George Reese
George L. Reese | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 8, 1977 Columbus, Ohio, U.S. |
| Occupation | Professional basketball player |
| Years active | 2000–2012 |
| Known for | Playing for Ohio State Buckeyes; professional basketball career in France, Germany, Greece, Poland |
George L. Reese (born May 8, 1977) is a former American professional basketball athlete. He competed collegiately at Ohio State University, where he contributed to the Buckeyes reaching the NCAA Final Four in 1999 and securing the Men's Big Ten Basketball Championship in 2000. Reese's professional tenure spanned several countries, including France, Germany, Greece, and Poland.
Early life and college
In 1995, Reese completed his high school education at Independence High School located in Columbus, Ohio. He began his collegiate journey at the University of South Florida, though he did not participate in basketball under coach Bobby Paschal. After transferring to Columbus State Community College, Reese still did not engage in basketball before moving on to John A. Logan College in Carterville, Illinois. During the 1997–98 season at Logan, he averaged 20.2 points alongside 11.6 rebounds per game and earned second-team recognition as an NJCAA All-American.
Between 1998 and 2000, Reese played the small forward position for the Ohio State Buckeyes. In the 1998–99 season, he averaged 5.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, improving significantly in his senior year to 13.2 points and 5.7 rebounds per contest. His performance earned him third-team All-Big Ten Conference honors during his final collegiate season.
Professional career
Despite not being selected in the 2000 NBA draft, Reese was chosen as the 79th overall pick by the Cincinnati Stuff in the 2000 IBL Draft. His professional debut came in October 2000 with Hermine de Nantes Atlantique in France's Ligue Nationale de Basketball, where he posted averages of 20 points and 10.7 rebounds across three games. The following month, November 2000, he signed with the Cincinnati Stuff. On April 14, 2001, Reese inked a contract with the IBL's Trenton Shooting Stars but ultimately did not appear in any games for them.
In the inaugural draft of the NBA Development League in 2001, Reese was selected 68th overall by the Columbus Riverdragons. On January 14, 2002, Columbus traded him to the Asheville Altitude. While with Columbus, he averaged 4.5 points and 1.9 rebounds over a span of 22 games; after joining Asheville, his statistics improved to 6.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game.
During the subsequent season, Reese competed for two teams within the Continental Basketball Association: appearing in 15 games for the Sioux Falls Skyforce, where he averaged 9.7 points and 4.2 rebounds; and playing 14 games with the Idaho Stampede, posting averages of 17.4 points and 5.9 rebounds. In 2004, he participated in ten matches for the Florence Flyers of the USBL and also had a stint with the Barangay Ginebra Kings in the Philippine Basketball Association.
Reese's career extended in the Polish Basketball League from 2004 through 2012, including a five-year period playing for PBL club AZS Koszalin.