Scottie Reynolds Reinvents Himself as Pass-First Point Guard

January 31 2011 Last updated at 01:15 PM ET

For a lot of players, the NBA D-League is more of an exposure league, a place where someone goes to put up big statistics while trying to get noticed by an NBA team.

Scottie Reynolds, the first NCAA All-American since the NBA-ABA merger in 1976 not be taken in the NBA Draft, has a different outlook on what he's trying to do while playing for the D-League's Springfield Armor.

Instead of scoring the basketball -- something he showed every NBA scout he can do during his four-year career at Villanova -- Reynolds has recently decided to focus more on getting his teammates involved in hopes of showing talent evaluators he can be counted on to play the point guard position at the next level.

"I've scored enough points," Reynolds told the Philadelphia Inquirer. "In fact, I'm sick of scoring."

That certainly wasn't the case early on this season when Reynolds averaged 23.2 points and just 3.8 assists in the month of November, but Armor coach -- and former NBA player -- Dee Brown has challenged Reynolds to be more of a facilitator of the offense. To his credit, the smooth-scoring guard responded well.

"I haven't done this a lot," Reynolds told the Inquirer. "That's what's so fun about this. I get to do something I've never really done on a consistent basis. That's a challenge, and it's also fun, because I think everybody knows I can score."

Reynolds has been up for the challenge, averaging an impressive 10.2 points, 9.2 assists and 2.0 steals while turning the ball over fewer than two times per game over the Armor's last five games. Don't let the scoring average fool you, either, as he's making shots when he's taking them at an impressive 53 percent clip while also running the team's offense.

The fact that he's attempting to reduce his shot attempts in Brown's offense, the one thing he was known for in college, was a bit hard for Reynolds to grasp at first.

"He has to find that balance," Brown told the Inquirer. "He went through one stretch where he didn't shoot. I said, 'Scottie, I'm not saying "Don't shoot." Don't take away what you do.' "

He's still working on finding that balance as he's attempted just 38 shot attempts over his last five games compared to dishing 43 assists, but NBA decision makers will only find that as a positive when projecting him to the next level.

Reynolds has also improved on the other end of the floor. He ranks as 'very good' on defense, according to Synergy Sports Technology, specifically when he's in isolation plays but also in defending the pick-and-roll. Generously listed at 6-foot-2, Reynolds' stature works against him but the fact that he's able to defend well in the D-League won't go unnoticed.

If Reynolds can find a balance between scoring enough to help his team start winning -- the Armor are 9-18 this season with former NBA Draft pick JamesOn Curry being the only other consistent scoring threat -- while continuing his improved point guard play, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him earn an NBA call-up sometime before the end of the D-League season.

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