DaShonte Riley and those who watch him play have always expected big things from him. He has stood out from the rest of the players on the basketball court since sixth grade, when he stood at 6-foot-6.
He always wanted to end up playing basketball at a major program, ever since he became the center of attention at his youth games. Riley now has that chance, even though it might be at a different place than he originally thought.
Riley recently committed to play for Syracuse after de-committing from Georgetown in November. The 6-foot-11, 220-pound center, from Detroit Country Day School finally settled on the Orange in early March after re-opening his college search.
Riley seemed destined to be a Hoya after verbally committing during his junior season of high school. The idea of heading to Georgetown seemed to be the best thing for Riley until it finally started to become a reality.
"I kind of rushed into the situation because it was Georgetown, and I had wanted to go there since I was younger," Riley said. "It was really a lack of communication in terms of my plans and their plans, as to where I would be when I got there. I took my official visit, and we got to talk about really in-depth conversations about what the plans were, and I just didn't see myself fitting in there."
Riley's mother, Colette Anderson, was with her son for every step of his long college search. When the college search opened back up for her and her son, she was relieved to see interest coming in from colleges around the nation.
Riley was so focused on Georgetown that he did not get a chance to realize what other schools had to offer. Interest came from schools like California, Marquette, Virginia and Louisiana State. Ultimately, Syracuse became the easy favorite for Riley.
"Actually, it was more of a comfort than an uncertainty," Anderson said of the decision to de-commit from Georgetown. "It let us know that we hadn't taken the time that we should have to look into some of these other schools. Before, it was just routine. We were going through the motions, but we basically had our minds set on Georgetown."
Syracuse had no contact with Riley prior to his de-commitment from Georgetown, but once Riley opened up his search, SU assistant coach Rob Murphy, who previously coached in the Detroit high school circuit, contacted him. After a few conversation on the Internet with Murphy, Riley had the chance to talk with head coach Jim Boeheim about the possibly of joining the Orange next season.
Boeheim's reputation was almost enough to convince Riley immediately. The quiet confidence that Boeheim had in conversations with both Riley and Anderson impressed the pair more than anything else. At Syracuse, there was no need for Boeheim to sell himself or the program to Riley. This was not the case at other schools and with other coaches.
"A lot of other schools, the coaches feel like they have to prove themselves, and when I talked to coach Boeheim, his record spoke for itself," said Riley, who is ranked the No. 33 prospect on ESPN's Top 100. "He pretty much just laid out, without the extra selling of the program and all of that, what the plan was and what the actual deal was. I liked that a lot."
Riley was surrounded by other Division I at Detroit Country Day. His teammate Jordan Dumars, son of former Detroit Pistons guard Joe Dumars, is headed to South Florida. Donnavan Kirk will play for Miami (Fla.) next season. The trio of Riley, Dumars and Kirk made the Yellowjackets one of the best high school teams in Michigan.
The abundance of talent surrounding Riley relegated him to a primarily defensive role during his three years at Detroit Country Day. Head coach Kurt Keener said the offense ran mainly through the guards, and Riley's primary job was to block and rebound on the defensive end. Riley did just that and finished the season averaging 9.2 rebounds, 3.6 blocks and 8.4 points per game.
Although offense might not have been his main focus in high school, Keener believes Riley has the potential to develop a strong offensive game at the collegiate level. Keener sees him forming his game in the same mold as Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett - high praise for an 18-year-old.
"He has offensive skills. He has good shooting skills and good moves," Keener said of Riley. "He was just never a real assertive offensive player, and we had a really good team with some other quality players on the team.
"He is capable of scoring more, but he is a very unselfish player, so if he gets double teamed or triple teamed, as most big kids do in high school, he will pass it out."
Riley said he does not want to get away from doing what he does best: rebounding and blocking shots. But he realizes he is known as a defensive player because of his high school stats, and he wants to change that perception. He said displaying another dimension of his game is his biggest challenge heading into the collegiate game.
With Arinze Onuaku set to stay at the center position for one more year with the Orange, Riley will have a season to develop before being thrust into a starting job. He likely would not have gotten playing time so quickly at Georgetown, where freshman center Greg Monroe, the Big East rookie of the year, seems to have the starting job at center secured for the Hoyas as long as he is there.
For once in his life, the expectations are not high for Riley heading into next season. Both he and Anderson see it as a chance for Riley develop both as a basketball player and a person. But if his number is called, Riley does not expect there to be any difference in the quality of play from the middle of Syracuse's 2-3 zone.
"Coming off the bench, depending on where Arinze (Onuaku) is next year, just that they won't lose anything with a starter coming off the court," Riley said. "Who knows if I will be starting or coming off the bench later on in the year, but for now, I could just provide confidence that if Arinze goes out or Rick (Jackson) that they have some stability coming off the bench that can hold it down in the middle."
jssutton@syr.edu
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