BURLINGTON — Burlington High School basketball star Tyrel Reed got the call he had been waiting for for years Tuesday night when Kansas coach Bill Self called him at home to offer him a chance to sign with the Jayhawks as a scholarship athlete.
Reed, of course, accepted the offer.
And what did he do to celebrate?
“I studied for an anatomy test,” Reed said.
Reed took his test Wednesday and said he did “all right,” but his anatomy teacher would probably forgive him if his mind wasn’t completely focused on science.
Reed, framed by his parents, Stacy and Debbie, and his sister, Lacie, signed his official letter of intent to play for Self’s Jayhawks in an after-school ceremony in the Burlington High School gym Wednesday — the last day of the fall signing period — saying it was a dream come true for him.
“It’s awesome. Words can’t really describe it,” he said. “It’s been a dream of mine since I was a little kid. I started going to KU camps when I was about 6 years old. It’s been a long process.
“There were a lot of good colleges recruiting me. In the end, I just felt that KU was the place I wanted to be. I’ve grown up being a KU fan. Their fans are great. I’ve always dreamt of running out of that tunnel and hearing those fans.”
Reed was one of the most highly-sought after basketball recruits to come out of the state of Kansas in a while, as Missouri, Oklahoma, and Stanford, along with the Jayhawks, were among the schools courting the 6-foot-3, 175-pound point guard who averaged 22.6 points and 6.1 assists as a junior last year. Kansas State coach Bob Huggins even tried to get into the mix after he was hired to coach the Wildcats in March, but for Reed, it all came down to playing for the tradition-rich basketball school that is Kansas.
“Kansas has so much tradition,” Reed said. “They’re so good in basketball and they always have been. I hope that continues. It should just be awesome.”
The opportunity to sign with the Jayhawks was somewhat unexpected, as many assumed Reed would have to wait until the spring signing period to sign with Kansas after more scholarships became free. But after Self dismissed CJ Giles from the team about a week and a half ago, the chance for Reed to sign early reared its head.
“It’s nice to get it done before the season so I can just go out and play,” he said. “If it was going to go into the spring, I would most likely have gone to Kansas. Kansas was pretty much on my mind.”
Stacy Reed, Tyrel’s father, thanked the town of Burlington for the support it had shown since the Reeds moved there when Tyrel was in seventh grade.
“I personally want to thank the administration ... They’ve given him every opportunity to excel at the highest level,” he said. “I just want to emphasize how much, as a family, how happy we are to be over here in Burlington, Kan., and to be fortunate enough to be with the kids that we have on a daily basis. It’s just an outstanding community to be around.”
Tyrel said he was unsure about whether or not he would take an official visit to Kansas now that he has signed, but he did say that he looks forward to joining the team and helping the Jayhawks continue their winning ways.
“It’s just always been a place I wanted to be. Coach Self’s a great coach. I feel that we’ll do pretty good in the future,” Tyrel said. “I’ll just do whatever they want me to do. I’m more of a guard, I guess you could say, since I’m a little taller. If they want me to play the point guard, I’ll play the point guard. But otherwise, I’ll play the off-guard and do whatever it takes to help us win.”