UF freshman forward Laila Reynolds and the 2023-24 Gators will play an exhibition game Wednesday night at the O'Dome.
Reynolds Aspires to Setting Trends, Winning Trophies
Tuesday, October 31, 2023 | Women's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – As is often the case for college coaches tracking the AAU circuit, Florida assistant and recruiting coordinator Cynthia Jordan was on her second stop, in a second state in as many days. After scouting a tournament in Alabama, Jordan headed to Virginia to check in on a Boo Williams event, always a must-see when making the prospect-hunting rounds.
It was there that Jordan first got a look at Laila Reynolds.
"Normally, you bounce from court to court, but this girl really caught my eye and I decided to stick around for a while," Jordan recalled. "I thought to myself, 'Yeah OK, I think we got something right here.' " Laila Reynolds
It was the spring of 2021 and Jordan's second day on the job, having just joined UF coach Kelly Rae Finley's staff after 10 years as director of women's basketball operations at South Carolina. With the Gamecocks, obviously, Jordan had a front-row seat for what elite basketball talent looked like and felt she was looking at potential greatness.
Reynolds had size, length and speed, but it was her motor and willingness to play with aggression and passion at both ends – offense, defense, rebounding – that most impressed the new Gators coach. Reynolds had an explosive first step she used to attack the basket and finish strong at the rim, combining that with a decent mid-range jumper, and doing it all with power and conviction.
And it was Reynolds' first summer playing on the Nike IBYL circuit. She was basically an AAU rookie out there.
"I was kind of the new kid on the block and everybody was starting to figure me out," Reynolds said, slowly cracking a grin. "I went out and killed it."
Finley and her staff proceeded to do exactly the same thing on the recruiting front, making Reynolds, one of the most coveted prospects in the Washington, D.C. metro area that cycle, a priority target. Last November, Reynolds signed with Florida, choosing the Gators over Mississippi State, Georgia and UCLA. In March, the standout forward from Prince George's County, Md., was named to the 2023 McDonald's All America Team, making Reynolds just the second player in UF basketball history to arrive on campus with the prestigious McD's pedigree.
Now it's time to show off the brand. Reynolds and her new teammates make their Florida debut Wednesday at 6 p.m. when the 2023-24 Gators give a preview of things to come with an exhibition game against Division II Florida Southern at Exactech Arena/O'Connell Center. UF opens the regular season for real Monday at 5:30 p.m. against North Florida, which will serve as the first game of a double-header with the men's team facing Loyola Maryland afterward.
Laila Reynolds (13), back row and center, with her 2023 McDonald's All-America teammates.
The UF women return three starters (center Ra Shaya Kyle, forward Faith Dut and guard Alberte Rimdal) from a team that went 19-15 and advanced to the WNIT quarterfinals last March. The Gators also will get a boost from the return of standout guard Zippy Broughton (who missed the entire 2022-23 season with a shoulder injury), the eligibility of senior point guard Aliyah Matharu (who sat out last season after transferring from Texas) and expanded, starting role for fifth-year forward Leilani Correa (who was the team's No. 3 scorer and averaged double figures off the bench last season).
Now roll Reynolds, the most heralded Florida freshman since Ronni Williams, into the mix. Williams, the last and only other other McDonald's honoree to don a Gators uniform, scored 1,492 points and grabbed 818 rebounds over her four UF seasons and did so on some struggling teams.
The '23-24 Gators, however, believe they're trending upward and landing a player like Reynolds was a giant step toward accelerating the process, while announcing to the nation the UF women intend to be a factor.
"It's a big deal," Finley said of the Reynolds recruiting coup. "[Florida] should be a place where the best players want to come and train and be a part of something special; to be a part of doing something for the first time."
Therein lies one of the recruiting pitches that really appealed to Reynolds. Laila Reynolds averaged 11.2 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists her final season of high school, but mere stats don't tell the story of her all-around game. .
Women's basketball is the only sport at Florida that has never won a Southeastern Conference championship. The point was hammered home throughout the recruiting process.
"I want to change that," Reynolds said of her gutty and confident decision to go against the grain and be a foundational (maybe even transformational) player versus opting for the safer route of a more established program. "I remember thinking on my visit that I wanted to do something different, something new. Something to create my own legacy."
The door is wide open. Longtime Florida fans remember how Mike Miller, a hotshot top-10 prospect from way off in South Dakota, took a chance on a young Billy Donovan back in the late-1990s and altered the national recruiting landscape in helping launch those Gators on a path to SEC and NCAA championships.
Can Reynolds be that kind of Pied Piper?
"She's focused, determined and her work ethic is really good," Finley said. "She came here and fit right in – loves working in the community – and just instantly connected with people. That's who she is; a connector of people."
In a perfect orange and blue world, she'll connect to other four- and five-star types, all the while doing her on-court thing.
"She's long and athletic, has a motor, has a lot of handles and plays like she's down in the park against her brothers," said Dut, the 6-4 senior forward who started 30 games last season. "The game we play now calls for a long guard and that's pretty much what she embodies."
Since the SEC initiated women's basketball for the 1982-83 season, the Gators have finished as high as second in the league only twice (in 1998 and 2001, both ties) and third three times ('94, '97 and '09). Since that second place in '01, the Gators have finished in the bottom half of the conference 14 times, but two seasons ago, with Finley on the sidelines in her one year as interim head coach, UF went 21-11, placed fourth in the conference and played in the program's lone NCAA Tournament over the past eight seasons.
Translation: The Florida women's basketball bar may be historically low, but it's poised to be raised. Reynolds is up for some heavy lifting.
"I want to make an impact," she said. "I want to be a leader. Maybe not with my voice, but by going hard every day and being consistent with how I show up for practices and for games and with my production."
FreshmanLaila Reynolds may not be in the starting lineup for the Gators, but she'll be on the floor early and often.
Regarding the latter, Reynolds' statistics at Landover (Md.) Shabach Christian Academy weren't overwhelming. She averaged 11.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game, yet garnered five-star status – the No. 19 overall prospect in the country, according to ESPN – by doing a little bit of everything, including a smothering abillity to play defense.
"She's going to be a box-score filler," Jordan said. "She'll get steals, she'll get rebounds and, believe me, she'll score. She's not going to back down from anybody, either. In fact, she'll rise to the challenge by guarding someone's best player. She's got that dog in her."
Added Dut: "That McDonald's All American stuff, she takes it as an honor, but she's also taken it in stride. Since Laila got here, she's focused on being the best player she can be."
And, if all goes to plan, she'll also be a trend-setter.
Her memo to future five-stars out there: C'mon on down.
"I didn't knowanything about Florida basketball," Reynolds said. "Now, I want people to hear about the Gators. Not because of me, but because of us."
