Former junior guard Jordan Reed is taking an indefinite leave of absence from the Binghamton men’s basketball program, the University’s athletics department announced Wednesday night.
The official statement, released in an email sent at 5:11 p.m., reads: “Junior Jordan Reed is taking an indefinite leave of absence from the men’s basketball program for personal reasons, effective immediately.”
No further explanation was given, and the department said that there would be no further communication on the matter at this time.
Reed could not be reached for comment.
The news is unsettling for any fan of the program. Reed has been the face of the Binghamton men’s basketball team since he joined the program two years ago. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound guard out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was voted to the Preseason All-Conference Team the past two years, and led the conference in rebounding his freshman and sophomore years. He led the team in scoring — with 15.4 points per game — and rebounding — with 8.9 per game — last season, en route to a Second-Team All-Conference selection.
But for all that, BU head coach Tommy Dempsey hasn’t had much to say about the situation. When asked about the announcement in a press conference on Friday, Dempsey refused to provide any additional context, deferring to the athletics department’s statement.
The announcement didn’t come out of the blue, however. Reed sat out Tuesday night’s game against Army after missing the morning shoot-around. He has played sparingly since the team’s season opener against Notre Dame on Nov. 14, coming off the bench and averaging just 10.6 minutes a game through five contests.
The only explanation Dempsey gave for his star player seeing so uncharacteristically few minutes was that Reed “is not in a good place mentally,” said in a press conference on Nov. 24. Before heading to Uncasville, Connecticut for the Mohegan Sun Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament games, Dempsey said he was only playing those who earned their minutes in practice — implying that Reed was not.
This is not the first incident that has seen Reed alienated from the program and from Dempsey. Last season, Reed was pulled 10 minutes into Binghamton’s Jan. 15 matchup with Stony Brook and never came back in.
Dempsey explained that Reed hadn’t come out to a good start — the then-sophomore had shot 0 for 4 and turned over the ball three times in under 10 minutes. The head coach added that Reed hadn’t prepared well in the preceding practices, and that he wanted to see what the team looked like without its star. That, and Reed was apparently playing selfishly and without much effort.
According to an article on onebidwonders.com, after this benching, Reed and Dempsey met to discuss Reed’s future with Binghamton. Dempsey is quoted as saying that if Reed wanted to stay, then he would have to meet the expectations Dempsey laid out. If not, then Dempsey would sign Reed’s release papers and he could transfer.
Given time to make his decision, Reed served a one-game suspension in the following contest against Albany. He was left on campus on Jan. 19 while the team made the trek upstate for the next day’s game.
Obviously, Reed’s decision was to stay. Dempsey lifted the suspension and Reed went on in the season to produce his most prolific scoring performances — eclipsing the 30-point mark in back-to-back contests to end his sophomore campaign.
During the preseason, on Oct. 30, Reed told Pipe Dream that what brought him to Binghamton — and what kept him here — was “playing time.”
“I knew I was going to come here right away and have all I have now,” Reed continuted. “That’s basically it. And just me having this much time to myself, and now with the confidence and the teammates that I have now, to get [2009’s success] back is what makes me stay and what made me stay back in the day.”
He added that what drove him through his freshman year was making people aware of the higher caliber at which he plays, of the talent that lent to his playing so many minutes so early in a mid-major program.
“I still kind of do that, especially when I play with teams … like Syracuse, teams like Michigan I played my freshman year — the other guys that are there, there’s no difference between me and them,” Reed said. “I just chose here because of the outstanding circumstances that were provided here. For example, me starting from a freshman and the possibility of putting this town back on a map. And I’m all about Binghamton and creating some excitement for this town.”
But if the outstanding circumstances are what drove Reed here, then with his minutes truncated and a large question mark now surrounding his name, Binghamton may have lost its appeal.
So things are different than last year. Reed wasn’t suspended — he’s taken a leave of absence. Whether it relates to his playing time and to snuffed expectations on his behalf is just speculation.
What is apparent, however, is that he hasn’t quit the team. At least, not yet.