Elmore County senior basketball forward Zion Reed was ready to get out of the state of Alabama, so when the opportunity presented itself, he didn’t let it pass.
Reed, a forward for the Panthers’ basketball team, signed his National Letter of Intent last week with the Florida State College basketball program in Jacksonville, Florida. When doing so, he became the first Elmore County basketball player to sign since 1987, a whopping 35 years ago.
“I just wanted to get out of Alabama and do something better for myself,” Reed said. “It feels good. It’s really a dream come true. I still don’t think it’s real, but I know it is. I’ve worked so hard at it and it’s like my dreams really came true.”
Reed first got into contact with the Florida State College coaching staff in the last game of his high school career.
In the Elmore County’s loss to Sipsey Valley in the state championship, Reed said FSCJ head coach Frank Burnell was there to watch Sipsey Valley star and Mississippi State signee Martavious Russell.
Russell and Sipsey Valley may have won the game, but Reed performed so well that Martin was impressed with him and offered him a scholarship opportunity. When that happened, there was no way Reed was going to let the opportunity slip.
He signed just a few weeks after the season ended, and now he’s trying to get to campus as quickly as possible.
“As soon as I graduate, I’m going to ask my parents if I can go ahead and go to Florida,” Reed said.
Reed is joining a young program as FSCJ didn’t have a single senior on its roster last season. The team did, however, feature some talented bigs who had successful seasons.
Freshman wing GianFranco Grafals averaged 17 points per game and was named First-Team All-Conference, while center Ja’Derryus Eatmon earned second-team honors after averaging 7.7 points and 4.6 rebounds.
To be able to compete for a starting job, Reed is planning to work harder than anyone else as soon as he gets there, as he says his work ethic is what gave him this opportunity in the first place.
Reed has the ability to succeed at the next level, and he showed that with his numbers in high school. At 6-foot-5, he has the height and tools to be successful, and he averaged 10.6 points and 10.7 rebounds this season.
He will have a chance to make an instant impact at FSCJ, which didn’t have as great of a team year as they were hoping last season. The Blue Wave went 0-19 last season and 0-13 in conference play.
