On Saturday night, Cate Reese, the centerpiece of Arizona’s 2018 recruiting class, played in the Greater Houston All-Star Game at Katy Taylor High School.
On Wednesday night, Reese will be playing in another all-star game of sorts.
This one is the McDonald’s All-American Game, where the top high school players in the nation compete. The game tips off at 2 p.m. at Phillips Arena in Atlanta.
Making a jump from a high school court to a professional court — where the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks play their games — is enough to make almost any 18-year-old’s head spin.
But not Reese, who is the first McDonald’s All-American for the UA women’s basketball program. She’s taking it all in stride.
“It’s exciting and I think it will help give me an idea of the transition from high school ball to college and help prepare me for the jump,” Reese said. “I think it will definitely help to prepare me and show me what I need to work on and my expectations for the competition at the next level.”
The 6-foot-2-inch forward arrived in Atlanta on Sunday with her parents. Reese’s sister Ali, a UA walk-on this season, will join the team for Wednesday’s game. Cate’s roommate and teammate this week is Elizabeth Dixon, a Memphis product who is heading to Georgia Tech. The two played against each other in AAU ball. Dixon was ranked the fifth-best forward in the nation by ESPN. Reese was fourth, and also the nation’s 13th-ranked overall player.
In between practices at the Hawks’ facility, there have been plenty of activities to keep the teams busy. Reese took part in photo shoots and the Powerade Jam Fest. The players also took time to visit children at the Ronald McDonald House; Reese called it her favorite experience so far.
“To meet some of the kids and see their faces light up,” she said, “it just shows that it’s bigger than basketball.”
While at the Jam Fest, Reese witnessed Olivia Nelson-Ododa’s first dunk. Nelson-Ododa, who is from Winder-Barrow High School in Georgia and heading to UConn in the fall, scored a perfect 100 on her dunk.
“It was an awesome dunk,” Reese said. “We were all hyped for her, and I don’t think anyone who came to watch the Jam Fest was expecting that.”
Reese doesn’t dunk, but she still delivers. Reese put up some big numbers in her senior season for Cypress Woods High School in Texas, averaging 30.6 points and 15.3 rebounds per game. She was the 17-6A District MVP, first team All-Region and first team All-State.
Reese was also named honorable mention All-American by the Naismith Trophy.
Reese scored 2,536 points and collected more than 1,481 rebounds in her high school career — good enough to hold both records for CyWoods.
Reese is one of three five-star recruits in UA coach Adia Barnes’ 2018 class, which is ranked No. 5 in the nation. The Texan will bring a lot to Tucson: Aside from the points and rebounds, which the Wildcats need, Reese is one who puts in the extra work.
Reese frequently fit in extra workouts between games. In Jaunuary, after being named a McDonald’s All-America, Reese spent her Saturday in the gym practicing her 3s and adding a second move, going to her left.
Wednesday’s game can’t come soon enough for Reese. Her goal is to claim the rebound record of 14 in a game, which Tennessee-bound Kelley Cain set in 2007.
“It’s a great feeling to be known as one of the top girls in the country and to be competing with all of them this week,” Reese said. “I have been waiting for this since the names were announced, so I’m really excited to get out there and play.”
