Demons add productive junior college guard LaTerrance Reed

NATCHITOCHES – The Northwestern State basketball program, aiming to strengthen its perimeter scoring, has added junior college combo guard LaTerrance Reed, a 6-2 Buffalo, N.Y., prep standout who averaged 18 points last season as a sophomore at Niagara County Community College.

Reed helped Niagara to a 21-10 record while leading the NJCAA region in steals and minutes played. He scored 17.8 points per game, adding averages of 4.2 assists and 4.7 rebounds, sinking 48 percent of his shots overall including 37 percent on 3-pointers.

Reed earned first-team All-Region honors for coach Bill Beilein after a productive two seasons with the Thunderbirds, starting with a 26-7 freshman season that ended in the Elite 8 of the National Junior College Athletic Association Tournament.
At Canisius High School, Reed was the New York State Federation Class A Tournament Most Valuable Player and a finalist for 2015 Mr. Basketball in New York state. He averaged 19 points, 4.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds as a senior as his team went 25-5 and won the Class A championship.

Reed scored 19.3 points and averaged 4.2 assists and 6.3 rebounds in 2015-16 at Salisbury School, a Connecticut-based prep school, earning team MVP honors as he led the conference in scoring and the team in scoring, assists and steals.

“We have addressed an obvious need by signing LaTerrance,” said Demons’ head coach Mike McConathy, preparing for his 20th season in charge at NSU. “We are confident that his dynamic playmaking ability, quickness, and basketball IQ will fit extremely well with our fast-paced style of play.

“He understands pace and space and can facilitate on offense to help his teammates get easy shots or create for himself. His size, strength, and ability to shoot the long ball makes him versatile enough to play either guard spot on both ends of the floor,” said McConathy.

The Demons, with a roster filled with eight newcomers including six freshmen, shot only 41 percent overall and 28 percent on 3-pointers last season. The addition of Reed and two November high school signees, 5-9 guard Brian White of Natchitoches Central and 6-8 forward Dalin Williams from Stinnett-West Texas High School, will bolster the NSU squad, which could add to its 2018-19 roster in the near future.

Reed, who has owned a 3.0 or better grade point average in high school, prep school and junior college (3.5 at Niagara County), was the 2014-15 Class A New York State Player of the Year for coach Kyle Husband at Canisius High.

“LaTerrance is a gifted player who brings many individual and team accomplishments to our program. His winning pedigree from his high school state championship, along with his prep school and junior college success, bodes well for our youthful core returners and incoming freshmen,” said McConathy.

“He has gained invaluable experience since graduating from high school three years ago, and his coach at Niagara County, Bill Beilein (nephew of Michigan head coach John Beilein), has done a terrific job developing his skill set and game for the rigors of Division I college basketball.

“He has played on the big stage winning a New York State High School Class A title and two years later, helping his junior college team to a Region title and a berth in the national junior college tournament as a college freshman. He has a track record of success on the court and in the classroom that should be an indicator for future success as a Demon.”