Reynolds keeps watch from across the pond

Former Virginia star J.R. Reynolds may have spent the last two years playing professionally in Europe, but clearly he’s still a ’Hoo at heart.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how coach [Tony] Bennett does in his first season,” said Reynolds on Wednesday. “I wish him the best. We need to get back on the map, baby. We need to get back on the map.”

Reynolds has been all over the map since helping guide Virginia to its last NCAA tournament appearance in 2007. First, he played for Soresina Basket, a club in the Italian League. This past season, he played for Asvel Lyon-Villeurbanne, a squad in France’s top division that wound up winning the championship.

Reynolds, like his former teammate Sean Singletary, is currently weighing options for the upcoming season.

“The European market is just really, really bad,” said the Roanoke native. “A lot of teams are cutting their budgets and stuff. I’m just going to see what the best fit is for me.”

Reynolds, a shooting guard for much of his career — he’s 11th on Virginia’s all-time scoring list — played almost entirely at the point guard position for Asvel. The 25-year-old, whose teammates included former Pittsburgh standout Chevon Troutman, says it was an adjustment.

“I was supposed to play the ‘2’ and the ‘1,’ but as it turned out, I just played the ‘1,’” Reynolds said. “But it was a very good experience.

“You’re used to coming off screens and shooting shots — it was just different for me. You have to get everybody the ball and run the team and pick your spots when to shoot and not to shoot. I think my game got better as far as being more well-rounded. That’s good.”

Reynolds still maintains the goal of playing in the NBA. If he needs any inspiration, he can look no further than Roger Mason Jr. The former Wahoo guard played overseas for a couple of seasons before catching on in the NBA. Last summer, Mason signed a multi-million dollar contract with the San Antonio Spurs.

However, the state of the economy has been affecting how many NBA teams have done business this offseason.

“I’m not going to focus on [the NBA] this season because I know how the market is,” Reynolds said. “I’m just going to go overseas for now and see what happens next year.

“I have to create my own path. If [the NBA] happens, it happens. [Mason] is doing very well now. … I’m not giving up. It’s just finding the right opportunity, that’s all it is. We’ll see what happens.”

After being out of the country for much of year, Reynolds is glad to be home in Roanoke, where he starred at Roanoke Catholic School before transferring to powerful Oak Hill Academy. He recently helped celebrate his grandmother’s 80th birthday.

“Everyone’s doing great,” he said.