Nathan Reuvers, a 6-foot-10 junior from Lakeville (MN) North, helped pace the Panthers to a 26-6 mark and a spot in the Class AAAA state tournament title game. Reuvers scored in double figures in all but one game and has scored 20 or more points in 20 contests. He was named to the first team College Basketball News’ All-Metro team and third team Star Tribune All-Metro squad.
Gopher Hole recently caught up with Reuvers at Tuesday’s D1 Minnesota practice to learn the latest on his AAU season and recent scholarship offers.
Gopher Hole: You guys are off to a great start. How pleased are you with how well you have played so far in the adidas events?
Nathan Reuvers: Personally, I think that I played pretty with this team, so I am new to it. It is my first time playing with these guys. Obviously, I played against some of them in high school, but it is a fun group to play with. We definitely move the ball for being as talented as we are
Gopher Hole: You are off to a 7-1 start in the adidas Gauntlet. How pleased are you with that?
Nathan Reuvers: I mean, we wanted to go 8-0. That was our goal, but 7-1 is still going to get us in the championships in July. Obviously, we want to keep working, so when we get there in July, we are ready to win that tournament.
Gopher Hole: Are you surprised how quickly the chemistry has brought you guys together? You share the ball really well as a team.
Nathan Reuvers: We all know what we are good at, so if it is me going out and setting a ball screen or kicking it out to a shooter or hitting a shot, we know what each other’s game is.
Gopher Hole: You picked up an offer from Illinois the other day. What other offers have you gotten this spring?
Nathan Reuvers: Harvard and Marquette just offered in the last day and I just got off the phone with Northwestern a minute ago. They just offered and then I have to called the Stanford coach back, so we’ll see if he offers tonight.
Gopher Hole: Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard was in for a recent in-home visit. What was that experience like?
Nathan Reuvers: It was definitely cool. He brought two of the assistants Lamont (Paris) and Coach (Joe) Krabbenhoft, who is new there. They are a great group of guys. They came in, just talked over the whole situation. Telling me that they thought I was a perfect fit and I’ll just work out and evaluating that place and probably go back down there and check it out again.
Gopher Hole: How many offers are you up to right now?
Nathan Reuvers: 23 with the Northwestern one that I just got. (24 now with a Princeton offer Wednesday)
Gopher Hole: Is it hard to keep track, though?
Nathan Reuvers: I can still get them down in order, I think.
Gopher Hole: You are playing at a high level team-wise and individually. What things are you really focused on to continue to improve yourself as a player?
Nathan Reuvers: Just strength, because I am playing against a lot of these bigger guys, so it gets tough to rebound against them when they are like 30 pounds heavier than me, so just getting that will help me compete better.
Gopher Hole: You played at a pretty high level AAU-wise last year, but I think this year, you are playing at an even higher level against bigger and stronger players. Do you think that really helps you as a player?
Nathan Reuvers: Yes. When you play against better players, it obviously pushes you to compete harder.
Gopher Hole: The last time that I talked to you was at the state tournament and the next day, Minnesota offered you. Were you surprised by the timing of the offer?
Nathan Reuvers: I kind of felt like it was going to be coming eventually. That was kind of what it sounded like when they were talking to me and eventually, they just felt that it was the right time to pull the trigger.
Gopher Hole: I know that originally when we talked, Minnesota had only one scholarship for the Class of 2017. Now, they have two. Does that change the way that you look at them a little more?
Nathan Reuvers: Definitely. It still probably wouldn’t change it at all, because as long as they have a spot, it is something to evaluate.
Gopher Hole: You are getting looks for all over, but what would it mean to have a chance to play for the homestate school?
Nathan Reuvers: It would be great, because obviously, everyone coming to watch you knows who you are, so they are definitely going to be cheering for you louder, so that would be kind of cool.
Gopher Hole: Minnesota has also offered your AAU teammates McKinley Wright, Jericho Sims and Matthew Hurt. Have you guys talked about Minnesota or other schools that are recruiting all you guys?
Nathan Reuvers: A little bit. We all have got a lot of offers that are similar, so we always kind of joke about it, but we’ll definitely see what happens because I would like to play some of those guys in college.
Gopher Hole: Have you any plans to going to some more colleges? I know that you have made quite a few visits already to schools. Are you going to make any visits this spring or summer?
Nathan Reuvers: In May, I am going to try to get back over to Wisconsin and then it is a dead period around there and then probably in June, hit some more places.
Gopher Hole: I know that you are still a ways from making your college decision. Have you even thought about when you would even try to decide on a school?
Nathan Reuvers: It is just whenever I feel most comfortable, I just want to commit, because I have got a lot of places and I’ll figure it out eventually.
Gopher Hole: I know that we have talked to Notre Dame a lot in past (his father and siblings attended Notre Dame).Have you heard more from them?
Nathan Reuvers: Yes. Coach (Mike) Brey was at our game this past weekend in Atlanta. It will be interesting to see what they think after that.
Gopher Hole: I know that you are high academic student. What are going to be the factors that are going to make you pick a certain school?
Nathan Reuvers: Academics are a big thing, because even if the basketball part doesn’t work out, it is great to have that and also a place that I feel comfortable at, like I like the guys, a team that I would want to play for, guys that I would want to hang out with and a place that has proven that they can get players who look like me when I am coming in and get them to their highest potential possible.