Wild ride for NSU basketball player includes Utah, Vegas, Hawaii, South Florida

Ross Reeves, a Mormon, spent his first two years after high school preaching the Word of God on the streets of Las Vegas, often using his basketball skills to connect with people in some of Sin City’s rougher neighborhoods.

“I would wake up early every day,” Reeves said. “I’d knock on doors, asking people: ‘How can I serve you?’

“Sometimes I’d do yard work, and then we would talk about Jesus. Sometimes, me and my fellow missionary would go to parks and hop in and play 2-on-2.

“We would say, ‘If we beat you, we get to share Scripture with you.’ We made a lot of great friends.”

Those two years in Las Vegas are just part of a fascinating life that Reeves, 24, has already led.

Born in Utah -- where he made first-team All-State -- Reeves played college basketball in Hawaii before transferring to Nova Southeastern University. He is now the second-leading scorer for the Sharks, who at 9-0 are the No. 1 team in the nation in NCAA Division II.

Reeves has proven to be a great fit for the Sharks, who won the national title in 2023 and finished second last season.

A 6-foot-4 shooting guard, Reeves is averaging 17.1 points. The lefty shooter is making 92.0 percent on free throws, 49.1 percent on field goals and 43.9 percent on 3-pointers.

“Ross is still developing because it’s his first year in our system,” said NSU coach Jim Crutchfield, who has made the Sharks into a championship program since getting hired in 2017.

“But he’s a three-level scorer who is crafty on defense. He anticipates well.”

Reeves’ story reads like a movie – with romance, improbable basketball outcomes and interesting locales.

After not playing organized basketball for two years – due to his Mormon mission – he had no scholarship offers to play college basketball.

He ended up as a walk-on player at a two-year school, Snow College. He stayed there one year, starting 23 games while averaging 15.0 points, 3.5 assists and 2.3 steals

Snow College’s location – in Ephraim, Utah – proved to be crucial in Reeves’ life because that’s where he met Courtney Lee, who is now his wife.

As a side note, Crutchfield said Reeves is the first married player to play men’s basketball for NSU.

While Reeves was at Snow College, he got a call from Chaminade University, an NCAA Division II school located in Honolulu.

The Chaminade coaches didn’t realize it at the time, but Reeves was a perfect fit for college in Hawaii. That’s because his father (David) and his brother (Brandon) both played for Brigham Young University-Hawaii, located on the island of Oahu.

That school closed its athletic program while Reeves was in high school, but Chaminade was an even better option given the Silverswords’ reputation as “giant killers” following their 77-72 win over Virginia on Dec. 23, 1982.

At that time, Chaminade was an NAIA team. Virginia was No. 1 in the nation in NCAA Division I, and the Cavaliers had 7-foot-4 center Ralph Sampson, the three-time National Player of the Year who went on to become the No. 1 pick in the 1983 NBA Draft.

It has been called the greatest upset in college basketball history, especially since Chaminade’s center was 6-5 Tony Randolph – nearly a foot shorter than Sampson.

In the two years Reeves was at Chaminade, the Silverswords continued to hunt upsets, playing No. 1-ranked Kansas and No. 24 UCLA as well as Syracuse, Ohio State and Louisville.

The closest Chaminade came to an upset was against Louisville, losing 80-73. Reeves scored in double figures in three of those games – 13 points against Syracuse, 12 against Kansas and 11 against UCLA.

While at Chaminade, Reeves redshirted his first year (he was one credit short) and was then named the 2022-2023 Freshman of the Year in the Pacific West Conference, averaging 15.6 points and 2.9 assists.

As a redshirt sophomore last season, Reeves was Chaminade’s Male Athlete of the Year, leading his team in scoring (16.7) and assists (3.8). He also set the school record in free-throw percentage (85.7).

Beyond the basketball success, life was good for Reeves in Hawaii. Reeves and Courtney had married before arriving in Honolulu – he was 21 at the time, and she was 19 – and they were well received by the Chaminade community.

“We were far from home, and they took us in,” Reeves said. “We both learned to surf while we were there.

“There were many times that I caught myself thinking: ‘I can’t believe we live here.’”

After last season, Reeves – who had already earned his Bachelor’s degree in business administration – put his name in the transfer portal because Chaminade didn’t have the financial resources for housing to fully support his Master’s program.

Crutchfield contacted him almost immediately. In fact, the contact was made on March 31 – the day after NSU had lost in the NCAA Division II national title game.

As it turns out, Chaminade’s coach, Eric Bovaird, was formerly an assistant to Crutchfield at West Liberty.

“I called Eric, and he told me that he would love to have Ross back, but Chaminade didn’t have the Master’s support program for him,” Crutchfield said.

“I would have never called Ross without Eric’s permission, even though (Reeves) was in the portal.

“But Eric told me that Ross was going to become my favorite player because of his personality. Ross brought his dad on the recruiting trip, and it was a very positive experience.”

Indeed, Reeves is now studying for his MBA in data analytics at NSU. His future goal is to work in pharmaceutical or tech sales.

“I’m an outgoing guy,” Reeves said, “and I have a family history in sales.”

Reeves’ outgoing personality has made him popular at NSU, where his teammates call him “Grandpa” because of his advanced age for a college kid.

“I had watched so much film of (NSU) before arriving here that I felt like I knew everybody already,” said Reeves, who plans to play for the Sharks again in 2025-2026.

“It’s so much fun playing for (Crutchfield). He allows us to play free as long as we play hard.”

Utah, Las Vegas, Hawaii, South Florida, … married and playing for the No. 1 team in the nation … It’s already been an eventful life for 24-year-old Ross Reeves.