St. Joe’s hoops star Erik Reynolds II is sticking with the Hawks, who could be A-10 favorites in 2024-25

Erik Reynolds II said he never considered leaving St. Joseph’s. His social media posts Wednesday, he said, were “just to clear the air for everybody.”

The biggest domino of the St. Joe’s men’s basketball offseason fell Wednesday morning, when Reynolds, the Hawks’ two-time all-conference guard, announced he was staying on Hawk Hill for his final season of eligibility. Reynolds made the announcement on social media with an image that read: “Play for the name on the front and they’ll remember the name on the back.”

That he even had to make the announcement is a glimpse into today’s college basketball world, when most good players outside of the Power 6 conferences are expected to head elsewhere. More than 1,800 men’s basketball players were in the transfer portal, which closes to entrants May 1.

For Reynolds, it was coach Billy Lange and the staff, and the community at the school, that made his decision an easy one.

“It’s hard to get away from people who care about you and care about elevating your game,” he said.

“It’s so much love here, and I just really appreciate it and it gives me a stronger chip on my shoulder to play for them. It makes me feel more confident in a way.”

Reynolds posted 17.3 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game while shooting 38% from three-point range last season. He helped lead St. Joe’s to the inaugural Big 5 Classic championship and a run to the Atlantic 10 tournament semifinals.

Reynolds would have been a hot commodity in the transfer market and could have commanded a lot of money via name, image, and likeness deals. St. Joe’s has been competitive on that front and in the future will have even more resources — the Hawks in 2025-26 and 2026-67 will play in the newly formed Players Era tournament in Las Vegas, where every competing team reportedly will receive $1 million in NIL money for participating.

“I’m not really chasing the money side of things,” Reynolds said. “It’s really solely about basketball for me. Yes, those things are a part of this world, 100%. St. Joe’s definitely has a good NIL background, so I’m well taken care of and I’m comfortable where I am.”

As for next season’s roster, Reynolds’ return leaves the Hawks in good shape. The Hawks lost a few players in the portal — Lynn Greer III, Christ Essandoko, Kacper Klaczek, and Christian Winborne — but brought in South Jersey guard Derek Simpson, who played two seasons at Rutgers.

» READ MORE: St. Joe’s strong Atlantic 10 run shows these Hawks are ‘headed in the right direction’

About an hour after Reynolds’ announcement, Greer committed to Temple, where his father played and is now on the coaching staff.

The Hawks likely will have a three-player backcourt with A-10 freshman of the year Xzayvier Brown anchoring a group that features Reynolds and Simpson. Sophomore forward Rasheer Fleming, a Camden grad who greatly improved in 2023-24, will lead a frontcourt that has a lot of potential. Anthony Finkley and Shawn Simmons II, both Philadelphians, got valuable playing time as freshmen, and redshirt freshman Dasear Haskins, also of Camden High School, will be in the mix. St. Joe’s also recently got a commitment from Steven Solano, a 7-foot incoming freshman.

It’s April, and the 2024-25 season is still more than six months away, but Reynolds’ return likely makes St. Joe’s among the A-10 favorites.

“This year we’re probably going to play faster, believe it or not,” Reynolds said with a laugh.

St. Joe’s already plays pretty fast and shoots a lot of three-pointers. The key to it all working, however, was Reynolds’ return.

He had heard from others, including Greer, who started his college career at Dayton, what transferring was all about.

“The common theme was: the portal is crazy,” Reynolds said. “That’s what I kept hearing. It was just something I wouldn’t want to be associated with or deal with it.

“Another thing I would tell my teammates and other people is I wouldn’t commit somewhere where I feel like I would leave. I wouldn’t come and play for a coach where I feel like I would leave. That’s why I took that initial recruiting process so seriously so I wouldn’t be put in a position to do that.”

Reynolds faced similar speculation last year, that he was expected to leave St. Joe’s and chase a higher level of college basketball. The reasons he’s staying for his senior year mimic the same reasons he gave a year ago: the coaching staff, the people, the school.

At the center of it all is Lange.

“That man right there has done some great things for me, and I’m really appreciative of him,” Reynolds said. “He’s helped me every year with a lot of things, not even just basketball … making sure my mentals are OK. There’s a lot of factors that Coach Lange has done for me, and it really feeds into why I’m committed to him and this program.

“He did a lot for me, and he’s continuing to do a lot for me.”