UConn star Tarris Reed praises Jesus ahead of national championship: ‘He changed everything about me’

University of Connecticut star Tarris Reed Jr. spoke beautifully about Easter, the Resurrection, and how Jesus has affected him following the March Madness semifinals on Saturday.

Reed took the podium following a 71-62 win over Illinois, which sent UConn to the national championship against Michigan, his former team, on Monday night.

‘He changed everything about me.’

Surprisingly, a reporter in Indianapolis brought up Easter weekend during Reed’s press conference, asking the 22-year-old what the Resurrection means to him.

Praise and proof

With a smile on his face, Reed rubbed his chin and said, “That’s a great question.”

“The resurrection is really everything,” he began. “That’s like, the staple of Christianity. So like, without the Resurrection, there is no Christian [faith], there is no Jesus.”

Reed then went into details that are rarely heard in the sports world, which may signal a continued shift into faith being proclaimed by high-level athletes.

“I feel like once you can show a lot of significant evidence for the Resurrection, I mean, it shows a lot of proof towards Christianity. So I feel like just to go through, where I came from throughout my college career … Jesus just literally changed my mind.”

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Bible based

Before the national tournament, Reed said he has been drawing inspiration from his Christianity, saying he reads the Bible every morning. When his confidence has been low, he has turned to God and been “strong” in his faith.

It was then that Reed began telling reporters that his belief in Jesus has changed him completely.

“He changed everything about me,” Reed said on Saturday night. “It’s crazy looking back; like I saw my old team Michigan the other day and spoke to a couple of those guys. We [have] just seen each other just grow so much and just change. So it’s just been a blessing just to see myself just, like I said, grow through Jesus. I mean He just, like I said, wiped my eyes clean.”

While there aren’t as many instances, Reed had spoken about being a Christian during his time at Michigan, but he admitted recently he did not read the Bible when he played there.

Interestingly enough though, he cited similar reasoning for turning to his faith in 2023 with the Wolverines.

“When things are crumbling down, I know that I have faith in Jesus Christ. He’s going to produce and carry me through the storm,” he said at the time.

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Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Walking of faith

Ahead of the tournament final, the 6’11” center says he has completely changed due to his faith, right down to the way he walks.

“My whole mind is different. The way I talk, walk, act changed. The way I treat other people. It’s like more not to get, but more to serve. You know, I feel like I’m here to really serve and serve others.”

UConn plays Michigan Monday night at 8:50 p.m. ET for the national championship.

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