COLUMBIA, S.C. — Another Columbia product is coming home to play for Frank Martin and the Gamecocks.
James Reese V, who won a state championship at A.C. Flora, is taking advantage of the extra year allowed by the NCAA due to COVID-19 shutting down the 2019-2020 season. Reese played one year at Buffalo and in 2018, he helped the Bulls advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
He would transfer to Odessa College in Texas where he was a third team Junior College All-American. Reese would stay in the Lonestar State by transferring to North Texas where he would spend the last two seasons. He started every game for the Mean Green which included this season as that program upset Purdue in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, the first NCAA Tournament victory in the history of the North Texas program which not been in the Big Dance since 2010 and it was just the fourth appearance all-time for the Mean Green.
The 6-4 guard was second on North Texas this season in scoring as he averaged a career-high 10.9 points on 41.8 percent shooting from the field. He’d shoot 34.3 percent from beyond the arc and 77.4 percent from the free throw line.
He averaged 4.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.5 turnovers in 31.3 minutes per game as North Texas went 18-10 and won the Conference USA tournament which gave them the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament where they would make history.
Reese will join a group of transfers which includes former Cardinal Newman standout Chico Carter, Jr. who returns to Columbia after two seasons at Murray State.