As the rangy, athletic-looking 6-foot, 9-inch individual took center-stage earlier this month at Wintrust Arena resplendent in a royal blue gown topped off by a glowing red sash, a cornucopia of thoughts and images may have bounced around in Paul Reed's mind.
He may have glanced in the direction of his parents, Paul and Michelle, to whom he made a solemn promise to finish college no matter where life took him.
There may have been replay reviews of the long hours and extra effort balancing an unforgiving NBA lifestyle and non-stop travel with cracking the books.
He may have smiled at the mental image of a dedicated DePaul academic adviser named Ben Gutman who stayed on him every step of the way.
Any university's mission is to educate the young people of our great nation, even when sidetracked by the glamorous and alluring world of pro basketball.
As the friendly, soft-spoken Blue Demon power forward was rising up as the NBA G League MVP and Rookie of the Year in 2020-21 and becoming the primary backup for Philadelphia 76ers franchise player Joel Embiid this past season, Reed never thought about forsaking his academics.
Given the same circumstances, plenty of his contemporaries have opted for instant gratification at the expense of securing their future with a college degree.
"Earning a college degree in Sports Communication means so much," Reed said. "It's something I wanted to do for my family and for myself. I made a promise to my mom and dad that I would go back and get it done.
"My parents came to the graduation ceremony, and you know it meant a lot to them. Now they can brag to their friends that their son went back and finished college.
"It was difficult but definitely do-able. I had to make sure I took time out of my schedule and my life to work on it, and that's what I did."
He made sure there was never a conflict between basketball and school.
"I paced myself," Reed said. "Didn't try to do too much while I was in season. I didn't take time away from basketball for the schoolwork. I took care of the academics in my free time.
"My 76ers teammates didn't know about any of this until they saw I had graduated. When they found out, everybody was surprised and super-excited."
After Reed announced his graduation on Instagram, Philly teammates Tobias Harris and Danny Green shouted out congratulations on social media.
"I was extremely happy after graduating," Reed said. "I didn't have to finish later in my life. It was tough at times and I had to work hard.
"Ben helped me a lot and made sure I stayed with it. He was always there for me. When I was on campus, he was always on me about my studies. When I was out of school, it was the same thing.
"It was a great relationship. Ben was a great tutor and a great friend. He always had my best interests at heart. That's something you can't say about other academic advisers.
"Not everybody cares that much. He cares about you every day. And I wasn't the only one he helped to graduate."
Reed paused for a moment as something flashed across his mind.
"I'm not sure I would have made it if not for all he did."
Memories of his alma mater came rushing back.
How former coach Dave Leitao discovered him in tiny Apopka, Fla. after scouting services and recruiting experts had overlooked a nondescript 6-2 Wekiva High School player who shot up six inches by his senior year and led the Mustangs to the state title game.
Despite being hailed as the Central Florida Player of the Year, Reed was considered a middle-of-the road three-star recruit who wound up choosing DePaul over Clemson, Kansas State, Rutgers and Murray State.
What none of the scouts could detect was this young man's seemingly limitless capacity for hard work. Reed firmly believes his success in life stems from simply outworking everyone else---and then doing a little bit more.
He became an All-BIG EAST standout averaging nearly 16 points and 11 rebounds as a junior, prompting former Georgetown coach John Thompson III to ask Leitao after a game: "Where did you find this guy?"
"DePaul has always been a great school with a great athletics staff," said Reed who came out after his junior year and was drafted in the second round by the 76ers. "Wherever I go in my basketball career, I will continue to follow DePaul."
The feeling is mutual. Blue Demon Nation will follow Reed's burgeoning NBA career with puffed-up chests, bragging on their overcome-all-odds power forward.
"It's a great feeling representing DePaul in making it to the League," Reed said. It feels good to have the support of everyone back at school."
The Blue Demon fan following is ready to take off just as Reed is set to burst across the NBA landscape. A strong finish to his second season has the Sixers brass projecting him as the primary backup to franchise superstar Embiid and a rotational piece on a playoff team.
