His last name rings a bell to those familiar with this Sequoyah County community. He bears a resemblance to the fellow whose life-size portrait hangs in the lobby of the school gymnasium, his older brother. He's even got the imposing size and plays the same position as his famous older sibling. Even their team names are the same. And they sport the same buzz cut.

But Brent Reeves, 6-foot-9 senior center for Gans, is making a name of his own and is especially enjoying his final season playing for the Grizzlies. The younger brother of Bryant 'Big Country' Reeves, the All-American at Oklahoma State University who now plays for the NBA's Vancouver Grizzlies, Brent Reeves is having just as big an impact for the Gans team.

"I think I'm playing my best ball," Reeves said. "I feel more comfortable and more confident playing this year. I worked out with Bryant this summer and he showed me a lot of things to work on, and he showed me the same (conditioning) program he goes through."

After being plagued by injuries and illness for much of his first three years, Reeves has become a consistent force as a senior, averaging nearly 16 points and 11 rebounds per contest. He also has been part of a major surge by the Grizzlies, who ripped off eight straight victories following a 2-6 start.

"I think we've got closer as a team every day," Reeves said. "We've cut down on our turnovers, and we've been more patient on offense," Reeves said he does not worry about scoring a lot of points as long as he takes care of other business.

"I don't feel that scoring is everything," he said. "I'm a pretty solid rebounder, and I try to do my job on defense. I feel more comfortable playing defense; I've always liked to play defense." Size also plays a big difference, Reeves said.

"I'm big, I'm not just taller, I'm bigger than a lot of players," he said. "I feel like I'm stronger than some of the other players we play against. I like playing my position well."

Larry Ringgold, Reeves'head coach, also likes Reeves because of his leadership and attitude toward the game. "I think he's as good a player as there is around here and I think he's as good a kid as there has ever been," Ringgold said. "You can count on Brent being here every day, he's always here for practice. ... His heart is bigger than basketball ... He just leads more by example.

"This kid, he's been injured or sick every year since he's been playing for us. His freshman year, he broke his foot; his sophomore year, he broke his arm; he hurt his arm and had the flu as a junior. So he's just started playing pretty good." Ringgold said opposing teams have been forced to double-team Reeves in order to stop him from scoring, but even that's not enough. "They have to double-team him, but when they do that, that opens up those 15-foot jump shots," Ringgold said. "They can't guard him one-on-one. Against everybody we've played, they would put in a zone, with one on top and one behind, and they usually hold him to 15-18 points. When they don't, he can score 30 points."

Inevitably, the subject of comparing Brent to older brother Bryant, especially judging their senior seasons at Gans, comes up. But Ringgold, who has coached the Grizzlies since the late 1960s but was temporarily out of coaching during Bryant Reeves' days at Gans, believes any comparison is unfair to both.

"It's hard to compare him and it's not fair to compare him to his brother," Ringgold said. "I didn't coach Bryant, even though I saw Bryant play a lot because my son was on that team, but I don't think it would be fair to either one of them to compare them. That would open up a can of worms."

Brent Reeves said although his older brother was a big influence, Brent always liked the game of basketball. "Of course he's a big influence," Brent Reeves said. "Playing in the NBA, he would be a big influence on anybody, but I've always liked to play ball ever since I can remember. I¹ve always had love for the game. "I'm real proud of him, he just makes you proud that he's one of the best, and when you¹re in the NBA, you¹re among the best players in the world."

Last summer, Bryant worked with his younger brother on his conditioning, and Brent credits that to the solid season he is having thus far. "He helped me with just about everything, my shooting, rebounding, conditioning," Brent said. "We did a lot of conditioning this summer. I wouldn't say I'm in real good shape right now, but I'm in the best shape I¹ve ever been in."

Brent also wants to follow in his brother's footsteps and play basketball on the collegiate level. He said a few schools, most notably Connors State, are looking at him, but he hasn¹t made a final list of schools to consider. In addition, he is interested in pursuing a field in the medical profession, particularly veterinary service. At this point, though, Reeves is just enjoying his senior year and hopes that the Grizzlies' recent hot streak can be parlayed into a trip to the state tournament.

"I would like to go to the state tournament, that's what everybody wants," he said. "We have a good shot this year, we have as good a shot as anybody."