No longer overshadowed, Shavar Reynolds brings brash swagger and big dreams to Monmouth

No longer a defensive stopper like he was at Seton Hall, Shavar Reynolds brings unleashed potential and unparalleled swagger to Monmouth for his senior season. (Photo by Gary Kowal/Monmouth University Athletics)

Anyone who is anyone in the New Jersey basketball scene has heard the story before.

Former walk-on turned scholarship player, native son, hardest worker, clutch shooter, one big play after another in a script that a team of Hollywood screenwriters would be challenged to adapt into a movie.

Meet Shavar Reynolds, if you haven’t already, and feel free to add more superlatives to describe the Manchester Township native, now at Monmouth as a fifth-year senior after transferring from Seton Hall in the offseason. For starters, the defensive specialist is no longer just that on his new team, as the Hawks will be counting on Reynolds to be a spark plug on the offensive end while anchoring a deceptively strong backcourt from his familiar point guard perch.

“Coming from Seton Hall to now, my biggest thing is just a role change,” Reynolds surmised. “My role this year is expanding in terms of scoring. I think in terms of how I play, it’ll be the same. I’m still a point guard trying to control the game, but now I just have more of a scoring role, so that’s the biggest adjustment for me. I accept the challenge, and I’m excited for it. It’s a big test for myself, and also my teammates as well if I can lead this thing.”

“I think at Seton Hall, I got to show pieces of myself. I never showed who I truly am. I was not held back or anything, but now I’m able to be me, be able to play the game freely. And I don’t really see it as a challenge. I think I’ve put the work in and I don’t like talking about it. I just want to show I’ve been grinding for four years, so it’s basketball at this point. Now, it’s about doing it or not doing it. It’s put up or shut up time, and I want to see if I am who I think I am.”

The opportunity to establish himself, and do it under the backdrop of his home turf, was of particular appeal to Reynolds — who became acquainted with the Hawks’ past and present personnel in the JSBL and other summer circuits — as was the culture under which King Rice’s program has become a trademark.

“The thing that brought me to Monmouth was definitely the culture,” Reynolds gushed. “I’ve been playing at Monmouth for like, my whole college career, in the summer, I’d come play here. And it was just a really good place. Justin Robinson, I’m good friends with him, I’m cool with Josh James, so Monmouth was always like a place I felt comfortable playing. So when the opportunity presented itself, it seemed like the perfect storm.”

“When you bring in a guy like Shavar who played in the Big East and has hit game-winners, you’ve gotta make sure that he fits in with what you’re doing,” Rice echoed. “And Shavar has been tremendous. He had concerns about how some guys would accept him, and I told him he integrated himself into the program as well as any kid I’ve ever seen, especially being a high-level guy that’s coming from the Big East. He came and became close with the guys, and I think he’s shown he’s a great leader right from the beginning, because he cared how they thought about him joining our program.”

Reynolds has long been a standout among student-athletes, and always for all the right reasons. In fact, one of the first benefits to having him in the program was Reynolds having not only done his homework with regard to his new teammates, but also taking a genuine and vested interest in the betterment of their own skills while also showing a hungry roster what it takes to win at a high level, having done so to the tune of two NCAA Tournament appearances at Seton Hall.

“Most guys just want to come in and do what they have to do,” said Rice. “Well, Shavar cared about Myles (Ruth), he cared about Sam Chaput, how they were going to feel. He did a tremendous job of getting himself welcomed to the team, and now he’s playing a major leadership role. I just think he’s a kid that’s highly motivated, that knows what he wants, and has come in here and raised our group just by being here.”

“I was on a Seton Hall team that was ranked in the Top 10 in the country,” Reynolds reiterated. “Seeing winning and knowing what a champion looks like, just that experience of seeing what it takes to win and what we have to do to win, I think that’s helped us.”

And with that, the veteran newcomer — if such a terminology exists — laid down the expectation for what he and the Hawks are out to accomplish, in bold, simple terms that were tinged with a loudly audible confidence and steadfast conviction.

“We’re trying to go dancing,” Reynolds declared. “We’re trying to be winners. If we’re not trying to go dancing, then we’re not doing it right. That’s what Monmouth has been needing in the last year. They’ve shown glimpses of being able to get there, they’ve been winning the regular season, but the one thing they haven’t gotten in a while is that NCAA Tournament berth. If we can be the ones that bring it to them, that’s the top priority here.”