Analyzing the incoming transfer.
Last week, Northwestern head coach Chris Collins landed his first transfer of the 2024-25 offseason. Jayden Reid, a rising junior who spent two years at the University of South Florida, agreed to come play for Northwestern next season. The 5-foot-10 point guard projects to slot into the starting backcourt alongside K.J. Windham. This column will look at what Wildcats fans should get excited about regarding Reid.
Offensively, Reid’s shot diet is primarily from beyond the arc. Last season, over half of his shot attempts came from three-point land. He shot 35.8% from beyond the arc, a year after knocking down 47.5% of his 61 three point attempts. The percentage probably underrates Reid as a shooter, though, because the majority of his shots came off the dribble, often in the form of a step-back. While Reid hit a solid percentage of those shots, the highest-percentage shooters are always going to be spot-up guys, so don’t be fooled into thinking Reid is just an average shot maker.
In this clip, you see all of the different ways that he gets to his spot. The first one is in a pick and roll type situation, with a ghost drag screen causing two defenders to both sag off. Reid notices and takes advantage with a quick trigger. The second shot sees Reid out in transition, where he tends to head towards the wing or corner when the ball isn’t in his hands in hopes of finding an open long ball like he does here. The final clip is in a half-court situation, but Reid is off the ball and finds himself wide open for a spot-up opportunity. While it’s still a long ways away from next season, Reid is expected to be the primary point guard, which will mean a higher volume of shots off the bounce. However, with Nick Martinelli likely to return despite his decision to test the NBA Draft waters, Reid will certainly have some chances with paint touch kick outs like the final shot of that clip. With the move to the bigger and more physical Big Ten, expect Reid to hoist early and often from the outside.
Reid also looks to bring above-average passing to a Wildcats team that struggled mightily all season without a true point guard, doubly so once Brooks Barnhizer and Jalen Leach departed with injuries. Reid is a tremendous passer going downhill. In this clip, you see two instances of Reid showing off some impressive escape dribbles to avoid defenders before firing no-look passes to bigs on the inside. He will give Northwestern an offensive look that they didn’t have all of last season with his ability to beat a trap all by himself on the perimeter. Martinelli excelled against double teams on the inside, but Northwestern struggled across the board when pressured beyond the arc. Reid should mitigate some of those issues. In a later clip, you’ll be able to see Reid kicking out to the three-point line while on the move, another thing Northwestern struggled with this year. Barnhizer and Martinelli excelled at getting touches on the interior, but the ball rarely made its way back out to an open shooter outside. Lastly, Reid’s pinpoint accuracy will help with something that was a source of frustration at times last season: feeding Martinelli. There were many moments last season where it felt like the All-Big Ten player had it going but Northwestern couldn’t find an angle to properly insert the ball to him without turning it over. Ty Berry was a common victim of the turnover bug in those situations, and Reid replacing Berry in the backcourt should ease some of those concerns.
Reid has also shown that he has the ability to be clutch late in games. Martinelli has rightfully earned his mantle as the go-to guy for the final shot with game-winners over Maryland and USC, Reid had a buzzer-beater of his own last season on a tough step-back. For a team that will roster at least five first-years and two sophomores next season, Reid’s relative experience as a junior with two seasons playing 20+ minutes a game under his belt will surely make Collins breathe slightly easier. While the young guys are talented and stand in line to play significant minutes, especially Windham and incoming first-year Cade Bennerman as the only center currently on the roster, having a veteran upperclassman controlling the flow late in games will soothe Collins’ nerves, especially as a coach who values slow possessions and not turning the ball over so heavily. And here, you see his ability to take and make the big shot when Martinelli is inevitably double- or even triple-teamed in late game situations.
For a final, complete look at Reid, here’s a three-minute-plus highlight reel from one of USF’s games this past season. Reid features heavily in the first 90 seconds. His speed and burst are on full display in this clip, as multiple times he gets downhill and either finishes a layup or finds an open shooter on the perimeter. His vision is going to be key for Northwestern since they need move the ball more effectively than they did this past season. In 2023-24, with Boo Buie and Ryan Langborg running the show, Northwestern ranked fifth in the conference in assists per game and had the fewest turnovers in the Big Ten. Last season, Northwestern still had the third-fewest turnovers but ranked just 11th in assists per game. Reid is not Buie, but he should be able to improve upon the ‘Cats lackluster passing numbers from last year while keeping the turnovers near the top (or bottom) of the conference.
Northwestern also ranked just 12th in three-point percentage last season after ranking second in 2023-24. Reid’s strength in that area should complement Martinelli nicely and allow him to open up the offense as both an off-the-dribble and spot-up shooter. With more than 1,000 players in the portal, I’m sure there are Northwestern fans who may be disappointed with Reid as opposed to a bigger name, but evaluating the film shows Reid will be a seamless fit into Collins’ formula that shines by elevating the unit rather than an individual’s performance.