Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Top Departing Players #20: Shawn Reid

With the throes of the offseason all around us, I thought it would be fun to take a look at the 20 best players that are departing from the Big Sky, either due to graduating, declaring for the draft, or transferring.

Last year, Shawn Reid was placed in a difficult situation. He started the year as the first wing man off the bench, but after Jamie Stewart became inelgible, and Xavier Blount got injured in an off-court incident, Reid became the man in the Montana State offense. Suddenly, the offense ran through him, and in games he struggled, the Bobcats generally didn't have much of a chance.

It was a role he was not ready for but was growing into, which has to make it tough for Brad Huse to see him transferring away. On offense, he was mostly a jump shooter. He shot 45% from 2s, and 33% from downtown. He had a nice stepjack jumper that he was clearly getting more and more comfortable using with success. Not many MSU players could create their own shot by the end of the year, but Reid was capable of doing that.

He didn't add a ton of productivity everywhere else... he was not a great rebounder, distributor, or defender. But for a program that has experienced a ton of turnover and problems, he was a guy you could count on to stay out of trouble and stay on the court. Now, he will be moving on.

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