John Riek (photo. Kelly Kline)HighSchoolHoop.com has the story on John Riek’s commitment to the University of Cincinnati. Riek had thrown his name into the 2008 NBA Draft pool after it was determined the 7-foot-2 prep star was in fact draft-eligible due to his age and when his original HS class in the Sudan had graduated. But after a shaky performance at the pre-draft camp, where his stock slipped from perhaps late-first round to someone who might not have been picked at all, he pulled his name out.
Riek will now play for the Bearcats, an improving program trying to make strides in the Big East, where he’ll join a solid recruiting class that includes Top-100 talents Yancy Gates (Dime #41) and Cashmere Wright. He’ll also join a notable list of UC big men known to wreak havoc in the paint, such as Kenyon Martin, Danny Fortson and Jason Maxiell.
Riek’s game has been compared to a young Dikembe Mutombo or a Sam Dalembert; a shot-blocker supreme who can get rebounds but needs lots of work on his offensive game. Before his draft status was known last year, he was getting interest from the likes of UConn, Georgetown and Florida.
Source: HighSchoolHoop.com
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August 5th, 2008 at 3:46 pm
Mikey F Baby says:
Finally we’re on the path to bring UC Basketball back. It’s been a rough couple of years…after all it was believed we’d have OJ Mayo and Bill Walker a few years back!
August 5th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Austin Burton says:
Was Mike Beasley considering Cincinnati at one point or am I wrong?
August 5th, 2008 at 4:01 pm
doc says:
I heard dude like 30
August 5th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
doc says:
Beasley was gonna go there AB but Bob Huggins was hiring his peoples to coach and he went to Kansas State,when Huggins left Kansas State Beasley peoples stayed behind so thats where he went.
August 5th, 2008 at 4:29 pm
Luigi says:
i hope this guy is the real deal
August 5th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Austin Burton says:
I would have liked to see him at Georgetown. I watched him go head-to-head with B.J. Mullens (projected #1 pick in the ‘09 Draft by some) in the Elite 24 scrimmages — which was more controlled than the actual game — and Riek held his own.
August 5th, 2008 at 6:12 pm
Andy says:
Has any player ever graduated from Cincinnati?
I see Riek leaving college way too early and flaming outt…ala Yanke Dare
btw, Beas(t)ley was also supposed to go to UNC-Charlotte
August 6th, 2008 at 9:47 am
Kobeef says:
Reik has been handled so carefully by his managers that it is hard to tell how good/bad he is. I am glad to see him go to college cause he looked like the kind of player that was made to be a preps to pros NBA bust.
Reik has the physical tools to be the best 5 in college. It will be interesting to see if he can match those tools with some skill and BBall IQ (which are both missing right now).