Bulldogs Add Riek To Signing Class
STARKVILLE, Miss. ? Mississippi State added a fourth member to its already stellar 2009 signing class on Wednesday with the addition of center John Riek, coach Rick Stansbury announced.
A native of Khartoum, Sudan, the 7-foot-1, 250-pound Riek (pronounced, reek) comes to MSU after spending the last year at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., rehabbing a knee he had surgery on last July.
Once listed as a five-star recruit by Scout.com, Riek caught the attention of both college coaches and NBA scouts with an impressive showing at the Nike Hoop Jamboree and the
Known for his shot-blocking and rebounding skills, Riek turned heads with an 18-point effort in a 24-minute game on the final day at the
“We’re very excited to have John join our family,” said Stansbury, MSU’s all-time winningest coach with 231 victories. “We know we’re taking a chance on a kid who had a very serious injury. But we also know before the injury he was having an exciting career. Now, he’s in the process of getting back to where he was before the knee injury. It’s a slow process, but we’re willing to take a chance on him since he’s such a great kid. Again, he’s nowhere near where he once was as a player, but it’s our job to help him get back to that level that had him going straight to the NBA. That’s our goal.”
Riek, who possesses a striking 7 foot, 8 ? inch wingspan, came to the
He joins Shaunessy Smith (