"I know coach (Doc) Rivers is very excited with what Paul Reed gave us down the stretch," 76ers president Daryl Morey told USA Today. "Paul, hopefully, will build on what he did at the end of last year."
Reed's relentless blue-collar work ethic that had him wearing out BIG EAST opponents on game day and Blue Demon teammates in practice has made him a fan favorite in one of the most demanding hometown fan environments in America.
Get on the bad side of Philly fanatics whether you're an Eagle, a Flyer, a Phillie or 76er and the brutal boo birds will run you right out of town.
Reed has charmed them with his incessant hustle and energetic minutes on the court.
It reached a fever pitch last April during a 118-106 victory over the Detroit Pistons that sealed up the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The pride of DePaul finished with 25 points, six rebounds and four steals during a 21-minute performance that helped overcome the absence of Embiid. Reed shot 12-of-14 and scored 14 critical points in the final 8:11 of the fourth quarter.
Rivers, the former high school All-American from Proviso East, found himself calling on Reed to sub in for Embiid throughout the 76ers' run to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
How has Reed made such a conspicuous impact so early in his pro career?
"I've always been a hard worker, and that's my biggest asset," Reed said. "I've always been one to work harder than everyone else.
"That's what has helped me succeed---my willingness to work hard in the trenches."
That Pistons' high performance was his payoff.
"The Sixers are like a family, and my teammates were helping me so much," Reed said. "They kept looking for me and I kept on scoring."
He carried that momentum into the postseason where he contributed eight points and five rebounds in just nine minutes April 23 at Toronto.
He made key contributions twice during the Miami Heat series with nine points and four assists May 2 in south Florida and seven points and eight rebounds in 16 minutes on May 10.
This is only the beginning.
Now, this former G League MVP with the Delaware Blue Coats promises to ratchet up the hard-work meter to unprecedented levels.
"It took a lot of hard work to become Joel Embiid's backup," Reed said. "But I could have played even better in the playoffs. One of my goals is to be part of the eight-man rotation."
To that end, Reed has dedicated the offseason to increasing his vertical leap while becoming a more dynamic rebounder and shot blocker.
"My first NBA playoffs was a great experience---being on the court and playing," Reed said. "But now, I've got to work even harder to improve my game and help my team win."
No one can attest to Reed's work ethic more than Gutman.
Just as Reed was a self-made basketball player who overcame the odds in making it to the NBA, how did he overcome his academic hurdles?
"Once he found a routine of handling one or two classes while in the league, he was able to create the time to work with us and do well," Gutman said. "At that point, it was just a matter of me staying on top of him and the situation to keep going from quarter to quarter until he finished in the fall of 2021.
"Kitty Muto of the College of Communications Academic Advising Office was also a big help in supporting Paul's efforts to earn his degree.
"Paul came in with the right idea of doing what needed to be done to succeed. We were able to work on his confidence because he is sharp academically when driven. He understood that we had a program in place as a resource, and he learned to use those resources quite well."
Over the last five years, Gutman and Reed have become quite close.
"Paul is an unassuming, thoughtful, caring and a genuinely nice person," Gutman said. "He is driven to succeed often by people who misjudge him, as he is motivated to show people how great he really is.
"This was true in school, and as you can tell, it is especially true of him on the basketball court. His future is bright. He truly believes that too, and he backs it up by working harder than most players I have ever come across."
Gutman was all smiles on graduation day.
"I think I was as excited as Paul," Gutman said. "I was also excited because I knew how much this meant to his mom, and I knew she would be excited. With all of Paul's athletic success, it would have been easy to get big-headed.
"But since he got here, he has been really grounded about how to treat people and continuing to work. That clearly comes from his parents.
"When he walked across that stage, I was excited for them as much as I was for Paul. As an adviser, you often see your successes lived out through other people. I get to work with extremely talented players like Paul every year, and that is often reward enough."
Source: https://depaulbluedemons.com/news/2022/6/29/mens-basketball-paul-reeds-crowning-achievement.aspx
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