Ray Mernagh, Teams

CLASS OF 2012 INTRO: JARMAL REID

by RAY MERNAGH

This 6-foot-7 sophomore out of Columbia High School in Decatur (GA) is a physical kid (230 lbs) who also can finesse you. He’s a wing and knocked down open shots all night against Oak Hill from beyond the arc -off the catch, off the bounce, in transition etc- every way possible. He also drove the ball very well and beat his man up in the mid-range and post area.

Jarmal Reid might be, no, check that, is the best scorer from the wing that I saw on Saturday. He’s already physically imposing as a sophomore and, as his body tightens will be even better.

Strong player — think former UConn player Denham Brown with a much more diverse skill set, maybe a modern day, bigger (albeit at this point poor man’s) Adrian Dantley. This kid is a major, major scoring talent. He was the most impressive player on a team that features a top-100 Big Ten recruit in Jershon Cobb (2010 Northwestern commit who was terrific himself).

Reid was defended most of the time by a ready to play Roscoe Smith and managed to play him to a standstill both ways. It was a fun match up pitting Smith’s high-wire game against Reid’s old-school take advantage of any inch you give me game. Reid even threw one of Smith’s shots back at him.

Asked after the game about colleges Reid mentioned VCU first and some others. There’s plenty of time for Reid to develop a list of schools interested in him and very soon the list will get very long. Reid is a talent who will expand his potential collegiate horizons exponentially this AAU season.