After bursting onto the scene impressively in his freshman season,
Scottie Reynolds mostly kept the status quo as a sophomore, upping his scoring production and efficiency slightly while his assist numbers slightly dropped. The 62 point guard didnt regress as a sophomore, but he didnt really expand his game much either, still being looked at as very much the same prospect a year later.
At 62, Reynolds has nice size for the point guard spot, however his athletic ability is underwhelming, having just a decent first step and not showing much in terms of elevation in the lane. Reynolds does do a good job of getting to the rim consistently, however, doing a lot of his damage by pushing the ball in transition, leaking out in transition, or by creating transition opportunities on the defensive end. Despite his lack of athleticism, Reynolds shows excellent creativity in the lane, moving the ball freely from hand to hand, finishing with either hand, using his body to shield the ball, showing exceptional touch, and using a lot of unorthodox finger rolls to get the job done.
The way he scores inside with his physical tools is outstanding for the college level, however its doubtful it will translate successfully to the next level. In the half court, despite his just decent first step, Reynolds uses high screens and hand-offs well to get a step on his man, getting into the lane frequently. He gets to the line often as well, where he shoots a solid 78%.
As a shooter, Reynolds is extremely talented, possessing an incredible feel for shooting the ball, often making very difficult attempts. He has pretty good fundamentals, with a high and quick release, and he isnt phased when a defender has a hand in his face. According to Synergy Sports Technology, he nets 1.18 points per possession on catch-and-shoot situations when unguarded, and actually improves to 1.21 when guarded. Reynolds does run into some problems with his shooting, though, specifically when pulling up off the dribble. His PPP drops to 0.85 in these situations, and it becomes much worse when hes moving either left or right off the dribble. He has no problems moving forward or pulling up straight from his dribble, but when going side to side, he runs into issues with his balance and accuracy. He also has a bad tendency to not always hold his follow through. In terms of mid-range game, Reynolds could definitely use some work, as hes not able to get great separation for his shot and as aforementioned, he struggles when shooting moving side to side.
Playing in Villanovas one-in, four-out offense, Reynolds shares the ball-handling duties with a few other guards, and rarely looks like a true point guard out there. He clearly has a shoot-first mentality, and his court vision is not something that stands out especially. He does a good job running pick-and-rolls, pushing the ball in transition, and keeping the offense flowing, however there are question marks if he could transition to the point full time in a more NBA-friendly offense.
On the defensive end, Reynolds shows decent fundamentals and focus, sticking with his man off the ball, keeping his hands up, and contesting shots, however his lateral quickness is sub-par and hes prone to biting for moves that fake change of direction.
In terms of the NBA, Reynolds will likely either need to prove himself as a more complete point guard or a more consistent multi-dimensional shooter to have a chance at finding a permanent role in the league. He still has another two years at school, though, and his talent will definitely get him some looks whenever he decides to come out. If not the NBA, he should have a very successful career in Europe regardless.
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