Staying humble while gaining national attention: 2015 PVI SG Josh Reaves

At times, people wonder how will players handle the national spotlight. Well for Josh Reaves, he always was not on the national spotlight and on a lot of college’s radar. Reaves, who goes to Paul VI in Fairfax, VA, and has been there for two years, went to Middleburg before transferring. Since being at Paul VI, a lot of things for him have opened up.

If you ask scouts, if they knew about Reaves when he was a freshman, it would only probably be a little and not a lot of people. Reaves has developed into a player that standout with his shooting, ball handling, hardworking, and fight for every lose ball there is. Josh is also a vocal player in the locker room and leads by example. Glenn Farrello, who is the head coach at PVI, gave talked about Josh and his development. When Reaves was a sophomore, he helped his team to a 23-8 season. Coach Farrello talked about what he has seen and how has he developed since he was at PVI.

"Josh has made great strides on both ends of the floor. His hustle and great attitude has always been there. His shooting and ball-handling work has been the biggest improvement," said Farrello, whose team won three championships during the 2013-14 season. "Josh is a kid that is easy to coach and he has gotten so much better in a years time than most players do. He's hungry and very humble." I have had the privilege to watch many of Reaves high schools game this season and almost every game, you would see multiple athletic plays and plays that standout. PVI student section loves this kid and he always get them hype.

PVI had a stretch of games were they were not looking like themselves and the team to win it all. Each team has that player that needs to speak up. Josh is not a player that talks a lot in the locker room, but he does say things that mean something. Coach Farrello describes the type of teammate that Josh is."

'He's a great teammate. Truly cares about them and is accountable to them. He plays with passion. His teammates feed off that energy He does not talk a lot, but when he does it's has an impact and also sincere" Said Farrello, who has multiple high school kids that plays hard and receives a lot of offers.

Paul VI was at a tournament and they played against White Station high school, which is a top 10 school in the nation in terms of basketball, and Josh, who barely has a bad game, really struggled and was not looking himself. Every player faces struggles and Farrello talked about how Josh was not happy with his performance. "Every player goes thru it. Josh was not happy with his performance against White Station. It's about how you bounce back that matters and he did the very next night against Christ the king Said Farrello. Two days later, Joshua won MVP against St Anthony's "

Against White Station, Joshua finished the game with 12 points and then the next night against Christ the king, Reaves was 5-6 from the field and finished with 13 points. Also against St Anthony's. which is the game he was MVP, he finished with 14. When people watch Joshua play, it puts smile on their faces and it gets the crowd going.

When Joshua started to get more recognition, he was excited, but he kept the same composure and played basketball. Coach Farrello has a saying and it relates to Joshua. The saying that Farrello has is " the spotlight either shines on you or burns and it's all how you handle it." Well for Joshua, he loves the spotlight and it shines on him because when he is a big time player and comes up big for his team. He is the type of player that brings it every night and works hard. I can recall this season where PVI was playing against a team and Joshua had something wrong with him and he went back to the locker room. The injury did not look as bad, but he came back out and played with the same amount of intensity.

Getting on the national scene has not changed the way that Joshua plays, he does not slack off. Coach Farrello talked about Joshua story and getting on the national scene. " I think the best thing about Joshua and his story is that has stayed humble while he had a breakout year. Farrello told BECB. In a very shot period of time, he has arrived on the national scene and it is has not stopped him from working or becoming cocky. Sometimes success can change a person, but not Joshua".

A lot of coaches love Joshua and his style of play. Joshua holds offers from Boston College, Georgetown, George Washington, Maryland, Penn State, VCU, Villanova, and Temple. For a player of his caliber, he should have more offers. From an outside perspective, Joshua loves to play basketball and loves to have fun. During the first EYBL session in California, Reaves averaged 12 points and shot 48 percent from the field. Reaves knows how to make plays for his team, even when he is not scoring. You can tell that his teammates and coaches love him. As Farrello said, he is just a coachable kid. Reaves can make an impact in so many ways either on the defensive side or offensive sides.

If you ask Michael Bohlin, who runs the Hoyas247 site, he likes a lot of things about Reaves. " His motor first and foremost. Love the energy he brings to the floor on both ends," Bohlin told BECB. "Next would be his athleticism , lives above the rim and on offense and defense as he is always a threat in transition on offense to finish at the rim, while he has shown the ability to block shots."

"This is a special kid and just the energy he brings is an asset that a lot of coaches and scouts love." BECB asked Alex Kline, who is a national recruiting analyst of The Recruit Scoop of rivals.com, what he likes about Joshua Reaves and he said some good things. " He knows how to play the game is a winner and does a little of everything well." Reaves can shoot the ball, but this summer, he plans on working on getting his body weight up.

For Reaves, he is just trying to have fun and is just letting everything plays through. Reaves is staying humble through the recruiting process. As his high school basketball coach says, he is just staying humble and not being cocky. Whatever college he commits to, he will make an immediate impact and he will be loved on campus. Georgetown fans already have fan heads of him.