Jayden Reid has committed to Memphis, according to reports from On3’s Joe Tipton and League Ready’s Sam Kayer. Reid announced his commitment nearly a week after his official visit with the Tigers.
The point guard signed with South Florida as a three-star recruit out of high school and spent two seasons with the Bulls under Amir Abdur-Rahim. During his sophomore season with USF, Reid averaged 12.6 points, 3.6 assists, 2.6 rebounds and 1.8 steals in 31 games, including 23 starts.
Following his sophomore campaign, he entered the transfer portal and signed with Northwestern. Reid spent only one season with the Wildcats, but he averaged 10.1 points, five assists, 1.4 rebounds and one steal in 34 games, including 28 starts.
The point guard entered the transfer portal for a second time after his junior season, and he quickly became a target for Penny Hardaway.
Reid can affect the game in several different ways, and he scored 14 or more points in 10 games last season. The guard made the jump to one of the best conferences in the country, and he stepped up and provided a few big-time scoring performances against Big Ten powerhouses.
The guard scored 28 points in a January matchup against Illinois, 20 points against Michigan and 19 points against Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament. All three of those teams rank among top 40 defenses, according to KenPom, so Reid has shown he can be effective against some of the best defensive teams in the country.
Reid shot 40 percent from the field and 31.7 percent from deep last season, but over his career, he shoots 40 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from deep on 3.3 three-pointers per game. While he’s listed at 5-foot-10, the guard has a crafty ability to score around the rim, but he can also hurt teams in the mid-range.
The guard also plays with tremendous pace and displays a high basketball IQ at the point guard position. While he’s a threat around the rim, he uses that ability to kick the ball out for an open shot.
Reid has shown that he can be an elite facilitator, and he put together 13 games with six or more assists. The guard averages 7.8 assists per 40 minutes, ranking in the 99th percentile, and he finished the season with a 24.8 percent usage rate, ranking in the 84th percentile.
Defensively, Reid can be a threat as an on-ball defender, and he had eight games last season with two or more steals, including a pair of four-steal outings. In his final year with the Bulls, the guard averaged 2.3 steals per 40 minutes, which ranked in the 92nd percentile.
Reid gives the Tigers a true point guard, and it appears he will be a great fit with the forwards that Memphis has added.
The guard becomes the fourth player to commit to Hardaway out of the transfer portal and the ninth player committed to next season’s team. With the addition, the Tigers have six roster sports available.
Hardaway and his staff continue to wait on word from Tylik Weeks and Corneilous Williams, who both visited last week, and they are hosting Texas A&M guard Josh Holloway today.