Meet the tall Westside basketball star with 20 D-1 offers. He’s got moves like Kobe.

Kowacie Reeves Sr. walked down from the stands and stood near the basket to get a better view of the closing moments of his son’s game.

The coach in him came out as he reminded his son to box out as he shot free throws. He stood back and relished in the moment as his son helped ice Westside’s win over Central in overtime. Kowacie Reeves Jr. hugged his dad, then retreated to the locker room.

Kowacie Reeves Jr., a 6-5, 160-pound junior guard, is averaging 21 points per game He is ranked 35th in the nation in the class of 2021, according to Rivals. He has scholarship offers from 20 Division 1 schools, including Georgia, Florida, Auburn, Clemson and Stanford, Reeves Sr. said. So before Reeves Jr. goes off to college, his dad is trying to take in all the moments of his son’s high school career.

“I try to be more father than coach but sometimes it is tough. I mean it is a normal father-son relationship,” Reeves Sr. said. “When you are trying to coach all the time you may miss it so I just sit back and enjoy it.”

Reeves Jr. started playing basketball when he was 4. He grew up playing in rec leagues and the Upward Bound program. When he was younger, Reeves Jr. said he didn’t understand the purpose of playing basketball but he enjoyed playing the game.

“I remember just the innocence of it.” Reeves Jr. said. “You don’t know what you are playing for, you are just playing your heart out every single day.”

A website to promote players

When Reeves Jr. was in fifth grade his dad launched HypeSouth Media, a sports website that aims to help bring attention to high school basketball players who might otherwise get overlooked.

It’s helped promote players like Tylik Evans, a guard who played for Rutland High School until 2014 and now plays professional basketball in Germany; and Khavon Moore, a teammate of Reeves Jr. at Westside who is now a sophomore forward/guard at Clemson.

Reeves Sr., a former Southwest guard who graduated in 1999, said he saw a need in the community he could fill by promoting kids on social media and by going to various basketball camps.

“The exact vision when I started it was to bring my light and give kids an opportunity to play at the next level,” Reeves Sr. said. “Just to see it happen just the way I was thinking of it, that is the most satisfying.”

Reeves Jr. has become the poster child for HypeSouth as he has risen to one of the top prospects in the nation. Some of the hype surrounding Reeves Jr. has come from the platform his dad built to help garner attention for players like him.

“I really didn’t understand when he first made it. I was a kid,” Reeves Jr. said I didn’t really understand the whole concept but now me being on it and seeing the difference it makes for us as a community is good.”

Proving himself against RJ Barrett

As a freshman, Reeves Jr. watched as college coaches came to see Moore, his teammate. But he started getting the attention of coaches at the same time. Florida was the first team to offer Reeves Jr. a scholarship. Reeves Sr. said he was skeptical at first and thought the offer might be a ploy by the Gators to land Moore.

During Reeves Jr.’s first varsity game against Montverde Academy, a team that featured future NBA lottery pick RJ Barrett, it clicked for Reeves Sr. that his son was a special talent.

“He was this little 5-foot-9 small freshman and I was more nervous than he was,” Reeves Sr. said. “He came off the bench and scored 9 or 10 points and he was totally fearless.”

Now, as a junior, his list of accomplishments include holding Westside’s all-time 3-pointers record with 178, the single-season 3-pointers record with 82 his sophomore year and has scored more than 1,000 points. He also has a 4.0 GPA and is constantly pushing himself with his school work.

“That work ethic comes from my mom. She says you have to have the same work ethic as you have on the court as you do off the court,” Reeves Jr. said. “It is mind-blowing just the rewards you can gain from your performance on the court and your academic abilities.”

Reeves Jr. has natural ability when it comes to basketball, but it is the people around him who have helped push him toward his goal of playing in the NBA. Westside coach Josh Grube said Reeves Jr. will continue to excel with the support he has at home.

“I think it starts at home with mom and dad. They are doing a fantastic job,” Grube said. “He is just a special kid. It is a joy and honor to have him on the team. I am very fortunate to get to say I am his coach.”

Incorporating Kobe’s moves

When he isn’t playing basketball, working out or studying for an exam, Reeves Jr. is at home with his dad watching basketball on television.

The father and son like to break down NBA, college and Reeves Jr’s film together as a way to better understand the game. Other times, Reeves Jr. shows his dad clips of new moves he wants to work on. Recently, he had taken to Kobe Bryant, the retired Lakers star who died Jan. 26 in a helicopter crash, and had started incorporating some of his moves, including his fadeaway jumper.

It’s moments like these that Reeves Sr. is trying to hold on to to before his son heads off to college. But he is also proud of the legacy his son will leave at Westside both as a player and a person.

“I think he is going to leave a great legacy here but I think in sort of a different way. Everybody knows he can play,” Reeves Sr. said. “It is just bigger than athletics. That is why I think his legacy is going to be a little different.”

Reeves Jr. is taking life one day at a time as he balances the recruiting process, his grades, his family and his immediate goal of leading the Seminoles to a state title.

He credit his parents for giving him stability and allowing him to grow as a person and as a player.

“It has been very special. Everyone doesn’t get the parenting that I do.” Reeves Jr. said. “It is evident in the way that I perform on the court and my character off the court.”