New Kansas signee Christian Reeves played through a shoulder injury throughout his lone season at Charleston, as KU coach Bill Self noted in announcing his signing on May 1.
The 7-foot-2, 255-pound transfer center was still productive for the Cougars, posting 11.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per game in an average of just 21.4 minutes.
Before he could attempt to bring that same productivity back to the power-conference level — where he previously played at Duke and Clemson — he needed to address the shoulder. And Self told the Journal-World in a text message on Friday morning that Reeves has already had labrum surgery.
Self added that it went “great” and he is expected to make a full recovery. Reeves will, however, sit out basketball activities for “most of summer.”
The fifth-year senior from Charlotte, North Carolina, had been a four-star prospect out of Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia, before spending two seasons at Duke — the second cut short by ankle surgery — and his third at Clemson as a reserve who played in 29 games.
The Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman had originally mentioned that labrum surgery might be a possibility for Reeves.
At KU, Reeves is expected to compete for minutes with returning sophomore center Paul Mbiya, who played a backup role for the Jayhawks last season and stayed in Lawrence after considering the transfer portal. KU could also go small next season with Utah transfer forward Keanu Dawes or even freshman forward Davion Adkins in the middle.
