Paul Reed (basketball)

Reed grew up in Orlando, Florida, and attended Wekiva High School. Reed grew from being 6'2" as a freshman in high school to 6'6" as a junior and was 6'8" by the start of his senior year.^[2] As a senior, he averaged 18.2 points and 11.4 rebounds and was named the Central Florida Player of the Year as he led the Mustangs to the state championship game.^[3][4] Rated a three-star recruit and the No. 235 prospect in his class, Reed committed to play college basketball at DePaul over offers from Clemson, Kansas State, Rutgers and Murray State.^[5][6]

As a true freshman, Reed averaged 3.6 points, and 3.1 rebounds in 28 games played off the bench.^[7] He received more playing time towards the end of the season and averaged 5.6 points and 4.6 rebounds over the final 14 games of the season.^[8] As a sophomore, Reed - notably stimulated by the work ethic of his teammate Max Strus - ^[9] averaged 12.3 points and a Big East Conference-leading 8.5 rebounds per game and was named the Big East Conference Most Improved Player.^[10][11] In the 2019 College Basketball Invitational Reed averaged 18.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.7 blocks, and 2.2 steals as he helped lead the Blue Demons to the best-of-three final.^[12]

Reed entered his junior season as a preseason All-Big East selection.^[13] Reed recorded ten double-doubles and was named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll four times during DePaul's 13-game non-conference schedule at the start of the season.^[14][15] Reed scored 23 points on 8-of-9 shooting with nine rebounds in DePaul's 79–66 upset of No. 5 Butler on January 18.^[16] Reed missed several games in February and March with a hip pointer injury.^[17] After the regular season, Reed was named Second Team All-Big East after averaging 15.1 points and finishing second in the conference in rebounds (10.7), blocks (2.6) and steals (1.9).^[18][19] He had 18 double-doubles for the season. After the season, Reed declared for the 2020 NBA draft, forgoing his final season of eligibility.^[20]

Reed's father, Paul, played college basketball at Old Dominion and UCF, then played professional basketball in Europe. He has four sisters.^[42] His uncle, Mike Sims-Walker, played in the National Football League (NFL).^[43]

Outside of basketball, Reed is known on social media to sell his 'Out the Mud' labelled Hoodies.^[44] 'Out the Mud' calls back to a tweet Paul posted when he didn't receive any playing time in a game, referencing the Lil Baby and Future song of the same name.^[45]