Reese invited to elite Juco hoops camp

Brad Reese has received ample attention from several Division I basketball programs, but the former Laurel Hill star wants to continue raising his profile and won't mind traveling to do it.

Reese received an invitation to the 120 JUCO Elite camp in Tulsa, Okla., after a season in which the Gulf Coast Community College standout was named Panhandle Conference Freshman of the Year by the league's media members.

The invitation-only event is a showcase for the top junior college players in the country and takes place Saturday through Tuesday at Oral Roberts University.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

FOR A 2006 PROFILE OF BRAD REESE, CALLED THE PRIDE OF LAUREL HILL, click here.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

"Every coach I talked to said it's real competitive," said Reese, who averaged a team-high 16.7 points for Gulf Coast. "It's one of the top places in the nation to showcase your skills for D-I coaches. It's everybody's dream out there to play high D-I."

Okaloosa-Walton College's Charvez Davis, named Freshman of the Year by the Panhandle's coaches, was invited to the camp but won't be able to attend due to conflicts with summer school. With the amount of Division I coaches who visit OWC during the summer, Raider coach Bruce Stewart said Davis won't be lacking for attention.

"In our workouts, he's looked sharp," Stewart said.

Reese said he wasn't aware of the 120 JUCO Elite until Gulf Coast coach Jay Powell handed him the invitation and told him about it. Schools such as Colorado, Texas Tech, UAB and Iowa State have shown interest in Reese and wondered if he'd attend the event.

"All the schools called me to ask about the camp. They said there's going to be so many (Division I represented) teams there, they might not be able to recruit me anymore," Reese said. "I'm going to try to go there and get more looks."

The 2005 and 2006 Daily News Player of the Year said there will be pressure to perform but that he's confident after sharpening his game on campus while attending summer school at Gulf Coast.

"I don't think I'll be rusty," he said. "It will probably take one game to get the feel back. There's nothing like playing a real game."