WATCH: Antonio Reeves mic'd up at GLOBL Jam practice

Kentucky Basketball’s roster got a big boost with the return of Antonio Reeves. Yesterday, we got some footage of the super-senior on the court with his new teammates preparing for the GLOBL Jam in Toronto.

In the one-minute-plus clip, you can see Reeves bouncing around practice, interacting with fellow veterans Adou Thiero and Ugonna Onyenso, and even coaching his younger counterparts. The latter is part of Reeves’ new mission to step up and be a leader on this team, which includes seven freshmen.

“I will definitely get better at [being vocal],” Reeves told reporters last week. “The last couple of years I’ve been pretty quiet; not the leader on the team. But this year, I’ve definitely got to use my voice because we’ve got a lot of younger guys that are out there.”

Freshman guard Rob Dillingham said Reeves’ efforts have not gone unnoticed.

“Antonio can shoot the ball very well and he does everything,” Dillingham said. “And then how he is off the court. He teaches us instead of just being one of those dudes that don’t talk to underclassmen, so really just being a role model for us. Antonio Reeves has been a great role model for me for sure.”

Even if Reeves isn’t necessarily the most vocal leader, Dillingham said he’s going out of his way to answer questions and lead by example in practice.

“He’s not really a loud voice because that’s not really who Antonio is but if you ask him a question, he always answers. He always looks out, he always tries to give us the best answer he can then shows us by example in practice.”

Tone Mic'd Up 🎙️#GoBigBlue x @ToniooReeves pic.twitter.com/bZObxqubyd

— Kentucky Men’s Basketball (@KentuckyMBB) July 10, 2023

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Kentucky’s freshmen recruited Reeves back to Kentucky

How valuable is Reeves to this roster? He told reporters last week that the freshmen hit him up daily to recruit him back to Kentucky as he tested the NBA Draft waters and considered other options for his final year of college eligibility.

“They called me and texted me every day, ‘Definitely, we want you back, we want you to be the older brother on the team,’ This is a family here. They definitely wanted me back, wanted me to be the older guy. That’s how much they really wanted me here. That’s the key, just somebody that wants you, somebody that wants you to be able to play.”

“We definitely was hitting him [up] every day,” Dillingham confirmed. “Everyone wanted to hit him [up] because, we were a young team, so we needed someone as a veteran, we definitely need [Reeves] back.”

The pitch worked. Reeves is back and locked in for his final season, an attitude shift John Calipari has already picked up on.

“Right now, Antonio doesn’t look like the same guy,” Calipari said at his press conference previewing the GLOBL Jam on June 30. “You know why? There’s no anxiety. He knows what this is. He walks in, now he talks more. Now, he’s not, ‘What do I? Where do I? He knows and he’s just playing. That’s a second year here.”

“It’s the hunger in me that wants to get better,” Reeves said of his new mindset. “Being here for one year, I can see the growth I’m already having. My mentality, every day, is coming in and staying focused.”

A big part of that is preparing the freshmen for what’s ahead.

“I gotta get them ready because the league’s getting older,” he explained. “There’s a lot of guys that are older, like, 23, like my age. So I definitely put that little shoulder on them and that chest on them whenever they go to the rim, just be like, ‘Yeah, it is that when you get out here,’ you know? I’m telling guys all the time. ‘I’m not gonna take it easy’ or ‘whatever it takes to get you better.’”

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