By Connor Wilson (@Conman_815)
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — When Samson Johnson picked up his first personal foul just 53 seconds into UConn’s 75-63 win over Providence, in trotted backup big man Tarris Reed, Jr.
It was such a simple move that we’ve seen in every Huskies game, so nobody thought much of it. Little was it known that this was the start of a career day and one of the best single game performances from a UConn player all season.
“The light bulb is coming on right now,” head coach Dan Hurley said. “He’s the nicest guy in the absolute world, but when the game starts, you need to be a killer and a relentless killer. You need to be turned into that.”
Reed looked like that relentless killer Saturday against the Friars. He finished with 24 points, 18 rebounds and six blocks. Right from the moment he checked in, he made an impact on both ends of the ball. The Michigan transfer set a new career high in all three stat categories, a feat that is rarely seen in a single game in college basketball.
“It’s been tough at times mentally, just pushing through,” Reed said. “I get my confidence from the Lord. He helps me play as hard as I can.”
For a majority of the season, Reed and Johnson have split the duties at the center position, but that wasn’t the case on Saturday and hasn’t been for the past couple of weeks. Reed has played 27 minutes or more in three of the past four games, including 32 minutes against Providence. Hurley has said that managing minutes is the easiest thing he does as a coach, playing the players that are playing well more minutes.
“We’re a much different team when we get that level of play at the center spot,” Hurley said.
This career performance is a bit relieving for Hurley and the staff, as it shows Reed’s improvement over the past few months into the player he’s becoming. Hurley has joked that he needs his big man to play more like a ferocious bear, which has been picked up by UConn fans sending him bear pictures on social media to give him confidence.
“Coach always says I have to be ferocious on the court,” Reed said. “I feel like with crashing the offensive glass, that’s where I can get a lot of my points, crashing as hard as I can and overall just putting my body on the line for the team.”
And crash the glass he did with five offensive rebounds, giving the Huskies opportunities to score with second-chance shots. Reed scored his first four points of the game on dunks, and from there, he could feel he was going to have a big day.
“I got a transition dunk and then after that I was like, ‘alright, I’m hot,’” he said.
It’s safe to say the Friars didn’t expect a performance like this from the UConn reserve. Providence coach Kim English probably could have guessed that Alex Karaban (17 points), Liam McNeeley (14) and Solo Ball (14) would be impactful, but he was impressed by the poise of Reed down low, comparing him to another star big in the Big East.
“Tarris Reed was amazing,” English said. “To see the force he had going to the backboard was impressive. He was relentless and looked like Zuby Ejiofor out there.”
An underrated part of his day was the six blocks, split evenly with three in the first half and three in the second. Even though the Huskies are near the top of the country in blocks per game, not having a presence the likes of Donovan Clingan inside has made teams more confident in driving to the rim. If Reed can continue to be a force on defense, even if not contributing six blocks a night, the ceiling rises even more for the team.
“There’s something about him where his energy level has risen and you’re not having to take him out of the game a minute or two after he checks in,” Hurley said.
Hurley is going to need this version of Reed over the final week of the regular season and the week after at Madison Square Garden for the Big East Tournament if the Huskies are going to have any postseason success. Their next test is on Wednesday in Storrs, as Marquette comes to town for a game that will all but decide third place in the conference. Tip is set for 8:30 p.m. at Gampel Pavilion.
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