Katin Reinhardt to Transfer from UNLV, Could Land with USC Trojans
Mar 15, 2013; Las Vegas, NV, USA; UNLV Rebels guard Katin Reinhardt (5) walks off the court following the win over the Colorado State Rams during the semifinals of the Mountain West tournament at the Thomas
UNLV guard and former USC commit Katin Reinhardt is back on the market. The 6-foot-4 product of Mater Dei is expected to transfer following the Memorial Day weekend according to West Coast Hoops. The teams in the mix? Oregon and then the two schools most familiar with Reinhardt: USC, his one-time commitment, and UC Irvine, which sits as stone’s throw from his home in Santa Ana.
USC and Reinhardt have had an interesting relationship to say the least. He originally committed to Kevin O’Neill in December of 2010, but ties to USC were severed in May 2011.
At the time of his de-commitment, Reinhardt told ESPN’s Pedro Moura that he was still interested in USC, but O’Neill pulled his scholarship offer following his de-commitment. On Sunday night, Michael Lev of the OC Register, who was on the USC beat at the time of Reinhardt’s de-commitment, tweeted that O’Neill’s rationale for halting his pursuit of the Mater Dei star was due Reinhardt being considered ‘high-maintenance’.
Though, with O’Neill nothing but a memory at USC and Andy Enfield in charge at the Galen Center, Reinhardt has the Trojans back in the mix. Tony Bland’s appointment as assistant coach doesn’t hurt, neither does the fact that Bland is hot on the trail of Stanley Johnson, who played with Reinhardt at Mater Dei.
With J.T. Terrell a soon-to-be senior and Jio Fontan having already graduated, the Trojans are in need of depth at both the shooting guard and point guard positions, of which Reinhardt can help, as a combo guard.
Reinhardt played big minutes as a starter for the Runnin’ Rebels of UNLV this past season, averaging 10.1 points-per-game and 29.2 minutes as a freshman. And he played well in big moments, with his best game of the season coming in the Mountain West Tournament. In a 75-65 win over Colorado State, Reinhardt led UNLV with 21 points, while going four of nine from three-point range.
It’s unknown how just soon Reinhardt will make his decision, though it appears as though the decision process may come swiftly. Don’t count out Dana Altman’s Oregon Ducks in the sweepstakes to get him, however. Just earlier this month, Altman snagged Reinhardt’s UNLV teammate Mike Moser in a transfer from Vegas to Eugene.