Jarvis Does It For This Recruit

Grady Reynolds, a 6-8 forward from Southern Union State College in Wadley, Ala., cast his lot with St. John's for a number of reasons this week.

Reynolds picked the Red Storm after taking spring trips to St. John's, UAB and Ole Miss.

JUCO Junction/Rivalshoops.com caught up with SU Head Coach Ron Radford on Tuesday night, and he shared his thoughts on his star big man's decision.

"Basically, Grady told me that he wanted to get away from home a little bit and get away from the south, branch out and get to another part of the country and see what that was like," Radford said. "He really liked Coach Jarvis and the coaching staff, and on his visit, he really enjoyed the players and New York. So it's a little bit different scene for him, but he's looking forward to it."

Reynolds averaged 15.9 points and 9.3 rebounds per game this past season at SU. He shot 59 percent from the floor and 61 percent from the charity stripe this past season.

"He is going to play the four spot for them," Radford said. "He brings athleticism to their team, and he's a guy who can really get up and down the floor, run and jump, block some shots and score around the basket."

"I think going into the Big East, he has to get into the weight room and get his upper body strength up and leg strength up a little bit," Radford added. "So the main thing for him will be to add strength and get stronger to play in that league."

Southern Union finished fifth at the NJCAA Tournament in March, but Reynolds suffered an injury during the Bison's first game in Hutchinson, Kan., and essentially missed the entire event.

Radford said that Reynolds suffered a torn meniscus and will have surgery to repair it on May 17.

"He opted to wait until after the semester was over to have surgery," Radford said. "And then it's going to be a three to four week recovery period, but he should be ready to go by the time he enters school there."

Reynolds will need to finish seven credit hours this summer in order to earn his degree from Southern Union. Because he has already sat out a year after transferring into Southern Union from Bevill State C.C., he will need to complete his degree requirements this summer in order to have two years of eligibility at St. John's.

"We are in finals this week, and hopefully everything will go well there," Radford said. "If he comes out of this semester, he has the toughest part of it behind him, so he should be able to handle the seven hours that he'll have this summer."