College basketball players Angel Reese and her brother Julian Reese
On May 6, 2023, in Atlanta, Georgia, Julian Reese and Angel Reese attend Angel Reese's 21st birthday celebration.
Although Angel Reese is well-known for her abilities on the court, the basketball player for Louisiana State University has always been competitive, something that she inherited from her brother Julian Reese.
The LSU forward played basketball at Saint Frances Academy in Baltimore, Maryland, where she was raised together with her brother. Just over a year after Angel, on June 30, 2003, Michael Reese and Angel Webb Reese welcomed Julian into the world.
From a young age, Angel and Julian had a strong bond and encouraged each other to become better athletes.
"With my younger brother, everything was always competitive," Angel said in a March 2022 interview with What's Up? The basketball game we played on the court in front of our home was always fiercely contested. Together, we played all the time. It influenced the person I am now.
Here is all the information you need to know about Julian, the brother of Angel Reese, from their childhood basketball games to their time at the University of Maryland.
They were raised in Maryland.
Even though they weren't born in Baltimore, Angel and Julian both played for Saint Frances Academy while attending school there.
According to Angel, "Our school was literally across the street from a prison" (February 2024, Women's Health). "I was fortunate enough to be able to leave there with my skills."
Regarding who was a superior player in their youth, they can't agree.
On March 16, 2023, in Birmingham, Alabama, during the second half of the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, Julian Reese dunks the ball against Patrick Suemnick of the West Virginia Mountaineers.
Both brothers responded to the identical topic in a comically different way when the interviewer asked it to them in an October 2023 Q&A that was uploaded on March Madness' YouTube channel.
When asked who would win every time when they were younger, Angel and Julian both answered for themselves. "100 to 20?!," said Angel when they informed her that Julian had threatened to beat her 100 times. He has lost his mind. He knows I have the superior sneaker, yet he still makes pricey purchases.
When asked which of their parents they preferred, they both said, "Angel," yet they both agreed that Angel was the troublemaker.
"I was probably the one causing trouble because I would do it and he would be punished," she said.
Both of them were University of Maryland students.
On the day that he committed to the University of Maryland, Angel Reese was seen with her brother Julian Reese and mother Angel Webb Reese.
Angel played for two years at Maryland before rising to fame at LSU. Her brother attended the same school as her a year after she did.
On Mother's Day of 2020, the siblings arranged a charming surprise announcement for their mother upon Julian's commitment. According to Julian's account in the Baltimore Sun, he summoned his mother downstairs and gave her a black hoodie with the word "committed" on the back and an image of him and Angel during a trip to Maryland on the front.
In June 2020, Julian said to the publication, "It meant a lot to me." "I think that would have made a nice Mother's Day surprise because I felt like that was [my mom's] top choice too."
Because Angel and Reese committed before they were even high school graduates, they were unaware of the pressure and expectations that would be placed on them as teammates at the same institution.
Their mother said, "It certainly makes for a good storyline." But I believe it puts distinct strains on them both. Because Angel is so well regarded, there is a lot of pressure on her to do well right away. Julian is also performing at the same school where people are already familiar with his sister. He should thus do well.
He plays basketball for the University of Maryland as a starting forward.
Julian Reese celebrates during the Indiana Hoosiers game on March 3, 2024, in College Park, Maryland at Xfinity Center.
Having played for the University of Maryland for three seasons, beginning in his freshman year, Julian is presently a forward for the team. He has established himself as a key defensive player throughout his time in the program, ranking Maryland's defense in the 97th percentile when he plays.
"He has extensive knowledge of our drop coverage. He plays basketball intelligently. Thus, it slightly eases everyone else's burden," Coach Kevin Willard said to The Diamondback in March 2024. "And he's physically strong, he throws his body around, and his 6-foot-10 height really helps in this league."
Julian's 13th-highest minutes played in the Big Ten in the 2023–24 season demonstrated his importance to the team, but his performance in the face of Maryland's difficulties raised rumors that he could use the transfer portal.
Julian responded to the claims by telling the outlet to "just focus on the task at hand." "I enjoy hanging out with my guys here and not having to worry about such things."
Angel watches out for him.
Following the NCAA's approval of name, image, and likeness (NIL) partnerships in 2021, Angel jumped at the chance to seize her prospects and include her brother in her endeavors.
In March 2022, she revealed to Sports Illustrated that she had always intended to sign contracts with Julian and that she will always recommend her brother to companies that ask her to work with a male player.
"Do you know any players?" they ask. And I'm thinking, 'My brother?,'" she said. "I try to include him in as many deals as I can because my maternal grandmother can be right there with me and we can sign with the same organization once I'm able to leave here [Maryland]." It should be simple for us both, in my opinion.
Julian's mother has called him "laid back."
Sports Illustrated was informed by Angel and Julian's mother that while Angel has a "very strong personality," Julian is more "laid back."
"You will undoubtedly see him before you hear him," she said. "He's not a very talkative young man."
His laid-back demeanor was evident when the siblings signed a contract with Tom Brady. While Julian maintained more of a poker face, Angel was unable to conceal her joy.
"When I learned about the Tom Brady deal, I immediately thought, 'You're going to New York!'" They'll fly you there in first class," she said. “He treated it with such casualness. "You're representing Tom Brady!" I said. Tom Brady!
