Ask anyone within Penn State’s program about what Josh Reaves does on the defensive end of the floor, and a volley of complimentary adjectives is sure to follow.

The junior guard is athletic, hard-nosed and intelligent; almost symbolic of what Pat Chambers wants out of each of his players.

But as Reaves transitions into a new season, the 6-foot-4 wing is relying on a new addition to that long list of descriptors. Working throughout the offseason on the other end of the floor, he’s more confident in his ability to contribute offensively, especially from beyond the 3-point line.

“As far as my three, I feel confident because [my teammates] feel confident in me,” Reaves said. “They keep telling me to shoot the ball, so they obviously see that I’ve been working on it. They see that it’s been going in, so that’s just where we’re at now.”

In need of a player who can efficiently stretch the floor on the offensive end, the Nittany Lions are hoping Reaves can help fill that role.

Penn State was 12th in the Big Ten with a .339 3-point field goal percentage last season, and Payton Banks, the team’s leader in that category a year ago, transferred to South Florida.

A lefty with a smooth stroke, Reaves is a natural candidate to replace that production. After a 3-of-39 showing from beyond-the-arc in his freshman season destroyed whatever confidence he had in that part of the game, he slowly began to rebuild it last year.

“I worked on it a lot with Keith Urgo last year,” Reaves said, “just trying to get it more consistent. I didn’t really change much. They said I had a pretty good form going into it... it was just believing in it, not worrying about about what the effect of a miss is going to be.”

The effort had clearly translated into results by the end of the season. Sparked by a four-for-six performance against Purdue, Reaves finished the season by shooting 40 percent from 3-point range over his final 14 games.

Several Nittany Lions made a conscious effort to improve their shooting over the offseason, including sophomore forward Lamar Stevens. It was clear to Stevens, however, who had made the most progress.

“It was a focus for our team, losing some of the guys that we lost,” Stevens said. “Everybody worked on the three. I think it’s been improved by a lot of players on this team, mainly Josh Reaves I would say. He really improved his shot a lot.”

Head coach Patrick Chambers echoed the sentiment.

"I think Josh had a really tremendous offseason. I think it's just confidence. He's gotta continue to shoot and know that we have confidence in him and he's gotta knock down the three," said Chambers. "He's very capable. I want him to play like that. I want him to attack and play aggressive. I think he put the work in, so as a junior you start to figure things out a little bit."

Reaves’ improved shooting is one of several byproducts of his continued maturation.

He came into the program as a player whose intensity was a significant asset, but also something of a handicap, as he was prone to committing fouls and turnovers as a result of playing out of control.

Now, Reaves feels capable of reining himself in.

“My freshman year, I felt like I was the energy guy,” he said. “I would just come in and do whatever I was capable of doing. But now I feel like I’m starting to understand what I can do, and finally slow down the game and read it and start to just play, not think as much.”

Suddenly a veteran on a team that is still very dependent on the contributions of underclassmen, Reaves’ newfound ability to refine his intensity is something he feels he can implement as a leader as well.

“When I see people make those mistakes,” Reaves said, “I’m at the place now where I can be like, ‘I made that mistake. You’re going to be fine. You’re going to get over it. Just worry about the next play.’”