Entering his second season as captain and his fourth on Andover Boys Basketball, Captain Andrew Reavis ’17 hopes to guide the team to a league championship.
Having played basketball since the ripe age of five years old, Reavis is an experienced and lethal player on the court. Even as a Junior, he received significant playing time due to his skill, diligence, and perseverance. Reavis’s tenacity and athletic prowess allowed him to contribute to the starting squad as early as his Lower year.
In his final season at Andover, Reavis sets an example for his teammates by continuing to work hard on the court.
Jackson Emus ’19 said, “[Reavis is] really good at keeping the team loose, keeping us in check… In practice, sometimes we’ll goof around a little, but Reavis really focuses, you know, focusing during practices during that hour and 30 minutes that we get in the gym, really putting our nose to the grindstone and really putting in hard work so we can get ready for our games.”
Reavis is willing to set aside extra time and effort in order to become the best player and teammate he can be. Head Coach Terrell Ivory ’00 has also grown to rely on him as a leader and a communicator.
Coach Ivory said, “Practice starts at 4:00 p.m. Everybody may think they need to show up at 4:00 p.m., but [Reavis] can relate, without me having to say it, that he’s gotta be stretching at 3:45 p.m.”
As captain, Reavis strives to promote a positive chemistry and camaraderie among his teammates, so they can work smoothly and efficiently with each other. Reavis said, “I make sure that we come to practice prepared mentally every day and to lead by example. If we are always prepared to get better we most certainly will.”
In addition, he encourages his team always to focus on future plays rather than getting caught up in past mistakes.
Ivory said, “One of the things I’ve been empathizing this year, and I think he does this well, is what we call having a ‘next-play mentality.’ And it’s okay to make mistakes, and one thing I don’t want our kids to do is to allow the mistakes that they make to lead to more mistakes because they’re dwelling on what happened instead of moving on to the next play.”
Reavis attributes much of his athletic success to his coaches and role models.
“As an underclassman, I looked up to guys like [Nate Meehan ’14] and [Kene Adigwe ’14] because they were great to me when I was a [Junior] and showed me how to work hard,” said Reavis.
Reavis continued, “[Ivory] is an honest guy and told me all the things I had to improve on in order to get minutes, and I did that.”
One of Reavis’s most effective strengths as a player is his ability to communicate on both sides of the court.
“[Reavis is] really vocal as a leader, he talks a lot on defense. If our team’s doing something on offense, or doing some of the defensive drills, you know, he’ll be right on the sideline cheering guys on,” said Emus.
In addition, Reavis is especially fantastic at driving in the paint, utilizing quick cuts and turns to avoid defenders. By performing well on the court, Reavis acts as a role model for his teammates.
Reavis said, “I try to lead by example and always be enthusiastic in practice, try to give people energy.”
“I think the other guys on the team respect him especially by the way he leads by example, by the way that he works, and by the way he communicates,” added Coach Ivory.
Andover hopes to secure a New England Preparatory School Athletic Council championship this year under Reavis’s leadership.
