When Jayden Reid first stepped onto the court Wednesday night, four minutes of gametime had already elapsed. It was the first time in the junior guard’s Northwestern career that he came in off the bench.
But Reid swiftly took advantage of the time to observe his opponent, and once he got onto the floor, coach Chris Collins could barely take him off. The Wildcats’ (8-9, 0-6 Big Ten) primary ballhandler found a hot hand during the 79-68 loss to No. 13 Illinois, splashing shots left and right en route to a career-high 28 points.
“He was just aggressive, he was making great decisions,” Collins said.
In the past 11 games, Reid shot 50% or better from the field just twice. With this breakout game as part of the second unit, Reid’s role in this squad for the next few games remains to be seen.
Reid ended up playing starting minutes despite starting each half on the bench, largely due to his explosive second half, during which he scored 20 points in 18 minutes. NU has been in search of a consistent secondary scorer alongside senior forward Nick Martinelli.
Collins said he has emphasized since the first day of practice that the starting lineup can change, and Reid noted his willingness to accept a lineup change, saying he remains ready when called upon.
“I’m fine with it,” Reid said. “Whatever the coach thinks we need to do to turn the season around, to win, I accept it.”
During his sophomore season at USF, Reid averaged 12.1 points in his eight games off the bench, scoring 15 or more on three occasions. He could find his groove in this squad off the bench just as another streaky guard did last season.
Early in the slog of last year’s Big Ten competition, then-graduate student guard Ty Berry hit a rut in his offensive production. Collins made a change in the starting lineup, and during the next four games, Berry tallied double-digits off the bench, including a 23-point barrage against Indiana, where he hit seven 3-pointers.
One factor differentiating the two players is their height. Berry is 6’3”, while Reid stands at just 5’10”, the shortest player on the roster by four inches.
Fighting Illini (14-3, 5-1 Big Ten) coach Brad Underwood referred to Reid as “the little guard” during his postgame press conference. Despite Reid’s size, he proved to be a difficult matchup for Illinois.
If NU wants to get back to its winning ways, it will look for Reid to step up, whether he’s starting or coming off the bench.
“Hopefully that could be the start of what’s to come,” Collins said, “because we have a lot of belief in what he can do.”
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