Reggie Upshaw Explained

Reggie Upshaw
Number:30
Position:Small forward
Height Cm:203
Weight Kg:103
League:BNXT League
Team:Telenet Giants Antwerp
Birth Date:7 April 1995
Birth Place:Chattanooga, Tennessee
Nationality:American
High School:Baylor (Chattanooga, Tennessee)
College:Middle Tennessee (2013–2017)
Draft Year:2017
Career Start:2017
Years1:2017–2018
Team1:Tigers Tübingen
Years2:2018–2019
Team2:Andorra
Years3:2019–2020
Team3:Pallacanestro Reggiana
Years4:2020
Team4:Maccabi Haifa
Years5:2020–2021
Team5:Hapoel Tel Aviv
Years6:2021–2022
Team6:Budivelnyk
Years7:2022
Team7:Mitteldeutscher BC
Years8:2022
Team8:Wellington Saints
Years9:2022–present
Team9:Antwerp Giants
Highlights:

Reginald Eugene Upshaw Jr.[1] [2] (born April 7, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for Telenet Giants Antwerp of the BNXT League. He competed in college for Middle Tennessee State University.

Early life and high school career

Upshaw is the son of Sabrina and Reggie Upshaw Sr., who played football at Middle Tennessee State University.[3] The younger Reggie Upshaw attended the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he was a multi-sport athlete, winning a state high jump championship and earning all-state honors in football and basketball as a junior.[4] Playing wide receiver and tight end in football, Upshaw had scholarship offers from Vanderbilt, Middle Tennessee and Louisiana–Lafayette.[3] However, he suffered a broken right foot at the end of his season and another fracture at the beginning of his basketball season, prompting him to focus on basketball in the future.[4] As a senior, Upshaw averaged 22 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks per game on the basketball court. He was considered to be a three-star recruit and received attention from several Division I programs before committing to Middle Tennessee and coach Kermit Davis.[3]

College career

In Upshaw's freshman season, he averaged 6.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.[5] As a sophomore, Upshaw averaged 9.9 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. The Blue Raiders finished the season 19–16 and lost in the first round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.[6]

In his junior season, Upshaw was named to the All-Conference USA third team.[7] Middle Tennessee won the Conference USA tournament, defeating Old Dominion 55–53 in the final. Upshaw, who scored nine points in the championship game including the final four points, was named Most Valuable Player.[8] In the NCAA Tournament, the Blue Raiders were given a 15 seed and matched up with 2 seed Tom Izzo-coached Michigan State. In one of the biggest surprises in the history of the NCAA Tournament, the Blue Raiders beat the highly touted Spartans 90–81, with a strong performance by Upshaw, who scored 21 points as his team's top scorer. It was Middle Tennessee's first NCAA Tournament win since 1989.[9] In the following round, however, they lost by 25 points against Syracuse, with Upshaw shooting 1-for-10 and dishing out one assist.[10] Upshaw averaged 13.7 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game as a junior. After the season, he underwent wrist surgery.[11]

As a senior at Middle Tennessee, Upshaw averaged 14.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Upshaw was named to the All-Conference USA second team. Alongside JaCorey Williams, he led the Blue Raiders to the NCAA Tournament again.[7] As a #12 seed, the Blue Raiders earned a first-round win against #5 seed Minnesota. In a game in which Middle Tennessee was the betting favorite despite its lower seed,[12] the Blue Raiders won 81–72 behind a game-high 19 points from Upshaw.[13] In the next round, the Blue Raiders fell to Butler 74–65. Upshaw was selected to play in the 2017 Reese's College All-Star Game.[14]

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2017 NBA draft, Upshaw joined the Milwaukee Bucks for the 2017 NBA Summer League.[7] He then moved to Germany to begin his professional career with the Tigers Tübingen of the Basketball Bundesliga.[15] Upshaw averaged 14.4 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game during the 2017–18 season.[16]

In July 2018, Upshaw played for the Los Angeles Clippers during the 2018 NBA Summer League.[17] He later moved to Spain for the 2018–19 season, where he played for BC Andorra of the Liga ACB.[18]

On July 30, 2019, Upshaw signed with Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA).[19] He averaged 11.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game during the 2019–20 season.[20]

On May 27, 2020, Upshaw signed with Maccabi Haifa of the Israeli Premier League.[21] He averaged 13.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game during their post-COVID season return.

On August 15, 2020, Upshaw signed with Hapoel Tel Aviv.[22] He averaged 11.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game during the 2020–21 season.

