J.R. Reynolds returns for his fifth season as an assistant coach. His main focus is working with the RedHawk forwards and recruiting.
In his first four seasons with the RedHawks’, Reynolds saw several players earn honors for their play. Highlighted among those are forward Dalonte Brown, who has scored more than 1,200 points and recorded more than 650 rebounds in his career.
In 2020-21, the RedHawks recorded their first winning season since 2009. Miami earned a berth in the eight-team Mid-American Conference Tournament as the RedHawks advanced to the quarterfinal round for the fourth time in the last six years, including three of the last four MAC Tournaments. Miami clinched its MAC Tournament berth with three games remaining on its regular-season schedule. It was the second time in the last four years Miami was the No. 7 seed in the tournament, its highest seeding since the 2011 tournament.
Last season, Miami set a program record for three-pointers in a game with 18 at Central Michigan (Feb. 23, 2021) and set season program records for free-throw percentage (.776) and fewest turnovers (249).
Reynolds assisted in a significant improvement for the RedHawks immediately once the staff was on board. During the 2017-18 season, Miami won its most games and qualified for the postseason for the first time since the 2010-11 campaign.
Reynolds came to Miami from Eastern Illinois, where he spent four seasons as an assistant coach for his alma mater. Reynolds helped the Panthers advance to the 2014 OVC Tournament, just the second time EIU had made back-to-back tournament appearances since the 2003 season. In 2015, he helped coach the Panthers to posting their second winning season since the 2001 season. EIU finished with an 18-15 record including winning an NCAA Division I school record nine straight games in December and January. EIU appeared in the CollegeInsiders.com Postseason Tournament beating Oakland in the opening round for the program's first NCAA Division I postseason victory.
“J.R.’s energy is contagious,” said Miami head coach Jack Owens. “He is a guy who is always working hard and doing what is best for the program. He’s also a great basketball mind. He’s very involved not only in recruiting, but also in the development of our guys as well.”
Prior to his time at Eastern Illinois, Reynolds spent three seasons as a graduate assistant at Purdue. Working with Owens and head coach Matt Painter, the Boilermakers compiled a record of 77-27, as well as winning the Big 10 and advancing to the Sweet 16 in his first season.
Reynolds began his coaching career as an assistant at Southeastern Illinois College from 2004-07, helping lead the team to three straight 20-win seasons for junior college Hall of Fame coach Todd Franklin. Reynolds graduated from Eastern Illinois in 2004 with a Bachelor’s Degree in economics and earned a Master’s Degree from Purdue in 2012.
Coach Reynolds and his wife, Leah, have two sons, Jay and Cameron.
