Last week, Mississippi State freshman center John Riek had his eligibility reinstated by the NCAA to play basketball. However, the 7-foot-1-inch, 250-pound Khartoum, Sudan, native is required to sit out the first nine games of the 2009-2010 season as mandated by the NCAA.
“I’m glad we can put all of this behind us,” coach Rick Stansbury said. “Now we know exactly what his situation is, and we can move forward.”
Riek brings a lot to the table with his near 7-foot-9-inch wingspan and the willingness to do anything asked of him.
“He’s worked hard the last two months,” senior guard Barry Stewart said. “He’s getting comfortable and liking it a lot.”
Before coming to MSU, Riek came from an environment that did not cater to major basketball prospects.
Born in Sudan, Riek fled with his family to Ethiopia where he grew up and went to high school. Having begun playing basketball in 2001, it wasn’t until January of 2006 that he came to America.
Thanks to an intermediary high school in New York, Riek played for Our Savior New American in Centereach, N.Y.
Despite his opportunity, Riek was not entirely satisfied having left behind his mother and sister in Bitui, a farming village without electricity or running water, after his brother was tragically killed by police in the Sudanese civil war, according to Scout.com.
While at Our Savior, the language barrier posed a challenge between school officials and Riek. He was often held out of class and told to learn English through remedial tapes, according to Sports Illustrated.
Riek burst onto the scene with an outstanding performance at the LeBron James Skills Academy in Akron, Ohio, in July 2007.
Dave Telep, national director of recruiting for Scout.com, said Riek was “flat out fantastic.”
“He was the surprise of the summer,” he said. “I watched him play against the best high school players in the 2008 class at the LeBron camp, and he made it very hard for those guys to score.”
With each blocked shot and penetrating dunk, questions started piling up causing NBA scouts to wonder if Riek was the next Greg Oden.
Before even seeing Riek play once, Rivals.com ranked him as the No. 1 center in the 2008 class, while Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports claimed that Riek had the chance to be the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft.
The evaluations Riek received over a single performance may have hurt him more than it helped, causing NBA scouts to create sky-high expectations that Riek had no chance of living up to after his injury.
“No one really knows what to expect from him,” Telep said. “You’re watching it unfold and you just don’t know.”
On Nov. 17, 2007, at the National Prep Showcase in Lowell, Mass., Riek was scheduled to play against Tyreke Evans, who was drafted as the No. 4 pick to the Sacramento Kings in 2009.
However, Riek aggravated his knee attempting leg presses on a machine too small for him.
Riek played last season at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. while rehabbing his knee from surgery in 2008, but it does not seem to be affecting his play.
“We just had our first week of conditioning, and he did well. He shows no signs of weakness,” Stewart said.
Having been signed in May and now cleared to play, Riek is looking forward to becoming affiliated with his new team and environment.
“John is looking real good,” said senior center Jarvis Varnardo. “He’s so long; he plays hard; he tries to go after every rebound; he blocks a lot of shots. I think he’s going to be a good addition to this team.”