CINCINNATI -- The stat line for Jalen Reynolds showed that Xavier's 6-9 freshman forward scored two points and grabbed five rebounds in his team's 59-53 win against Providence on Saturday at the Cintas Center. Nothing remarkable about that aside the fact that until he entered the game no one but those on the team knew he going to play.
It turns out that the indefinite suspension Reynolds was given by head coach Chris Mack for not being able to handle responsibilities off of the court on Jan. 28 lasted two games. Reynolds played 11 minutes Saturday as Xavier broke a three-game losing streak.
"Jalen is being a more responsible student, a more responsible guy away from the basketball court," said Mack. "That's all we ask out of our players, to be men off of the floor, learn from their mistakes. Hopefully, Jalen has learned a lesson and doesn't cost our team in the future. He did a great job today."
Reynolds returned to practice this week but Mack and Xavier officials said that the suspension never precluded Reynolds from practicing. He was averaging 2.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in 19 games prior to the suspension. His return gives the Musketeers more athleticism, versatility and depth on the inside.
"He's been a huge energy boost," said junior center Matt Stainbrook. "You could tell, even just from the minute he was able to practice with us again leading up to this game that he's been a guy that's been really energetic. I think it resonated for him how important it was to take care of daily duties. Not going into things but he's a guy I think has learned a lot and grown up a ton even the last couple of days. He's really excited to be back and it's great to have him. He'll definitely come in for stretches and help us defensively and offensively. He's really lanky and makes it really hard for offenses to drive in the paint and have unobstructed shots."
