Journey to State

When Sasha Reaves committed to Wisconsin, there was no doubt in her mind that she wanted to go there.

Her family made the 17-hour drive from Mullins, S.C. to Madison, Wis., and her family enjoyed every minute of it, according to Reaves. The coaches, the facilities and the players were all Reaves had envisioned in the college she wanted to attend.

Then, unexpectedly, the Badgers’ coach resigned. While Reaves was upset about the change in position, she decided to stick around and listen to the new coach. She waited until the new hire. Then when there was a hire, she waited some more for a call. And then a little more.

“She never got in contact with me or anything. I didn’t know anything. I was going by what the Web site said. I never got contacted by her,” Reaves said. “I waited for her call. I just never got the phone call from her, so I just figured it was time for a change.”

But the only way Reaves could reopen her recruitment would be to go through the NCAA.

So, in agreement with her family, she did everything she could to try to get permission from the NCAA to get a release from her current school.

“It was a long process,” Reaves said. “I think my mom was more stressed than I was, but finally it just came through and they told me I was released. And that’s when I reopened my recruiting process.”

She said she realized the NCAA could decide not to grant her the release. Reaves admitted she was lucky to get another opportunity to look at more schools.

Immediately after schools started learning about Reaves’ release, they started calling.

She said she heard from N.C. State, Wake Forest, UNC-Charlotte, South Carolina and “a few other schools.”

But shortly after Reaves started to look at more schools, the Wolfpack caught her eye. According to Reaves, who is now a 6-foot senior forward, State didn’t look at her too much earlier in the process because of the number of post players the Pack had during her senior year in high school.

However, after Reaves’ reopened her recruitment, State decided it was worth making a move.

“A couple of days after I got my release, [associate head] coach [Stephanie] Glance and coach [Kay] Yow called,” Reaves said. “They just kept keeping in contact. I had a few other schools, but State was the school that stood out the most.”

It didn’t take too much longer until she committed to play basketball in Raleigh. She said she called Yow to tell her she would play for the Pack.

“They were happy and I was happy because they were so happy,” Reaves said. “It made me feel good.”

Yow wasn’t the only person who was happy. Because her family members wouldn’t have to travel 17 hours to watch her play, they were much happier as well. It even “made them a lot more comfortable,” according to Reaves. She said her grandmother came on the visit to Raleigh and really enjoyed it — something that played a factor in her decision.

Mullins, where Reaves moved to from New Jersey after she turned 2 years old, is located just outside of Florence and north of Myrtle Beach, so the two-hour drive to games allows Reaves’ family to make it to many games.

Her mother has been to every home game this season — something Reaves said is “a record for her.”

“They come to a lot more games than they would have been able to make at Wisconsin,” Reaves said. “It worked out good for everybody.”

Time at State

While Reaves doesn’t get to go home much during holiday breaks because of practice schedules and games, it helps that her family can visit so frequently. Reaves said she hasn’t spent a Thanksgiving break at home since high school.

“It is sad,” Reaves said. “But I’m kind of used to it now — this is my fourth year and we are always gone somewhere during that break.”

But according to Reaves, she has found a group where she is pleased. Reaves came in with a big freshman class and said she couldn’t have been with a better group.

“We all clicked. We all just got along,” Reaves said. “The upperclassmen really helped us out then, and we just learned a ton from them.”

“In a way to me, I was put here for a reason — with this group of people. I’m blessed to be here. Maybe that’s why Wisconsin wasn’t for me, and this is.”

Fast forward to her senior year, and she is helping lead a group of six freshmen, much like her situation was three years ago.

“Sometimes I just sit and look at them and I think, ‘Wow, that was me a few years ago,'” Reaves said. “We just try to be there for them as much as we can — anytime they have a problem, they know they can come to us.”

Glance, who is the interim coach for Yow because of her battle with cancer, said Reaves has been a fantastic leader for the freshmen.

“Sasha has just been a great team member,” Glance said. “She is definitely the kind of person that puts the team’s needs ahead of her own — she is very, very unselfish.”

Earlier in the year, Yow said she wanted her team to play teams like Purdue to get an idea what ACC play will be like — especially for the freshmen.

Reaves said after State’s 68-38 loss to Purdue on Nov. 15, the freshmen should have a good idea of what ACC competition is like.

“That Purdue game really showed them what is out there, and that was the Big Ten,” Reaves said. “Just think, the ACC is the No. 1 conference in the country. So that game should help them know what to expect.”

But when it comes to ACC play, Glance said the coaches and other members of the team know they can look to Reaves because she has been an extremely consistent player during her time at State.

“She is a person who has been a role player for us and a role player who continually is prepared and at her best when her number is called,” Glance said. “To have that kind of consistency over that period of time is outstanding — especially when you’re not a starter. But we know we can count on her.”

With ACC play on the horizon, Reaves said the team has set short-term and long-term goals. Aside from playing hard and getting as many wins as possible, the team wants to get back to the NCAA Tournament — this time past the first round, where it has lost the past two seasons.

However, this season has a little more importance to it.

“Especially now with what is going on with coach Yow, it just adds fuel to the fire,” Reaves said. “We want to do even more for her and for this program, in general.”

It will be Reaves’ last opportunity to get deep in the NCAA Tournament. It will be her last chance to compete in the ACC. It will be her last time to play under coach Yow. And she said she wouldn’t have wanted to do it anywhere else.

“Time flies, but it’s been fun,” Reaves said.