Remember My Name: Raising Arizona

I don't really know what to make of Arizona Reid. I imagine he'd say that's my problem, because he knows what to make of himself. Reid is a 6'5" Forward for the High Point Panthers of the Big South conference. He's averaging nearly 25 ppg, which is impressive enough on its own. But when you add in the 10 rebounds per game, Reid's mentality becomes clearer - he's a power forward trapped in a big guard's body.

Nobody else on his team even gets close to a loose ball - even 6'11" Center Cruz Daniels is averaging an unspectacular 4.6 rpg, which is good for second on the team scorecard. Reid seems to be willing himself to be unstoppable. Last year he was voted the Big South player of the year, based on a season that included thirteen double-doubles and an incredible 32/25 outing against a high-tempo VMI team. Unfortunately, that same VMI team took revenge on Reid and the 22-win Panthers in March, knocking them out of the Big South tournament and denying them a shot at the auto-bid. In fact, the Panthers have never played in the NCAAs.

#30 hopes to change that statistic this year. Typical conference power Winthrop has been up-and-down since coach Gregg Marshall moved on to Wichita State, and UNC-Asheville is leading the conference based on the play of Kenny George and his balky knees. High Point stands in second at 5-4 after the early going, with five other members of the Big South hovering around .500 and Radford bringing up the rear at 4-8. Throw all of that out once conference play starts, because the auto-bid is anyone's to win, and each team will be aware of that throughout the next three months.

Reid and his mates inexplicably play an in-season home-and-home with Savannah State (tonight and Thursday) before making a trip to Florida the day after New Year. Winthrop comes to town on the 12th to start the second season in High Point.

You probably won't need to remember AZ's name until early March, because there are no televised games in the Big South. But when the time comes for this eight-team league to play for the championship of each other, look out for a little big man with flying dreadlocks, pulling down everything that fails to drop through the net.