Joe Reuter still has two years of eligibility remaining. Courtesy | Hillsdale College Athletic Department
Two years after winning the G-MAC freshman of the year, junior forward Joe Reuter scored his 1,000 career point in a Charger uniform, joining the now 41-member 1,000-point club.
Reuter now has 1,003 total points in three seasons of Charger basketball. He has two more seasons of eligibility to attempt to climb the Charger all-time point-scoring leaderboard. For Reuter, however, basketball is not about the personal accolades.
“I just thought it was a cool milestone to hit, but there are bigger things than that,” Reuter said. “We’re focused on going out there and playing the game, so that’s all that really matters.”
Reuter graduated from Chippewa Falls High School in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, in 2021, just after signing to play for former head coach and current athletic director John Tharp at Hillsdale. Reuter’s only two suitors for collegiate basketball were Hillsdale and the Michigan Technological University Huskies.
“I think being recruited by coach Tharp allowed me to see the importance of being a family and being connected and having that unity with all your teammates and all your coaches,” Reuter said. “High school to college was completely different.”
Three years later, Reuter is the captain of that family. In his first year as captain, Reuter leads the Chargers in scoring with 15.3 points per game and also leads in rebounds per game with 7.1, and assists per game with 2.8. Reuter has been a focal point in the Chargers 17-9 record this year and is known as a prime example of proper work ethic to his teammates.
“It’s an amazing accomplishment for any player to score 1,000 points, especially only as a junior. It’s just a testament to all the work he’s put in throughout his career,” sophomore center C.J. Yarian said. “It’s been good to have him as a captain this year because he leads through his actions more than his voice and people follow that.”
Keven Bradley, who was an assistant coach under Tharp for three years before transitioning to the head coaching role, was a newcomer to the Hillsdale basketball program at the start of Reuter’s freshman year.
“Joe was one of our first recruits that we got to commit when I joined the staff here,” Bradley said. “I don’t have enough time to talk about all the positive things that Joe does, but his most impressive quality is the professional approach that he takes day in and day out. He’s very dedicated to his craft, and working on the things that he needs to work on to get better every single day.”
As much praise as Bradley has for Reuter, the junior forward has just as much for his head coach and the rest of the coaching staff.
“I think one of the biggest impacts for me is they’ve set a high standard for me that they know is challenging to me, but it’s not out of my reach,” Reuter said. “They don’t play favorites. And that’s one of the key things in having success is treating everybody the same and ensuring the same level of competitiveness.”
The Chargers have one more regular season game left this year. In that game, Reuter will have the opportunity to climb the all-time point leaderboard, needing only 12 points to become No. 40 on the all-time list. Currently, Eric Allaire is the all-time program leader with 2,174 career points. However, for Reuter, it’s never about personal success.
“It’s a unique opportunity to have but it’s not something I’m super focused or worried about,” Reuter said. “But there are bigger things than that, and I’m going to focus on those.”