BLACKSBURG, Va. – The courts will decide if Grady Reynolds is guilty of harassing and assaulting a St. John’s coed. Reynolds can’t control that.
What Reynolds can control is what he does on the court. Until last Saturday’s 77-72 astounding come-from-behind win at Georgetown, Reynolds hadn’t presented a very strong case for himself.
But in the Red Storm’s rally from a 16-point second-half deficit, Reynolds had a team-high 10 rebounds to along with seven points and some bruising defense on the Hoya’s Mike Sweetney.
“It meant a lot to me,” said Reynolds. “It gave me the confidence that I needed throughout the year.”
Reynolds was arrested Nov. 17 and charged with assaulting and harassing St. John’s swimmer Rachel Seager. He was released on $500 bail. The case is working its way through the legal system.
Reynolds, a junior college transfer from Alabama, said the charges haven’t had any effect on his game. The junior college transfer said adjusting to the physical nature of Division I ball was the problem.
St. John’s coach Mike Jarvis believes Reynolds’ off-the-court problems have had an effect. It’s safe to say the combination of adjusting to a tougher level of ball and the arrest contributed to Reynolds slow start.
Reynolds has a chance today to show there will be more performances like the one he turned in at Georgetown and less like the one he turned in against UCLA, when he grabbed just two rebounds before fouling out in nine minutes.
The Red Storm (9-5 overall, 2-2 Big East) plays at Virginia Tech (8-8, 1-2), which is led by 6-8 power forward Terry Taylor and 6-7 small forward Bryant Matthews.
“We won’t know if he’s got it until he puts together some games,” said Jarvis. “Based on one game, you can’t say he’s got it.”
Reynolds believes he’s getting it with the help of fifth-year senior Anthony Glover. The two power forwards go head-to-head in practice, especially during rebounding drills.
At 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, Glover is stronger than Reynolds. But the 6-7, 220-pound Reynolds is more athletic and Glover has taught him, “no pain, no lane.”