The Pride of Laurel Hill

Brad Reese has proven himself to be one of the best basketball players in the state.

He’s done it with an all-around game that fills up stats sheets in just about every category. But don’t begin to think for one second that basketball is all that Reese is about.

The Laurel Hill senior wants to be more than just a basketball player. He wants to be the face of the entire community, someone people can look up to and try to follow.

“People expect a lot from me, so I have to try to set an example,” Reese said. “I want to be a leader and make something of my life. I want to show people it can be done.”

All Reese did this season was lead Laurel Hill to the Class A state semifinals and a second-straight district championship. Reese, for the second consecutive season, is the All Sports Association/Daily News boys basketball Player of the Year.

Despite being a major focus of the opposition every night, Reese averaged 25 points, 14 rebounds, four steals and four blocks. Numbers like that don’t come easy for anyone, especially when you continuously face double and sometimes triple-teams.

Then again, not much in life has come easy for Reese, but just like he has succeeded off the court, he has found plenty of success on the court.

“I’ve overcome a lot of stuff, and there are a lot of challenges out there,” he said. “I’m just trying to take that right road.”

That road, which included finding a maturity beyond his years, helped spark the Hoboes throughout the season. A tougher offseason regimen made him stronger, and he learned to push himself farther than even he knew he could go.

Not only did he use his athletic ability to beat his opponents, he was able to use his mind and strength more than he had.

That gave him the ability to rise to the occasion when faced with adversity.

“The focus on him this year was nothing new, it’s been that way since he was a sophomore,” Laurel Hill coach Kent Zessin said. “This year he dealt with that pressure better. He stepped up and took that challenge. He had that killer instinct. He realized he had to get stronger, and that was a big difference.

“That put him to the next level.”

As a junior, Reese’s numbers foreshadowed his strong senior campaign. In being named second-team all-state last season, he poured in about 24 points a game while hauling in 14 rebounds and blocking four shots.

Not much changed this year in terms of numbers, except in team victories, which is the most important thing to the rangy 6-foot-6 standout.

“We had a shot at state, so you can’t ask for more than that,” Reese said. “I’m not ashamed of anything that happened this season.”

But more than just numbers is the attitude that Reese brought to the squad. He looks at things differently, and has put the entire town on his shoulders. It began years ago when others told him how good he could be. That was all the motivation he needed, because now the biggest motivator for Reese is himself.

“When you look at the past and what you did, you want to do better now,” he said. “You just gotta perform. There were a lot of high expectations on me, but you just got to relax, play your game and do whatever you can do.

“If you give it all you got, it’ll happen.”

Good things have happened for Reese, and there are plenty of things to smile about in the future. Reese signed a letter of intent for a full scholarship with Division-1 Southeastern Louisiana.

It was not only for him that Reese pushed himself to get to this point, but for those around him — namely his mother and his little brother, Jeffery, a sophomore on the Hoboes.

“I want to make my mom proud, and when you want to do that, you’re not going to stop trying until you get it done,” he said. “When I leave

Laurel Hill, I want to leave something for the younger kids to look at. They can say I did it, and they’ll try to. Being a good player isn’t enough, you’ve got to be good all the time.

“That pushes you even more. It makes you want to be the best you can be. You keep striving to be the best you can be. You can’t ever be too good.”

And while he has set himself up to be the face of the community and a positive role model for younger players to follow, he has also kept in mind his goals and what he wants to get out of playing at the next level.

“It’s not just about basketball,” he said. “I want my degree. This is a big adventure to me, and I’m not going to blow this chance. It’s about a dream.