It’s a sad reality for UConn men’s basketball fans to think about, but next year, the Huskies won’t be led by Bristol native and seven-foot wunderkind Donovan Clingan in the middle. They’ll have to move on from the big man, who leaves Storrs and heads to the NBA with two championships in two years and a lifelong UConn legacy.
Who will replace Clingan?
In the hearts and minds of fans, it’s not clear that anybody can. On the court, it may be even harder to replace him.
On Wednesday, part of Dan Hurley’s plan to gear up for a run at an unprecedented modern-era three-peat became clear as Michigan transfer Tarris Reed Jr. announced his commitment to UConn. At 6-10, 265 pounds, he’s an athletic, bruising big– though not quite as imposing as the 7-2, 285-pound Clingan.
Though Hurley may not be done portal-shopping ( his favorite activity ), it’s clear he believes Reed, who started 31 games for the 8-24 Wolverines last season, is a player who can help UConn stay on top of the college basketball world. The St. Louis native and four-star recruit out of Link Year Academy averaged 9.0 points and 7.2 rebounds per game as a sophomore last year, while shooting 51.9% from the field.
So, who is Tarris Reed exactly, and what strengths does he bring to UConn? We asked Andrew Kahn , Michigan men’s basketball beat writer for MLive.com , about his game and how he might fit into plans for the two-time defending champs.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The Courant: How would you describe Reed’s time at Michigan?
Kahn: Well, just to take you back.. freshman year, he played 12, 13 minutes a game because they had Hunter Dickinson starting at center. He cleaned up around the basket, was a good rebounder, and played really good defense. He was not a starter, but he was a closer. (Head coach) Juwan Howard always said that. He’d come in and he’d be a rim protector, he’d switch onto guards and move his feet pretty well. It was promising.
Sophomore year, you thought the apprenticeship under Dickinson would continue, but then Dickinson shocks everybody by transferring, so now it’s Tarris time. And it was up and down. He played a lot of minutes, probably too many (Reed played 26.5 per game, up from 12.6 as a freshman), but Michigan had no other options. They had no other true centers on the roster. He was their guy.
The Courant: What differences did you see in his game this year as opposed to his freshman year?
Kahn: His field goal percentage was about the same (51.9%), his free throw percentage went way up, though still not good (58.6% last season, up from an abysmal 40% his freshman year). He wasn’t quite as good on the offensive glass or blocking shots, just by the stats per-minute. He’s not a shooter. He’s taken just a few threes his entire career.
I know he struggled sometimes in pick-and-rolls with point guard Dug McDaniel , but some of that was McDaniel, he can throw some wild passes. But good lateral movement and footwork around the hoop. When Michigan tried to play through him one-on-one, like the game against Ohio State, the first half, they tried to force-feed him, and it didn’t work out so well (1-8 FG, 4 points).But if he’s not going to be the top option and he can just be a guy out there letting things come to him, cleaning up misses, helping out defensively, he showed flashes of all of that stuff, for sure. There’s promise there for sure.
The Courant: Could you see Tarris taking over as UConn’s starting center?
Kahn: Yeah, I mean, he’s not Clingan . Clingan was amazing defensively. He was all of these things I’m talking about Reed but just at a higher level. Just great hands and unbelievable rim protector, and bigger. Reed’s not quite seven feet. But guys typically are transferring with the thought of starting, right? Could he play alongside another big ( Samson Johnson )? He did that with Dickinson at times two years ago, but Dickinson was a shooter. You don’t typically want two non-shooters out there. That’s not Reed’s game.
But his overall strengths, he’s good around the basket and good footwork. I mean that was what they were really impressed with at the end of his freshman year, when he’d get switched onto a guard and he’d stay in front of him. He’d make it a difficult shot for him. It wasn’t just an easy blow-by or give space for an open 3. He didn’t see as much of that this year, but I think again that was just the whole team was kind of discombobulated the whole season.
The Courant: Were you surprised that he ended up transferring to UConn?
Kahn: Yeah, certainly probably some surprise, like oh, okay, yeah. He’s going to the two-time defending national champs? Good for him. But he showed enough flashes. This team went 8-24 last year, so everyone looked worse than they could be. They were bad as a team so the individual parts didn’t look as good. But you take a step back, and it wouldn’t be hard to think about some of those guys on a better team thriving. Reed probably played too many minutes and they probably tried to run too much offense through him, so it hurt him and it hurt the team. But at UConn, all of the pieces are going to be better you’d think, so it should work out better for him.
The Courant: As far as his offensive game, you said he’s not a shooter. Does he have a midrange game, or is he just a post player?
Kahn: Yeah, it’s back-to-the-basket, right near the basket. He would catch it sometimes and face up and get into jab step and then try to spin off the guy and then back him down, but you can probably count on one hand the number of times he actually took that midrange shot. It was almost all around the basket.
He made a 3, I’m trying to remember what game it was because it was notable. (Editor’s Note: It was at Michigan State on Jan. 30). He maybe took three for his entire career. And then yeah, the free throw thing, when you’re a big and you’re hoping to get fouled a lot, those points count. He did elevate his percentage a lot, but still not where you’d want it to be.
The Courant: How would you describe his personality?
Kahn: We talked to him a fair amount after games and this year, most of them were losses, and he’d still take ownership for himself and the team. He was pretty honest about what was happening, not the most vocal guy, maybe a little bit soft-spoken, but his teammates seemed to like him. He talked about religion a lot, and his faith. That helped him through what was a tough season for the team.
The Courant: Do you see him adding anything to UConn, maybe his strengths filling a need that they had, keeping this team at a championship level?
Kahn: It’s hard to see that team getting much better, and losing a guy like Clingan, that’s not a good thing. Can he step in and give you exactly that production? That’s a lot to ask. But yeah, he’s a talented player who certainly does some of those things that Clingan gave you, so there’s promise there.
But yes, he can absolutely be a starter on a very good team. He definitely can. The other pieces matter there too, of course. He can’t be the best player on a national championship team, I don’t think. Not right now. But there’s still definitely room for growth. The school of thought is that bigs sometimes take a little bit longer to develop than guards, so I think the hope is that he’s getting better at a higher rate than some other players.
Former Michigan forward Tarris Reed Jr. commits to UConn men’s basketball
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