DRIVE TIME: Princeton Day School basketball star Davon Reed drives to the hoop last Thursday in PDS’s 68-54 loss to Notre Dame. Junior guard Reed poured in a game-high 29 points in a losing cause. The Panthers, now 11-6, play at Abington Friends on February 1, hosts Life Center Academy on February 3, and plays at Princeton High on February 6. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Davon Reed is clearly the go-to player for the Princeton Day School boys’ basketball team but he has no desire to be a one-man show.

“I try to be a leader but talent can only go so far from one player or one source,” said junior forward Reed, who is averaging 25.4 points a game this winter and passed the 1,000-point mark in his career in December.

“I try to keep people’s confidence up so we can all go out there and give it our best and do what we do best.”

As PDS hosted powerful Notre Dame last Thursday, the Panthers showed plenty of confidence in jumping out to a 24-16 lead after the first quarter.

“We came out smoking and I don’t think they expected that,” said the 6’5 Reed, reflecting on the team’s early surge.

“They are definitely a big, fast, and strong team; we wanted to come out and just match their tempo. I think we hit them in the mouth first.”

The Fighting Irish, though, struck back, outscoring PDS 11-6 to narrow the gap to 30-27 in the third quarter. Notre Dame started the third quarter with an 11-3 run to seize the momentum.

With the Panthers reeling, Reed took matters into his own hands, making several forays to the hoop.

“I do whatever my team needs me to do,” said Reed. “In a way, I was taking the team on my back. That’s what my team needed me to do so I had to do it.

Reed held up his end of the bargain, ending up with a game-high 29 points but it wasn’t enough as PDS lost 68-54.

With Reed having made a habit of superb displays like his effort against Notre Dame, he has been ranked as one of the top 100 junior players in the country and is the subject of some intense recruiting by college programs.

“It is a blessing, I am excited to receive offers,” said Reed, who noted that he now has 18 offers after getting a commitment from Boston College last week.

“It is definitely overwhelming at time balancing school, basketball, and my social life. I am still taking everything in stride, no particular school is in the lead.”

In reflecting on the Panthers’ progress so far this season, Reed said the team is still looking to find its stride.

“We just need to play
confidently on offense and defense throughout the whole game,” said Reed. “We can’t take any time or plays off. We need to keep going. We haven’t developed that motor yet.”

PDS head coach Paris McLean concurred with Reed’s analysis. “We have got to sustain leads like that,” said McLean, whose team fell 73-46 at Rutgers Prep to drop to 11-6.

“More people need to contribute. Davon is attracting a lot of attention and he is still distributing to the other guys. We need other people to score. It’s not that they are getting the shots, it is that they aren’t hitting them. We also have to be tougher and get more rebounds.”

McLean has no qualms about what he has been getting out of Reed. “Davon could have had even more points tonight, he didn’t shoot it enough,” said McLean.

“He is unbelievable; he does it all. He broke the all-time record of a tournament with 22 rebounds in a game. That is insane. We need more of that.”

In McLean’s view, his squad is getting what it needs with its challenging schedule even if it has been taking some lumps.

“This is the toughest part of our schedule and we knew this,” said McLean, whose team plays at Abington Friends on February 1, hosts Life Center Academy on February 3, and plays at Princeton High on February 6.

“We will see great competition; that will get us ready. When we come to the counties, we can make a nice run. If we run into Notre Dame or someone else of that caliber, we can say we have been here before. The states are wide open. We are excited about that. We have to take it one day at a time.”

Reed, for his part, is excited about PDS’s prospects. “We just have to bounce back; we need to look forward to the next practice and the next game,” said Reed.

“I think we just need to believe. It is physical but if we believe we can do it, I think we will.”