Christian Reeves, KU basketball’s new 7-footer, has come a long way since Duke
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Christian Reeves averaged 11.1 points and 7.8 rebounds at Charleston in 2025-26.
- Reeves was 3rd-team all-conference and earned CAA all-defense honors.
- Reeves signed with Kansas and plans to arrive in late May or early June 2026.
Seven-footer Christian Reeves, who had limited success at Duke (two seasons) and Clemson (one) to begin his college basketball career, emerged as one of the most-sought-after big men in the 2026 transfer portal after a highly-productive redshirt-junior campaign at College of Charleston.
“The light has gone on,” Reeves’ mom, Holly, told Charleston’s radio crew after a late-season Coastal Athletic Association game in which Christian recorded one of his eight double-doubles in 2025-26.
The interaction was part of the “Game Day In The Life” video created by @carterwithacamera on YouTube.
Reeves, a late-blooming 22-year-old Charlotte, North Carolina native — he attended three different high schools including powerhouse Oak Hill Academy — averaged a career best 11.1 points and 7.8 rebounds a game for the Cougars (21-11) during the 2025-26 campaign.
This is the same center who played in just 16 games his two seasons at Duke because of ankle injuries that required a pair of surgical procedures. And it’s the same guy who averaged just 5.1 minutes per game in 29 games at Clemson after a transfer in 2024-25.
“I’m fine with (saying) ‘the light came on,’ (but) I also thought Charleston’s style of play was a good fit for what he really does well,” Reeves’ dad, 6-foot-7 former Belmont Abbey player John Reeves, told The Star in a phone interview on Monday.
His son committed to play basketball at KU in 2026-27 on Friday, choosing the Jayhawks over Michigan State, Louisville, Cincinnati, Georgia, Virginia and others.
“Improvement plus opportunity and style of play ... I think it’s all of those. He’s a legit 7-foot-2, 255 pounds. Some bigs take longer to develop than others in their age group. That’s part of it, too,” John Reeves added.
Christian Reeves had several stellar performances in his one season at College of Charleston en route to being named third-team all-conference.
“I feel I’ve made a jump — night and day,” Reeves told the Fayetteville Observer.
The former Oak Hill Academy prep school standout scored 29 points on 11-of-12 shooting (7-of-13 from line) and grabbed 18 rebounds in a Charleston victory over Elon. Also, he had 18 points, 15 rebounds versus Campbell, 13 points and 11 rebounds against UNCW, 16 points and 13 rebounds against Hofstra and 16 points and 12 rebounds against Hampton.
He scored in double figures in 12 of Charleston’s final 14 games, catching the attention of a batch of high-major schools in the portal.
“I think I’ve gotten a lot more confidence. Just getting more comfortable being on the court,” Reeves stated.
John Reeves has followed his son’s career closely.
“Some of the challenges Christian has had to face … with a large frame unfortunately he has had to deal with injuries to his ankles, which resulted in surgery,” John Reeves said. “The last couple years have been really good for him. He’s overcome that obstacle. He’s playing really well. He’s been healthy.”
Christian has put in numerous hours mastering the hook shot. Known for his athleticism, Christian also has become a force dunking off lobs.
“Late in high school that became his go-to shot,” John Reeves told The Star, referring to the hook. Christian, in fact, was the No. 5 ranked player in the state of North Carolina his senior year of high school.
“The last couple of years at Clemson and Charleston, the coaching staff has spent a lot of time on the continued development of those shots. He’s really comfortable with his hook shot with either hand,” John Reeves added.
Christian hit 65.7% of his floor shots during the 2025-26 season at Charleston after making 50% in limited duty at Clemson in 2024-25.
“He has the ability to catch in traffic. He knows his spacing on the court. You can see videos (on YouTube) that show his ability to rise and catch lobs along with a lot of hook shots,” John Reeves stated.
Reeves was named to the Coastal Athletic Association’s all-defense team after blocking 41 shots in 31 games.
“Being able to block shots and (get) rebounds, that’s a cool stat too,” Reeves said on the Orange Crush podcast. “You can get a double-double off of that, or a triple double. So that’s definitely something that’s a part of my game that I love,” he added of defense.
Reeves mentioned he watches tape of fellow bigs.
“I like A.D. (Anthony Davis) around the basket. I like watching him a lot,” Reeves said. “I like how Bam (Adebayo) plays out of the pick and roll and gets baskets (off lobs).”
John Reeves envisions his son having great success at KU in 2026-27.
Christian plans on arriving in late May or early June, ready to start working out with his new coaches and teammates this summer.
“As a former college player, (I can see) Kansas’ coaching staff is really good, really strong,” John Reeves said. “Kansas has a history of developing bigs under coach (Bill) Self, and I think they give Christian the best opportunity to play at the next level.
“I think if Christian can bring that same energy and effort to Kansas he’ll surprise you folks, but I also really like the plan coach Self and his staff have regarding development to build on what he already brings to the court.”
The vision Self outlined to Christian and his dad has the 7-footer being “primarily a back-to-the-basket guy,” John said. “They also want to expand his game — learn to shoot jump shots more, create more options for himself, be more effective on the defensive end., be a shot blocker and rim protector, hopefully getting at least two blocks a game, controlling the boards and hopefully getting close to being a double-digit rebound guy. The hope is to build off what he did last year. He had a really good conference run where he was probably the best big in the conference.”
Reeves split time with fellow 7-footer Chol Machot last season, logging 21.2 minutes per game to Machot’s 19.8.
Machot, who averaged 8.9 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per contest in 2025-26 at Charleston, recently announced a transfer to Georgetown.
“Christian couldn’t ask to land at a better spot. KU offers everything and more for us: legendary coach, experienced staff, great facilities, great academics, a great team. Just being part of KU basketball is a tremendous opportunity for us,” John Reeves said.
Christian Reeves told ESPN after signing with KU: “I felt coach Self and Kansas give me the best chance to get to the NBA. His résumé speaks for itself.”
