WATCH: Kowacie Reeves outmuscles Georgia, finishes strong dunk
Florida freshman Kowacie Reeves made an incredible hustle play against Georgia, outmuscling players for a rebound and slamming down his extra shot attempt. After a missed shot bounced towards a pair of Georgia defenders, Reeves fought the ball away before finishing his rebound strong with a one-dribble dunk.
Kowacie Reeves’ huge put-back dunk
As the Gators struggled to put away Georgia in the second half on Wednesday, Florida fans had a moment of concern when senior Colin Castleton had to leave the game with a shoulder injury. While Castleton would return quickly from the locker room and appeared fine to finish the game, Florida’s momentum seemed lost on the court. Reeves’ hustle made for a jump-start to the Gators and their fans, as he wrestled away an extra possession and pushed their lead to 11.
Reeves has already cut a big role for himself in Florida’s lineup, despite not yet finding his groove on the stat sheet. Averaging 15.3 minutes per game, Reeves is scoring 5.2 points per game on 37.8 percent shooting. His talent has been apparent early though, scoring in double figures three times this year. In the Big 12/SEC Challenge, he had 11 points in Florida’s win over Oklahoma State.
Florida went on to win over Georgia 72-63, with Reeves finishing the night with eight points. The Gators are now 16-8 on the season, including a 6-5 record against SEC opponents. Meanwhile, Georgia’s struggles continue, falling to 6-18 on the year with a 1-10 record in conference play. The Bulldogs’ only win against an SEC team came against Alabama.
Reeves joined Florida as a four-star prospect by the On3 Consensus Rankings – a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. Reeves averaged 27.0 points and 9.9 rebounds as a senior in high school, the second-highest scorer in the state of Georgia. He also finished as a top-five finalist for Georgia’s Mr. Basketball.