Tough Transition for Reed

The one freshman who probably has experienced the bumpiest transition to college play, says Coach Steve Lavin, is 6-foot-6 Travis Reed, the biggest and rawest talent of the bunch.

Rico Hines, at 6-3, has been surprisingly effective in the post, but Reed, currently the team’s second-biggest player, has struggled in practice against J.R. Henderson.

But Lavin says the Bruins will need to get significant play from Reed beginning with Thursday’s game against North Carolina in the first round of the Great Alaska Shootout.

“Travis, he needs to play at a higher level in terms of sustained intensity,” Lavin said. “Right now that’s what he’s dealing with. . . . He wants to learn, but he hit some walls, some overloads.”

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The Bruins arrived in Anchorage on Tuesday night and were met with standard Alaska weather: Lows in the single digits, highs in the teens, new snow on the ground, sunrise at 10:30 a.m., darkness by 4:30 p.m.