Katin Reinhardt Eyeing USC, Wants to Play Point Guard to Improve NBA Draft Stock

The big news late Sunday and early Monday was how Katin Reinhardt is reportedly on his way out of UNLV, with USC seemingly being the favorite to land him. Since then, much has been said about the terms of the transfer, with Reinhardt getting his fair share of criticism.

Reinhardt’s desire to play point guard in the NBA is seen as the driving force behind his transfer, an opportunity he seemingly would have had preparation for at UNLV. Here’s what two of the most prominent basketball writers in the country had to say about Reinhardt:

Andy Katz, ESPN:

"UNLV lost another player over the weekend. The latest to depart is Katin Reinhardt, who apparently had issues with the way he was being used by coach Dave Rice and wants to play the point more than shooting guard, Rice told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Reinhardt will have to see if Andy Enfield plays him at the point if ends up at USC, as the Review-Journal reported is a likely destination. Reinhardt shouldn’t play immediately (I feel like I have to say that now with everyone getting waivers) and can use the redshirt year to become a point if that’s his chosen position."

Gary Parish, CBS:

"Here’s a question: What makes Reinhardt think he can play point guard in the Pac-12 if he couldn’t play point guard at UNLV? He never got meaningful minutes at the position last season even though Marshall was far from a true point guard, and there’s nothing left on the UNLV roster (Marshall graduated) or being added to the UNLV roster (Greg Anthony is not walking through that door) that can be reasonably described as a strong option for Rice at the point. In other words, if Reinhardt is a capable point guard, he would’ve almost certainly been UNLV’s starting point guard next season."

As Katz points out, it’s yet to be seen if Enfield would in fact put Reinhardt at point guard. But, in seeing both the style of play that Enfield deploys and the lack of depth at the point on the USC roster, there’s little doubt that he would at least see some time at the one in 2014, should Reinhardt ultimately transfer to USC.

Enfield’s offensive objective is to play an uptempo game and rely on his shooters, a style that Reinhardt very much resonates with, given his gunslinger-type year at UNLV. He wants to both shoot the ball and be a facilitator, two facets that the at least the perception of Enfield’s offense brings to USC.

And it’s that perception is that starting to show the dividends in recruiting, as transfers and recruits are considering the Trojans more now with Enfield, based on the brief glimpses of flash they saw at Florida Gulf Coast.

While Reinhardt leaves a situation that, as Katz and Parrish point out could be ideally better for his future, UNLV’s mass exodus, USC’s lack of depth and Enfield’s flare has seemingly played a big role in making UNLV a school of the past and USC the hot button pick for landing Reinhardt.

USC currently has one point guard on the roster, in the form of walk-on and Presidential scholar Chass Bryan.

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We’ll have more on Reinhardt has it breaks. As for now, let us know your thoughts on Reinhardt. Do you think he would be a good fit for the Trojans? Leave your comments below.