Practices officially begin for Reynolds, Redhawk hoops

Southeast Missouri State guard Rob Martin, left, guards teammate Jay Reynolds during practice at the Show Me Center on Monday, Sept. 23.

Tony Capobianco ~ tcapobianco@semoball.com

The 2024-25 men's college basketball season has officially begun in Southeast Missouri, as the Redhawks conducted their first official practice on Monday, Sept. 23, at the Show Me Center.

Most importantly, it was Cape Central alum Jay Reynolds' first official day as an active member of the Redhawks.

With the addition of Reynolds, the Redhawks will have someone on their roster who has played high school ball in Cape Girardeau for the first time in a long time. Not only that, he is also listed on the roster as the Redhawks' lone freshman.

"I've been pleased with his effort, and energy," SEMO head coach Brad Korn said of Reynolds. "He's a coach's kid, so he knows the game, very coachable, and knows where to go."

So far he has made a fine first impression with his new teammates.

"Jay's been good," said SEMO junior guard Rob Martin. "He's a good shooter and plays defense. So I think he'll fit in real well with SEMO."

Among those who graduated, SEMO lost one of the best three-point shooters when Adam Larson transferred to Chattanooga. Outside shooting was Reynold's specialty at Cape Central and the hope in SEMO is he can fill Larson's offensive role.

"We're always looking for guys that can score," Korn said. "The game is hard if you can't shoot. That's one of Jay's strongest points. But I think the other thing is, he got a high basketball IQ."

Along with Reynolds, the Redhawks added a handful of junior college transfers and entered the first practices of the season with three 7-footers and an emphasis on defense.

"I think our defense is way ahead of our offense at this point," Korn said. "That actually excites me because it's been the opposite in the past. I think I put a lot of time into our offense, and we've been a good offensive team. But when you don't shoot the basketball well, like we did a year ago, now we're trying to put an emphasis on both."

However, according to their leading scorer, one can expect the Redhawks to soar to the basket this season.

"I think we're gonna score the ball at a high level," Martin said.

SEMO begins the season at Bradley on Monday, Nov. 4, and at Vanderbilt on Sunday, Nov. 10.

The Redhawks' first home game will be against Crowley's Ridge College on Wednesday, Nov. 13, followed by Larson and Chattanooga coming to the Show Me Center on Sunday, Nov. 17.