NCAA Basketball: Top 10 players to wear jersey No. 12 in 2023-24 season
By Joey Loose
3. Antonio Reeves (Kentucky)
Two years ago, Reeves was one of the MVC’s best players, developing into an elite scorer at Illinois State. That following offseason saw him transfer to Kentucky, where he’d settle into quite the role as a veteran with the Wildcats. This past year didn’t end exactly as John Calipari hoped but there’s no question that Reeves stood out on a national level in his fifth and final season of college ball.
Reeves averaged 20.2 points and 4.2 rebounds a game while making 45% of his 3-pointers. Those numbers would be impressive for anyone, let alone a leader in the SEC at a Blue Blood program like Kentucky. Reeves was named First Team All-SEC, finishing third in the league in scoring and fourth in field goal percentage. He was clearly the top scorer on a talented Wildcats roster and was one of the nation’s most consistent long-range shooters, sitting 4th in the country.
Keying Kentucky to a 2nd place finish in a talented SEC, Reeves was a force throughout the season. He had a season-high 30 points at rival Louisville and scored 27 against his former school right after Christmas. During conference play, he had a long run of 20-point efforts, playing well in important wins over Auburn, Alabama, and Tennessee down the stretch of the season. Reeves even had 27 in the Wildcats’ unfortunate upset loss to Oakland in the Big Dance, an unfortunate end to a fantastic season and career.