Eastern Illinois head men’s basketball coach Jay Spoonhour has completed his coaching staff with the hiring of former Panther basketball player J.R. Reynolds.

Reynolds played two seasons for the Panthers in 2002 and 2003 and is currently tied for tenth on the school’s career 3-pointers made list with fellow assistant coach Emanuel Dildy. He was a two-year player at Southeastern Illinois College where he was inducted into the school’s athletic Hall of Fame in 2010. Reynolds earned his degree from EIU in 2004 and masters from Purdue in 2012.

Last year Reynolds was an assistant basketball coach and academic liaison at North Central High School in Indianapolis working for head coach Doug Mitchell. He helped the team compile an 18-7 record while being ranked seventh in the state of Indiana.

Reynolds was a three-year graduate assistant coach at Purdue from 2009-12 while also serving as an assistant to the strength coach. At Purdue he helped run the Boilermakers basketball camps. Working for head coach Matt Painter, the Boilermakers made three straight NCAA Tournament appearances with a Sweet 16 appearance and Big Ten title his first season.

His first coaching experience came as an assistant coach at Southeastern Illinois College from 2004-07 working for Todd Franklin (now the head coach at Vincennes). In addition to his coaching duties Reynolds served as the team’s academic liaison. The team posted three straight 20-win seasons with three straight trips to the NJCAA Region 24 Tournament. Reynolds final season saw the team post a 23-5 record.

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