Guard Reed Timmer leads the Bulldogs into the midpoint of conference play with little sign of slowing down after a stellar freshman season and a strong start to his sophomore campaign.
The much-heralded guard from New Berlin, Wis., began his Drake career as the team's starting point guard before being moved to the shooting guard position midway through the 2014-15 season.
"It opened up a lot more scoring opportunities for me," Timmer said of the change. "I was open to it from the start and as I've become accustomed to my role, it's definitely a good move for me and for the team."
Heading into his sophomore season, Timmer's position was set from the first practice with veteran point guard Graham Woodward joining the team. This has given Timmer nearly a full season to grow and mature into an off-the-ball guard that averaged 17.8 points per game through the first 19 games of the 2015-16 season.
In the Bulldogs' loss to DePaul, he made the most of those scoring opportunities by scoring a career-high 30 points and has now scored 20 or more points seven times this season including back-to-back 20-point games against SIU and Missouri State.
"[Reed] Timmer took the right shots," said Drake head coach Ray Giacoletti following that career high against DePaul. "He's come a long way and has developed into a two-way player by offensively being able to shoot and help the other players."
Taking smart shots has been key to Timmer's maturation and development as a scoring guard with his efficient shooting as testament to that. This season, he is shooting 51.6 percent from the field, a staggering 48.4 percent from three-point range. He currently ranks 13th among all sophomores in the nation in scoring and 13th in career scoring among sophomores with 693 career points.
"Reed has done a great job of progressing from his freshman to sophomore years in playing slow, reading situations and making nice, easy plays," Giacoletti said.
That progression came with time during Timmer's freshman season as he grew with the rigors of the season and demands placed on him upon his arrival on campus.
"Towards the end of the conference season I started to learn and know what I needed to do every day on both ends of the court," Timmer said. "Now this year I've been trying to stress that to the younger guys as they develop."
His task of maturing into a seasoned veteran during his first month as a Division I student-athlete was further complicated by facing some of the nation's top point guards in non-conference play. During the first month of the season alone, he squared off against point guards such as Iowa State's Monte Morris, Green Bay's Keifer Sykes and Murray State's Cameron Payne. Morris went on to earn All-Big 12 honors while Payne was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder with the 14th overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft. Sykes has spent time on NBA rosters as well.
"At the time I had no idea how elite those guys were," Timmer said. "I was just trying to get experience. But looking back, I've become a lot more confident as a result and know what to expect."
Despite those initial challenges, Timmer averaged 11.5 points and 2.5 assists per game to be just one of 11 freshmen in the nation to average at least 11.5 points and 2.5 assists or more per game. He was also named to the Missouri Valley Conference All-Newcomer and All-Freshmen team.
One area in which Timmer needed no time getting up to speed was in the classroom. He has already earned MVC Scholar-Athlete of the Week four times this season and owns a 3.6 grade point average as a pre-pharmacy major. He is currently applying for admission into the Drake School of Pharmacy and hopes to receive good news in the coming months.
His formula for success in the classroom is no different than on the court -- preparation and teamwork.
"The key thing for me is organization and staying up to date on what I need to do each day," Timmer said. "Getting help when I need help is key as is building connections with my classmates. Bonding with them and professors has helped me balance practices, homework and tests."
This story originally appeared in the Dec. 22 - Jan. 6 edition of the Drake Men's Basketball Gameday Program.
