Reggie Upshaw

Reggie Upshaw
Upshaw with MoraBanc Andorra in 2018
No. 30 – MoraBanc Andorra
Position Small forward
League Liga ACB
Personal information
Born (1995-04-07) April 7, 1995
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight 227 lb (103 kg)
Career information
High school Baylor (Chattanooga, Tennessee)
College Middle Tennessee State (2013–2017)
NBA draft 2017 / Undrafted
Playing career 2017–present
Career history
2017–2018 Tigers Tübingen
2018–present Andorra
Career highlights and awards

Reggie Upshaw Jr. (born April 7, 1995) is an American basketball player for BC Andorra of the Liga ACB. He competed in college for Middle Tennessee State.

Early life and high school career

Upshaw is the son of Sabrina and Reggie Upshaw Sr., who played football at Middle Tennessee State University.[1] Reggie Jr.'s brother Gage is a cadet at the Air Force Academy.[2] The younger Reggie Upshaw attended the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he was a multi-sport athlete, winning a state high jump championship and earning all-state honors in football and basketball as a junior.[3] Playing wide receiver and tight end in football, Upshaw had scholarship offers from Vanderbilt, Middle Tennessee State and Louisiana-Lafayette.[1] However, he suffered a broken right foot at the end of his season and another fracture at the beginning of his basketball season, prompting him to focus on basketball in the future.[3] As a senior, Upshaw averaged 22 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks per game on the basketball court. He was considered to be a three-star recruit and received attention from several Division 1 programs before committing to Middle Tennessee State and coach Kermit Davis.[1]

College career

In Upshaw's freshman season, he averaged 6.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.[4] Middle Tennesse State reached its first NCAA Tournament in 20 years. As a sophomore, Upshaw averaged 9.9 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Middle Tennessee State finished the season 19-16 and lost in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.[5]

In his junior season, Upshaw was named to the Third Team All-Conference USA.[6] Middle Tennessee State won the Conference USA Men's Basketball Tournament, defeating Old Dominion in the finals by the score of 55-53. Upshaw, who scored nine points in the championship game including the final four points, was named Most Valuable Player.[7] In the NCAA Tournament, the Blue Raiders were given a 15 seed and matched up with 2 seed Tom Izzo-coached Michigan State. In one of the biggest surprises in the history of the NCAA Tournament, the Blue Raiders beat the highly-touted Spartans 90-81, with a strong performance by Upshaw, who scored 21 points as his team's top scorer. It was Middle Tennessee's first NCAA Tournament win since 1989.[8] In the following round, however, they lost by 25 points against Syracuse, with Upshaw shooting 1-for-10 and dishing out one assist.[9] Upshaw averaged 13.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game as a junior. After the season, he underwent wrist surgery.[10]

As a senior at Middle Tennessee State, Upshaw averaged 14.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Upshaw was named to the Second Team All-Conference USA. Alongside JaCorey Williams, he led the Blue Raiders to the NCAA Tournament again.[6] As a 12 seed, the Blue Raiders earned a first-round win against the favored Minnesota Golden Gophers 81-72, behind a game-high 19 points from Upshaw.[11] In the next round, the Blue Raiders fell to Butler 74-65. Upshaw was selected to play in the 2017 Reese's College All-Star Game.[12]

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2017 NBA draft, Upshaw signed a free agent deal with the Milwaukee Bucks and played for the team in the NBA Summer League.[6] Instead of joining their training camp in the hopes of making the regular-season roster, he agreed to a ten-month deal with Tigers Tübingen of the German Basketball Bundesliga in mid-July. Regarding the Bucks, Upshaw said, "I didn't feel like the contract that I had with them would have been the best one for me my first year."[13] Upshaw averaged 14.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game as a rookie. “The amount of work I’ve put in during my first season and this summer have prepared me to take the next step in my career,” he said.[14]

For the 2018 NBA Summer League, Upshaw signed with the Los Angeles Clippers. He contributed 24 points, nine rebounds, two assists and a steal in a 89-74 victory over the Washington Wizards on July 11.[15] On July 27, 2018, he signed with BC Andorra of the Spanish Liga ACB.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Amato, Aldo Giovanni (January 24, 2017). "Passing on football made Reggie Upshaw an MTSU basketball star". The Daily News Journal. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  2. ↑ Boone, Kyle (March 5, 2017). "WATCH: MTSU's Reggie Upshaw surprised by his military brother on senior night". CBS Sports. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  3. 1 2 Hargis, Stephen (December 29, 2012). "Reggie's dad' was star athlete in his old identity". Times Free Press. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  4. ↑ Jones, Gordie. "MTSU's Reggie Upshaw Jr. stands out as a team player on the court and off". American Sports Net. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  5. ↑ Borthick, Will (April 2, 2015). "MTSU hoops to take foreign trip to Bahamas". The Daily News Journal. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 Organ, Mike (June 23, 2017). "MTSU's Reggie Upshaw and JaCorey Williams sign NBA contracts". The Tennesseean. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  7. ↑ "Monarchs Lose Heartbreaker in C-USA Championship to MT, 55-53". Old Dominion Monarchs. March 12, 2016. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Baylor School standout Reggie Upshaw leads MTSU's stunning win over Michigan State". Chattanooga Times Free Press. Associated Press. March 19, 2016. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  9. ↑ Rexrode, Joe (March 20, 2016). "MTSU will be remembered for upset win, not blowout loss". The Tennessean. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Middle Tennessee's Reggie Upshaw to undergo wrist surgery". WMOT. Associated Press. June 2, 2016. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  11. ↑ Graff, Chad (March 16, 2017). "NCAA tournament: Gophers bounced by a better team in first round". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  12. ↑ Organ, Mike (March 28, 2017). "Evan Bradds, Reggie Upshaw selected for college all-star game". The Tennesseean. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  13. ↑ Bacharach, Erik (July 22, 2017). "Former MTSU forward Reggie Upshaw signs to play pro basketball in Germany". The Daily News Journal. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  14. ↑ Boclair, David (June 12, 2018). "Upshaw's sights set firmly on the NBA". The Nashville Post. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Clippers' Reggie Upshaw: Scores 24 points Wednesday". CBS Sports. July 11, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Andorra acquires Reggie Upshaw". EuroHoops. July 27, 2018. Retrieved September 4, 2018.
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