Barring anything unexpected happening, Tarris Reed Jr. will find himself a member of an NBA franchise by the time he goes to sleep Wednesday night.

Maybe even Tuesday night, if his name is called in the first round of a very deep 2026 NBA Draft.

And the former UConn center undoubtedly will have many thank yous to hand out, but none bigger than the one he already has expressed for former Huskies assistant coach Luke Murray.

Speaking recently to media personality Ryen Russillo, Reed credited Murray for keeping him on the NBA track.

Reed, who turns 23 in August, was raised in Missouri and spent his first two college seasons at Michigan. He transferred to UConn before his junior season and wasn’t sure when the 2024-25 season was done whether he wanted to return.

“After my junior year, I wanted to leave UConn. I wanted to head out of there. It was tough for me,” he said.

Then, he told himself to stay, “because I just knew I couldn’t live with myself if I left,” he told Russillo.

Reed recounted what happened when he told Murray that he didn’t want to return to the Huskies.

“He pulled me aside and he talked for like 15 minutes. He was like, ‘Yo, I don’t know what everybody else is telling you, but I’m (going to) shoot you straight. I feel like you could be a pro. I feel like you could be a first-round pick next year if you stay in this system;’” Reed said of the talk with Murray, who is entering his first season as the head coach at Boston College.

At first Reed didn’t believe what Murray was telling him. But as the season wore on, Reed told Russillo, the center began to buy into what Murray said as their relationship grew.

“Coach Murray really pulled me aside and, like, spoke this into existence,” Reed said. “And now a year later, I’m like, “Oh shoot, coach, we really had a conversation like multiple times about this and now I’m living it.”

Head coach Dan Hurley, seeing the potential with Reed, also both encouraged and pushed Reed to up his game as the Big East season wore on. Hurley knew then that success in the NCAA Tournament couldn’t be delivered without big contributions from Reed.

Reed finished the season with averages of 14.7 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.0 blocks per game. Silas Demary Jr. led the Huskies in assists with 5.9 per game, with Reed topping UConn in the other categories. He won first-team All-Big East honors and led the conference with a field goal percentage of 60.7.

By the time the NCAA Tournament arrived, the 6-foot-10 Reed had evolved into one the top big men in the nation. In six games, he averaged 19.5 points and 13.2 rebounds. He was voted the top player in the East Region and to the All-Tournament team.

And by the time his senior season ended, Reed was glad he did, posting appreciative words and a video of memories to his Instagram account.

“It was all part of the story… even the scary nights. Every high, every low, every lesson shaped me,” he wrote. “The journey meant everything. Thank you Storrs, Connecticut. You’ll be missed.”

That’s the big question. The final mock drafts don’t all agree. Not all of the mock drafts take into account two big trades of Monday night: Giannis Antetokounmpo from the Milwaukee Bucks to the Miami Heat, and Julius Randle from the Minnesota Timberwolves to the New Jersey Nets as part of a three-team trade.

Hurley gave his endorsement of both Reed and fellow draft candidate Alex Karaban on Monday with an easy explanation as to why the big man should be a first-round draft pick.

"Put on the Duke game," Hurley said. "Watch the man's athleticism, his size."

Reed more than held his own against the Blue Devils' Cameron Boozer, expected to be a top-3 pick on Tuesday. In the Elite Eight, buzzer-beating win over Duke, Reed scored 26 points, shooting 10-of-16. He had nine rebounds, three assists, four blocks and two steals.

The Boston Celtics seemed to be a possible destination early in the process; Murray was in the building to encourage Reed when he worked out in Boston.

As chatter about the Celtics’ pursuit of Antetokounmpo grew, the Reed-to-Celtics chances seemed to dim. Maybe that has changed now.

Yahoo Sports projects Reed to the Atlanta Hawks at No. 23.

ESPN likes Reed to land at No. 29 with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

CBS Sports sends him to the Dallas Mavericks with pick No. 30.

And USA Today, using AI to make its projections, agrees with the selection by the Mavericks. Their analyst, Bryan Kalbrosky, also pegged Reed to the Mavericks.

We will see.

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