Herndon's Scottie Reynolds
It all began with his mother's orders. When Herndon's Scottie Reynolds was in elementary school, he aspired to be a football player.
"When I was growing up I played football and basketball,'' he says, ''but my mom would never let me play football for a league."
After accepting this restriction, his interests were no longer divided. His family moved to Chicago in the sixth grade and he focused on basketball.
''I decided that it was going to be my sport,'' Reynolds says.
There's no doubt that's the case.
After three years of high of school basketball, Reynolds, a 6 foot tall, 185 pound senior, has already received numerous accolades. He was named the Northern Region Player of the Year as a sophomore and junior, and is a high school All-American candidate.
This past summer, Reynolds played in the 2005 USA Basketball Youth Development Program for the gold medal winning team. In the first five minutes of Herndon's basketball season, he broke the school's all-time scoring record with 1,498 points.
Last season he led the team in points (33.6), steals (4.1), and assists (4.2) per game. If that isn't impressive enough, he's already signed to play for Oklahoma next year.
Yet he is still a catalyst for his teammates. Senior starting center Larry Gbenyon said, "Scottie's a great teammate to have. He leads by example. He's one of the best players in the state, but still distributes the ball throughout each game."
Senior forward Josh Headen said, "His will to win encourages us to always give our best effort."
Those who are looking for an extra edge in preparing for basketball games would probably take interest in what the best basketball player in the state of Virginia does. It's nothing fancy.
"I usually drink three bottles of water and listen to music," he says.
Of course, there's more.
"In basketball, you've got to work on your game every day,'' Reynolds says. ''Every game you need to have good focus and a strong mentality."
Herndon coach Gary Hall, in his 17th season and owner of 259 career wins, echoes Reynolds' thoughts about his preparation.
"Scottie's dedication is unparalleled in terms of studying, watching game film, and trying to emulate players on television,'' says Hall, who also has won six regular season district titles. ''He's a real student of the game, and is always trying to improve."
One of the most crucial skills Reynolds possesses is his personality.
"What a lot of people don't understand is that some of the most important people in a basketball program can be the custodians,'' Hall says. ''Scottie has a great relationship with the custodians, so they'll let him into the school because they know he'll clean up and turn out the lights when he's through. He has a great deal of respect for the people who have the keys to the gym, and they're more willing to do those things for him more than someone who comes in and is disrespectful."
Reynolds works almost non-stop to hone his abilities, and models his game after a few players.
"Everybody liked MJ, but now my favorite player is Allen Iverson,'' Reynolds says. ''He plays hard every game, and plays every game like it's his last. So like him on the court, I just try to play as hard as he does."
More importantly, there are the people that he looks up to for guidance.
"I look up to my parents because I'm adopted and my mom gave me up,'' he says. ''My family is a big part of me. Without them I don't know where I'd be."
Perhaps this close-knit relationship with his family played an important role in his decision to sign with Oklahoma. He liked the recruiting class put together by Sooners coach Kelvin Sampson.
''I liked that everyone was on the same page- it was kind of like a family-oriented team," Reynolds says.
Other factors, such as how he'd be used, persuaded Reynolds to pick Oklahoma. It wasn't just because the Sooners have a top program.
"He [Sampson] wanted me to come there to help run the team, and he wasn't going to hold me back from the things I'm good at,'' Reynolds says. ''Also, he was there from the start, so it just made my decision easier when he recruited other guys around me."
Though Reynolds already has the comfort of knowing his collegiate destination, he continues to push himself and his team to improve.
"I need to work on knowing when to get a good shot, and controlling the tempo of the game," he says.
These self-improvements are all directed toward one thing in the immediate future: winning championships. And not just a district one; Reynolds wants to win the region and state, too.
Before Hall began his long tenure at Herndon, he assisted at South Lakes when future NBA star Grant Hill played for the Seahawks.
He provided insight into his first-hand look at both Reynolds and Hill.
"Both are very similar in that they are outstanding basketball players, great people, and come from great families,'' Hall says. ''Like Scottie's family, Grant's was tremendous, supportive, and allowed the coaches to make the basketball decisions."
He then separated the two.
"Grant was a better defender and rebounder because of his height- he was about 6-foot-8, and could take on a guard or a forward,'' Hall says, ''though Scottie is a much more dominating offensive player than Grant was. Even now, Grant can't shoot the ball like Scottie can. Grant was more of a quiet superstar; he blended into the game and deferred to his teammates a little more, where Scottie can come into a game and absolutely crush you. They both have a great work ethic, but because of the way Scottie can shoot, he's a better player than Grant Hill was."
Reynolds is only part-way through his senior season, but much of his legacy has already been created.
"I don't know if he's the greatest player to ever play here,'' Hall says, ''but he's had the most important impact not only on our school, but in northern Virginia as a whole over the past 20 years, because of the way most of the best basketball players have been going to private school. The fact that he's stayed, gained great recognition, and had his pick of colleges to go to, now when another young player is deciding between public and private schools, the coach can say 'look at Scottie Reynolds, he stayed at a public school and it didn't hurt him.'"
Reynolds is a rare player.
"Few times do you have a kid who has the best skills and an incredible work ethic, and when you have that, you have a very special player,'' Hall says. ''I've only had two, and they are Grant Hill and Scottie Reynolds."
The best basketball player in the state of Virginia is completely dedicated to winning a championship before leaving high school. And that's a scary concept for Concorde District opponents.
