EXCLUSIVE: How Top MSU Hoops Target Navigates Hype in Basketball Mecca
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The state of Indiana treats basketball like Texas does football. The sport is nearly a cultural touchstone. Friday night lights reflect on hardwood in The Hoosier State.
"Hoosiers", Bob Knight, Larry Bird, and powerhouses past (Indiana) and present (Purdue). I spoke to South Bend Washington head coach, Ryan Varga, who just happens to be coaching the top player in the state's 2026 class -- Steven Reynolds.
Varga described to me just how essential the sport is to Indiana natives. Sort of makes you want to don a uniform yourself.
"There's nothing like it. There's nothing like Indiana high school basketball," Varga said. "It's just a rich tradition. It's just that small-town feel to it, even if you live in a bigger city where you're going to, on a Friday night, have a packed gym. Especially when it's two good teams that are ranked, or inner city rivals, or distant rivals from back in years' past. It's pretty much undescribable, and I think just the way throughout the year we do things as far as June or July, Top 100 camps or things like that and just the amount of college coaches coming to Indiana -- it's a pretty special thing."
And about Reynolds. The No. 1 player in the state for 2026, a Top 10 shooting guard, a Top 60 player nationally. Recruited heavily by some of the best programs in the country, perhaps none consider him a top priority more than Michigan State and Hall of Fame head coach Tom Izzo.
Indiana natives, perhaps the biggest of basketball connoisseurs, hold Izzo in high regard. Perhaps no coach has captured the essence of Big Ten basketball post-Knight better.
Consider the pressure that the top recruit in the basketball state getting recruited by perhaps the most influential coach in the region for the past three decades. Consider that Reynolds handles it with grace and poise like none other.
When I spoke to him, I think he was just happy to miss class. Perhaps even happier that the interview ended right when his lunchtime started. Oblivious to the pressure? Probably.
"I tell [Reynolds] all the time I don't envy him. Even before the recruitment I don't envy him at all, you know, the rankings and the scholarship offers and things like that. And the pressures he's seen," Varga said. "I've seen him try to go use the restroom and you got little kids asking where he's at and things like that. So if we lose and he doesn't play well, or we win and he does, it's almost a Catch-22 for him."
Reynolds' answer when asked about the pressure? Measured. Like a shrug after a deep 3-pointer.
"I really just go out there and play my game. If I go out there and do that, I'll be fine," he said. "I don't really listen to the media too much because sometimes that can get to you. I think did early on, but more and more as stuff comes out I really don't pay attention to it and do my best."
Reynolds' loyalty to Washington is felt, too.
His father, Steve, is the girl's basketball coach. Reynolds' mother, Marcy, played overseas (as did Steve, an All-MAC player when he attended Western Michigan). Steve is a state championship-winning coach.
Reynolds's sisters Mila and Amiyah both play for Purdue. Another sister, Kira, is a 2025 recruit committed to Purdue. Basketball family in a basketball state.
Still, Reynolds could write his ticket anywhere prep-wise. Right down the road just half an hour in La Porte is La Lumiere, a premier basketball prep factory that is currently home to Indiana's best 2025 players, Jalen Haralson and Darius Adams. (They are Top 25 nationally, as well).
But Reynolds remains in South Bend. And for a basketball-crazed school (they pack about 3,800 into their gym, of which they dub the Great Western Forum) in a basketball-crazed state, it means everything to have one of the state's top players.
"A lot of kids are jumping around and doing different things, and Steven's always been true to Washington," Varga said. "You know, our program, he believes in it. So I respect him for that and I think the city kind of backs him a little bit in that realm. And you know, people are going to come watch him play. And I think that's fun for not only boy's basketball but for him and just the school itself."
Michael France is Sports Illustrated's Michigan State recruiting beat writer, covering all things Big Ten recruiting for Spartan Nation. Be sure to follow him on Twitter/X@michaelfrancesi for exclusive Spartans recruiting coverage.
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MICHAEL FRANCE