options." He then enrolled in summer classes at Illinois State — his former school, pointing towards a potential transfer portal entry.
Instead, he's headed back to the Bluegrass, filling a huge chunk of the large void that currently sits in head coach John Calipari's program heading into the 2023-24 season.
Reeves' decision to return is enormous for Kentucky and Calipari, as the Cats' 2023-24 roster entered Wednesday morning with seven freshmen and two sophomores. The fifth-year senior not only adds a veteran presence, but also known shooting capability.
In his first season in Lexington, Reeves was second on the team in scoring, averaging 14.4 points-per-game, while adding 2.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists a night. He shot 41.6 percent from the floor and a career-high 39.8 percent from 3-point range.
Like the rest of his teammates, Reeves had his ups and downs in the 2022-23 campaign, but he proved to be one of the top scoring threats in the SEC at points in the season. He reached double-figures in 26 of 34 games, making 14 starts along the way. He was named the SEC Co-Sixth Man of the Year.
The sharpshooter eclipsed 20 points in four of Kentucky's final six games, including a 37-point outburst in the Cats' road win at Arkansas to close out the regular season, in which he shot 12-17 from the field and made all 11 of his free-throw attempts. He shot 78.3 percent from the free-throw line.
In Kentucky's NCAA Tournament loss to Kansas State, Reeves went ice-cold, missing 14 of his 15 shot attempts, finishing the game with only five points, three rebounds and two assists, in what was an un-fitting end to his otherwise solid season.
Reeves played three seasons at Illinois State before transferring to Kentucky. He appeared in 89 games for the Redbirds, but excelled in his junior year, starting in all 33 games, averaging 20.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists. He had 662 points that season — the fourth-most in Illinois State history.
A final decision is yet to be made, but Reeves will likely return and join a backcourt consisting of 5-star freshmen Rob Dillingham and DJ Wagner, 4-star freshman Reed Sheppard, 3-star freshman Joey Hart and sophomore Adou Thiero.
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