The Virginia men's basketball team has won four straight games. Two victories came against nationally ranked Maryland and Clemson. The Cavaliers have also won two straight ACC road games over N.C. State and Clemson. This recent winning streak would not have been possible if not for the contributions of senior guard J.R. Reynolds.
Reynolds has been on a recent tear in Virginia's last four victories. Over that span, he is averaging 26 points per game and since ACC play started, Reynolds has averaged 22 points per game in ACC matchups.
Reynolds' scoring and leadership have helped to motivate the Cavaliers when they needed it most. His performance has also helped quiet some of Virginia's critics.
Virginia basketball has been criticized consistently in the press because of its poor road play. Reynolds, however, has helped exorcise those demons, at least for the time being--Virginia defeated No. 19 Clemson on the road last Sunday, a win secured in large part by Reynolds.
Trailing by 16 points deep in the second half, Reynolds took over and led the Cavaliers. His big shots helped Virginia score the last 15 points of the game and allowed the Cavaliers to pull out an inconceivable win. Many players and coaches would have quit after facing such a large deficit with little time left in the game; however, Reynolds and the rest of the Cavaliers did not quit and pulled it out in the end.
That is not even Reynolds' most impressive performance to date. Last week, Reynolds poured in 40 points against Wake Forest at John Paul Jones Arena. He set a new career high against the Demon Deacons and his 40 points now stand as the most points scored in a single game in the ACC this season.
"The day was a special day for us because of him and the shots that he made," Virginia coach Dave Leitao said.
Reynolds' recent surge may in part be due to Leitao's coaching. He has stressed Reynolds' role as a shooter and Reynolds has responded extremely well to Leitao's call.
In the aftermath of the Wake Forest game, Leitao addressed Reynolds' growing role.
"He and I have talked about the relative balance between a shooter who can make plays and a player who can shoot," Leitao said. "I thought he was more confined with making plays and wasn't able to shoot. We talked about making the adjustment to being a shooter and making plays from there."
An often overlooked aspect of Reynolds' game is his ability to play point guard. Junior guard Sean Singletary has held the point guard duties for the past three seasons and has established himself as one of the best players in the ACC. When Singletary heads to the bench, however, a player must step up and fill his void. That gap is plugged by Reynolds, who has helped to control the tempo of the game. In two recent games--Wake Forest and Clemson--Singletary ran into significant foul trouble, which forced Leitao to rest the star point guard for long stretches. In his absence, Reynolds stepped up and led the team to victory in both games.
Overall, Reynolds has been the leader of Virginia's recent winning streak and how far the Cavaliers go this season may very well rest upon his shoulders. Thus far, Reynolds has excelled in his leadership duties and has stepped into his role as a shooter. After his career night against Wake Forest, Reynolds addressed his play and his new identity as a shooter.
"We just talked about it the last couple days in practice," Reynolds said. "We sat down and [Leitao] said to me, 'Just remember you're a shooter first and everything else comes after that.'"
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