Reggie Redding Talks The Basketball Tournament, Life After Villanova

The Basketball Tournament kicks off again this July, and Supernova, a team of Villanova alumni, is looking to secure their spot and make a run to the $2 million prize. Supernova is made up of recent Villanova legends Scottie Reynolds, James Bell, Jayvaughn Pinkston, Reggie Redding, and a few others.

Redding is looking forward to the opportunity.

“It’s a good chance to stay in shape and get some competitive games in the off season. Also, it’s a chance to get back on the court with some of my old teammates and spend some time with them. Everybody’s doing their own thing in their own places so it’s cool catching back up with every body and it’s another chance to win some money,” said Redding on his reasons for playing in TBT.

This will be the Philadelphia native’s second time playing in TBT, and the first time with Supernova. Last year, Supernova played their first game with only five guys and finished with four, after Scottie Reynolds was injured.

“We [have] a pretty decent squad, but mostly I’m just looking forward to playing with [the Villanova guys] again and seeing them again, and spending time with them off the court. We’ll be together for probably a weekend and [get to] catch up, and just seeing everybody, that’s honestly what I’m looking forward to the most,” said Redding.

Redding was supposed to be on that team but was in the Summer League with the Atlanta Hawks and was caught in traffic on his from the airport. While the Summer League prevented Redding from playing in TBT, he’s happy he got that experience.

“It’s totally different man, the NBA is just totally different, but it was fun. I was at Atlanta for about a week... and went to Vegas for the Summer League... I had the opportunity to do it, I jumped on it. It was cool, I’m glad I did it.”

Once a wildcat, always a wildcat is a popular saying for Jay Wright and the Villanova community. That saying applies to Redding.

“I keep in touch with most of my teammates that I played with at ‘Nova... I talk to Scottie Reynolds often. Me and Antonio Pena, we’ve been close, we talk a lot. It’s cool, we try to keep in contact,” said Redding. “I follow them for sure. Whenever, I can watch a game, I always watch them.”

Every player on the roster has had success in life and in basketball after Villanova, but in particular Reggie Redding stands out. Since graduating from Villanova in 2010, Redding has played professionally throughout Europe.

He started in the Cypriot League, Cyprus’ top league, before moving onto Budesliga, the top league in Germany. There, Redding spent two years with Walter Tigers Tuebingen and two years with Alba Berlin.

While at Alba Berlin, Redding was on the team that defeated the San Antonio Spurs in a preseason game in 2014. At the time, the Spurs were the defending NBA champions. Redding stole the inbounds pass that led to the game winning basket as time expired.

“That was cool, man, that was a good experience. You grow up watching the Spurs, Tim Duncan, Ginobili, and [seeing] those championships... That was just a great experience overall. The fans were happy, [the] team was happy. It was just fun to play against a team like that,” Redding said.

From there, Redding moved onto the highest league in Turkey, before heading back to the Budesliga to join FC Bayern Munich for the 2016-17 season.

“We had a pretty good season as a team. Right now, we’re starting the semifinals on Sunday... It’s been a pretty good season... I played really well this season.” said Redding. The playoffs that he is referring to are part of the Basketball Budesliga League (BBL). Winning the BBL cements a team’s status as the best team in Germany.

Redding made the BBL All-Star game three times, from 2013-2015, was named to the All-BBL second team in 2013, and was named to the All-BBL first team in 2014.

Over the regular season, Redding averaged 8.8 PPG, 3.7 APG, 2.6 RPG, and 1.2 SPG. He leads the team in steals, is second in assists, and is fourth in points. Bayern’s leading scorer averages only 12.1 PPG, mostly because the head coach, Svetislav Pesic, is similar to Jay Wright in his approach to the game.

“We have a lot of sets... a lot of ball movement, a lot of movement. He [Pesic] plays the game the right way, the way it should be,” said Redding.

Villanova set Redding onto the right path for professional basketball, teaching him a number of things he still carries with him to this day.

“Just the way we play, always being aggressive, playing hard, and [doing] the little things. Coach Wright focused on the little things, the attitude club we had. Just the focus on being ready for every game, for every practice,” Redding said are some of the things he learned at Villanova that still stick with him.

Redding hopes to go far in TBT but first, they need to be voted in.

“Hopefully we can get some votes and hopefully some ‘Nova fans come out and watch us play a little bit... ‘Nova fans we appreciate the support... hopefully we can create another little magic run for the ‘Nova alumni.”

Voting for TBT ends June 1st. To vote for Supernova, click here: https://www.thetournament.com/teams/supernova-villanova-alumni-0/fan/5356ef8a31e47599171387