[1] Reed was born in Monroe, Louisiana and played varsity basketball at Wossman High School in his native town.

He played the center and forward positions and in his junior year he averaged 17 points and 6 rebounds per game, being selected in the All-District 2-AAA First Team.

[10] Tulane also qualified for the 1992 NCAA tournament: Reed played both games (against St. John's and Oklahoma State), scoring 12 points in each of them.

Reed's final season at Tulane saw him leading the team again in scoring (15.7 points), rebounding (6.8), minutes (33.5) and blocks (0.9).

[1] At the end of the year Reed was selected in the All-Metro Conference first team and participated in the 1993 NABC all-star game.

Reed retired with 118 games played (all starts) and 1,896 total points (which at the time made him the leading scorer in program history: the record has since been passed by Jerald Honeycutt).

Reed contributed to bring Tulane to be nationally ranked during his last two seasons, and was inducted in the Louisiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.

[1][20] After the end of his senior season, Reed was automatically eligible for the 1993 NBA draft, during which he was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the 14th pick in the second round (41st overall).