Scottie Reynolds doesn't get the love he deserves

I thought it would be awhile before I saw a more impressive second half performance than the 28 points Austin Freeman had as Georgetown overcame a 19 point deficit to beat UConn.

Turns out I only had to wait two days.

Last night, Scottie Reynolds scored 30 of his 36 points in the second half as Villanova came back from 17 points down in the first half to beat Louisville on the road. With Nova clinging to a 76-74 lead with 6:05 left in the game, Reynolds scored the last 16 points for the Wildcats, including two big threes and a tough drive to the rim that put Nova up 88-83 with less than a minute left, ending a 6-0 Louisville run.

This should come as no surprise to anyone as Reynolds is having the best season of what has been a stellar career at Villanova. He's averaging 18.8 ppg and 3.6 apg while knocking down 43.4% of his threes. He's been even better in the last eight games, putting up 24.2 ppg as the Wildcats have gone 7-1 with two wins over Marquette, a victory at Louisville, and a win over Maryland in DC.

Despite putting up those numbers for a team ranked in the top five, you rarely hear Reynolds' name when discussing the best guard (or best player?) in the country.

Rarer still is a mention of Reynolds as an NBA prospect.

Why?

Maybe its because Reynolds isn't flashy. He not going to break many ankles or blow by defenders. Reynolds game is all about fundamentals and efficiency. His bread and butter move is a pump fake, which he uses to get his defender off-balance, or on a pull-up, getting the defense off their feet and drawing a foul.

Maybe its because Reynolds plays a floor game. He isn't going coast-to-coast for a dunk or catching an alley-oop off of a backdoor cut. Reynolds makes his living below the rim, finding space and driving lanes in the paint when there appear to be none and driving opposing coaches crazy with the variety of shots he can make - floaters, step-backs, pull-ups, deep threes, layups with contact. Bad shots are few and far between, and its rarer still to see him playing out of control.

In fewer words, Reynolds isn't going to make many highlight reels. He isn't going to spend much time on Sportscenter's Top 10. He doesn't have the "hype" factor of a John Wall or a Sherron Collins.

But there are few who have developed the reputation for making big shots that Reynolds has. Pitt found out last year in the Elite 8, when Reynolds went the length of the floor for a buzzer-beating layup that sent the Wildcats to the Final Four. Marquette found out this year, when Reynolds used his patented pump fake to draw an and-one on a 15 footer to give Nova a win. And Louisville found out last night, as Reynolds knocked down big shot after big shot to hold off the Cards.

The most impressive part of Reynolds' night was he came absurdly close to actually hitting every big shot. Reynolds needed just 10 shots from the floor to get his 36 points, going 9-10 from the field, 13-17 from the free throw line, and making all five of his threes.

Before last night, there weren't three players in the country I'd rather have taking a shot with the game on the line over Reynolds.

After last night, there isn't one.