Four-star PG Jayden Reid commits to South Florida
Jayden Reid had been hearing from other schools and talking to other coaches but after a weekend visit to South Florida followed by a trip to Seattle U, the 5-foot-11, 160-pound point guard from Long Island Lutheran (NY) High School has verbally committed to USF.
"It felt like, at USF, they just have the athletes best interest," Reid said when reflecting on his visit to Tampa. "They want the athletes to succeed. They're willing to do whatever they can to put the athletes in the best position to succeed. So, their visit definitely helped. I love the school. The campus was very nice. Everything about USF was was good."
Finally having the opportunity to meet Bulls head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim and his staff helped pushed USF over the top.
"I loved the connection with them," said Reid. "They all seem to work really well together. I got to meet the Athletic Director. They were all good people. Nice people."
Very few prospects have had as successful a spring as Reid. He was named to the National Interscholastic Basketball Conference (NIBC) Second Team and all-NIBC Defensive Team, led LuHi to a New York State Federation Class AA championship, put on a big time performance in the quarterfinals of the GEICO NATIONALS Tournament, then he played in the first two sessions of the Nike EYBL averaging 11.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists in 21.3 minutes per game, while also receiving scholarship offers from USF, Seattle, SMU, Tulane plus increased interest from Rhode Island. All told, Reid received 13 offers during his recruitment.
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2023 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2024 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team
2025 Rankings: Top 80
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His play between February and the end of April played a big role in Reid receiving a 22-spot bump in the final ranking of the 2023 class to become the No. 124 ranked overall prospect in the Rivals150 and the No. 28 ranked point guard prospect.
The only reason that Reid was available this late is because of the college basketball coaching carousel. He gave former VCU head coach Mike Rhoades a silent verbal and was set to publicly announce his commitment at GIECO Nationals when Rhoades accepted the Penn State job on March 29 -- the same day that USF announced today the appointment of Abdur-Rahim as its new head coach.
In terms of how Reid’s game fits into Abdur-Rahim's system, he believes that his versatility will give him an edge in earning rotational minutes next season.
"They said they needed a quick point guard to run the team," he said. "I know they've got another guard, but they needed a different point guard and just just be that floor general for them. They've got a lot of good shooters around. They said that they just need a point guard that could put them in position to score. They told me that they like how I can score by myself and help the team run smoother."
So, while one coaching change (VCU) ruined his plans and caused Reid to reopen his recruitment, another coaching change (USF) created an opportunity for him to come to the Bay.
