Live from Wellesley, MA: Abu vs. Reuter at the Roundball Scholar Classic

A who’s who of high major head coaches were on hand Sunday afternoon to see Abdul-Malik Abu and Kimball Union Academy take on a Tabor Academy squad featuring Jarred Reuter.  Kevin Ollie (Connecticut), Mike Brey (Notre Dame), Mark Turgeon (Maryland), Steve Donahue (Boston College), Bruce Weber (Kansas State), Bob McKillop (Davison), and yes, Providence’s Ed Cooley (accompanied by associate head coach Andre Lafleur) were among the coaches in attendance to see two of the top young big men in the country go head to head as part of the Roundball Scholar Classic.

Both Reuter and Abu are names Friar fans are very familiar with at this point.  A relative unknown at this time a year ago, Abu exploded on the AAU circuit this past spring playing for Expressions Elite (Ricky Ledo’s former program) vaulting all the way up to 45th nationally on ESPN’s top 100 in the class of 2014.

The big bodied Reuter was on campus for Late Night Madness in October.  He grew up under an hour from Providence’s campus.  For those who haven’t seen the 2015 power forward, think of a high school version of Kevin Love.  While he doesn’t have much lift, Reuter rebounds effectively due to very good instincts and a solid pair of hands.  For a young big man he’s a very good passer, one capable of finding cutters with his back to the basket and from the top of the key.

Perhaps where Reuter is most impressive is with his back to the basket.  He’s a traditional back to the basket big man who plays below the rim, but carves out space and finishes with a terrific touch inside and the capability to make a variety of shots at different angles.

Heading into this one, it appeared as though Tabor would have an uphill battle.  They’d struggled mightily on Saturday, losing badly to Phillips Exeter (85-49), while Kimball Union cruised, 67-49, against Milton Academy.  KU entered this one 4-1, with a narrow loss to Noah Vonleh and New Hampton their only blemish to date.

Yet, it was Tabor who surprisingly ran out early, building a 20 point lead in the first half and keeping enough distance the rest of the way to pull off the 70-61 upset.

Reuter’s skill set was on display Sunday

Leading the way was Reuter who scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in outplaying Abu on this afternoon.  Abu rarely covered Reuter 1:1, and the big man went to work over the game’s final 16 minutes, flashing a back to the basket game that included hooks, bank shots and a difficult turn-around.  He controlled the glass throughout as well, before fouling out in the final seconds.

For Abu, it was a quiet game statistically, but there were more than a few highlights in which his explosiveness was on full display.  He blocked Reuter’s first shot, while his first basket came off of an alley oop that he caught with one hand, brought it back behind his head and finished with authority.  Abu explodes off of the floor with such ease, enabling him to rebound over opponents and send shots away at the rim.

The Kimball coaching staff apparently wasn’t pleased with the effort of their core, as they trailed by 19 with 10 minutes to play, but their bench ripped off a quick 7-0 to bring them to within 12 with over seven minutes to play.  Abu stayed on the bench until there were three minutes remaining, yet KU was unable to get close enough to threaten, despite shaky ball handing late by Tabor’s guards.

Abu looks to have the higher upside from a sheer athleticism and physique standpoint, but on this day it was the polish and size of Reuter that made him the clear best player on the floor.  So often scouts are looking for that upside, but Reuter continues to produce at a high level.  Young men with his size and skills are going to have plenty of suitors.

The Roundball Classic was the fourth huge prep event in New England over the past month, with the National Prep Showcase kicking things off in November, the Hoop Mountain Classic last weekend and the RSC and Brewster Invitational this weekend.

Ed Cooley and his staff continue to have constant presence at these events.  They were in Puerto Rico the weekend of the Showcase, but each member of the staff was at the Hoop Mountain Classic last week, while Cooley and Bob Simon were in attendance for the RSC yesterday as well.

[Related articles: Live from New Haven, CT: The National Prep Showcase; Live from Barrington, RI: Hoop Mountain Classic]

Email Kevin at kevin.farrahar@friarbasketball.com

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