On August 13, 2021, Upshaw signed with Budivelnyk Kyiv of the Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague.[23] In January 2022, he left Ukraine and signed with Mitteldeutscher BC of the German Basketball Bundesliga.[24]

In July 2022, Upshaw joined the Wellington Saints for the rest of the 2022 New Zealand NBL season.[25]

On August 12, 2022, he has signed with Telenet Giants Antwerp of the Belgian BNXT League.[26] On 12 March 2023, Upshaw and the Giants won the Belgian Cup after beating BC Oostende in the final. He scored 9 points in the final.[27]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Reggie Upshaw ACB.COM. 2020-08-11. acb.com. es.
  2. Web site: Upshaw, Reginald Eugene Upshaw Jr. - BDBasket. 2020-08-11. www.bdbasket.com.
  3. News: Amato . Aldo Giovanni . Passing on football made Reggie Upshaw an MTSU basketball star . September 4, 2018 . . January 24, 2017.
  4. News: Hargis . Stephen . Reggie's dad' was star athlete in his old identity . September 4, 2018 . . December 29, 2012.
  5. Web site: Jones . Gordie . MTSU's Reggie Upshaw Jr. stands out as a team player on the court and off . September 4, 2018 . American Sports Net.
  6. News: Borthick . Will . MTSU hoops to take foreign trip to Bahamas . September 4, 2018 . . April 2, 2015.
  7. News: Organ . Mike . MTSU's Reggie Upshaw and JaCorey Williams sign NBA contracts . September 4, 2018 . . June 23, 2017.
  8. Web site: Monarchs Lose Heartbreaker in C-USA Championship to MT, 55–53 . . September 4, 2018 . March 12, 2016.
  9. News: Baylor School standout Reggie Upshaw leads MTSU's stunning win over Michigan State . September 4, 2018 . . . March 19, 2016.
  10. News: Rexrode . Joe . MTSU will be remembered for upset win, not blowout loss . September 4, 2018 . . March 20, 2016.
  11. News: Middle Tennessee's Reggie Upshaw to undergo wrist surgery . September 4, 2018 . WMOT . . June 2, 2016.
  12. Web site: Middle Tennessee's win over Minnesota an 'upset'? Not so fast . Jesse . Temple . ESPN.com . March 17, 2017 . March 18, 2017.
  13. News: Graff . Chad . NCAA tournament: Gophers bounced by a better team in first round . September 4, 2018 . . March 16, 2017.
  14. News: Organ . Mike . Evan Bradds, Reggie Upshaw selected for college all-star game . September 4, 2018 . . March 28, 2017.
  15. News: Bacharach . Erik . Former MTSU forward Reggie Upshaw signs to play pro basketball in Germany . September 4, 2018 . . July 22, 2017.
  16. News: Boclair . David . Upshaw's sights set firmly on the NBA . September 4, 2018 . . June 12, 2018 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20180905023154/https://www.nashvillepost.com/sports/people/blog/21008874/upshaws-sights-set-firmly-on-the-nba . September 5, 2018.
  17. News: Clippers' Reggie Upshaw: Scores 24 points Wednesday . September 4, 2018 . . July 11, 2018.
  18. Web site: Andorra acquires Reggie Upshaw . EuroHoops . September 4, 2018 . July 27, 2018.
  19. News: Reggio Emilia announces Reggie Upshaw. July 30, 2019. Sportando. En. September 20, 2019. Skerletic . Dario .
  20. Web site: Reggie Upshaw Jr.. australiabasket.com. July 10, 2022. subscription.
  21. News: Reggie Upshaw joins Maccabi Haifa . Sportando . August 15, 2020 . May 27, 2020. Skerletic . Dario .
  22. News: Reggie Upshaw joins Hapoel Tel Aviv . Sportando . August 15, 2020 . August 15, 2020. Skerletic . Dario .
  23. Web site: Reggie Upshaw Jr. (ex-H.Tel-Aviv) is a newcomer at Budivelnyk . Eurobasket . August 13, 2021 . August 13, 2021.
  24. News: Syntainics MBC lands Reggie Upshaw. January 7, 2022. Sportando. En. January 9, 2022. Skerletic . Dario .
  25. Web site: Reggie Upshaw Jr. (ex MBC) is a newcomer at Saints. July 9, 2022. australiabasket.com. En. July 10, 2022.
  26. News: Reggie Upshaw joins Antwerp Giants. August 12, 2022. Sportando. En. August 17, 2022. Carchia . Emiliano .
  27. Web site: 2023-03-12 . Antwerp Giants kloppen favoriet Oostende in spannende bekerfinale . 2023-03-12 . sporza.be . nl.