Will Riley

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Just kind of scanning through his 1 year of college ball:
18-9-4 against defensive powerhouse Alabama (3-4 from 3)
19-6-2 at Michigan State and Tom Izzo.
22-2-4 vs Purdue
15-7-1 vs Maryland and Queen
22-4-0 vs Xavier

It was a very, very strange season, he periodically dropped hammers on teams, and he also had bottom of the barrel nothing games constantly....had about 11 or 12 really, really impressive games, including those 5 great ones, and about 13 stinkers.....

I keep thinking about him, consider his age, just 19 and 5 months old, played virtually his entire solo year at Illinois as an 18 year old (Tre as well), and I consider that he was ranked 12th on multiple recruiting charts (I think 21st on one)....and I don't know.

I think he's the perfect example of a wait and see guy who has some tools in his bag that could lead up to him being a legit special player, and other qualities that suggest he'll be a bench, heat check guy, 3 and D etc....

Interesting anyway...there were a lot of guys I just did not want to draft at 18 or 40, and Riley was not one of those guys, he was one of the guys with an interesting profile, there was enough to recommend him.....But I also need to remind myself that the guy was slated in the late 20's by the analytics guys and by the early mid 20's by the tape grinders....so odds are that he won't hit the way I'd like....but there's definitely some hope here for something more.

It just feels nice, even as I was sfrustrated and so angry with how things transpired, that I can see a team that knows what it is doing in the build.

Their guy (maybe) goes a slot before them, they find someone to work a trade with, pick up multiple extra 2nds, and a guy high on their board anyway who's an interesting potential fit.

They find a team front office metaphorically smoking crack, they flip them Poole's nightmare contract for some assets we can flip for either picks or just open up cap space a year from now.

They are always moving, always building, always finding ways to make the best of what comes at them. I just keep hoping, can we keep Ted like, asleep on laughing gas in the dentist office through like 2028? If we can, I think we'll be good....

My first sight reaction of watching Will Riley was I think he will be a star.
*Then again, I liked Morris Almond, Eric Maynor, and Ramon Sessions.

Riley is built like Tayshaun Prince.
He is Canadian.
He impressed me more than Kasparas Jakucionis each game I watched between Maryland and Illinois.

I predict he's going to become like Jaylen Brown, another reliable go-to scorer.

Id claim victory on sessions. 56th pick in draft. 11 year career. 29 career WS.

Thanks, DukeLecker! As I get older many of my thoughts fuse together.

My most recent memories of Ramon Sessions are that I was glad the Wizards acquired him. (Same with Maynor). However, Sessions didn't perform well and his run in DMV was short-lived. What I didn't take into consideration was Ramon was already well into his career.

My first time seeing Sessions was a game I attended in Honolulu. Nevada played UH. I was there to see a C you might have heard of, Javale McGee, play for the Wolf Pack. I arrived at the game and found out McGee would not be playing. Bummer. So, i wasn't expecting much of a game. Turns out I enjoyed the game and one player in particular. I saw Sessions and thought he looked like a pro, and NBA talent.

Wow, 56th pick, and 11-year career. Sweet.
https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_2007.html

Looks like Sessions is a top 11-15 player from the 2007 draft, after having been the 56th pick.

Another player who I liked, (only to be told here that I was wrong and he wasn't an NBA player), is AARON WIGGINS. He was drafted 55th and is an NBA Champion. Aaron will definitely play at least 8-12 years.

[AFM]

This popped up on my youtube feed

Watch on YouTube

dudes a bucket getter

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

This popped up on my youtube feed

Watch on YouTube

dudes a bucket getter

On draft night, i expressed my opinions that (1)The Wizards finally drafted an All-Star, and (2)As good as Tre Johnson will be, I think Will Riley has even higher potential. I mentioned he's built l like Tayshaun Prince and George Gervin. Reggie Miller comes to mind as well.

Canada is putting out some great basketball players. The Wizards got a good one in Will Riley.

[doclinkin]

From the Daily Illini.

Washington has one of the most inexperienced rosters in the NBA, but the pieces that they have are all talented. In Riley’s own rookie class, he is joined by No. 6 overall pick Tre Johnson, a fellow 19-year-old collegiate star and the 2025 SEC Freshman of the Year. Add in 2024 No. 1 overall pick Alex Sarr, No. 14 pick Bub Carrington, No. 24 pick Kyshawn George and 2023 No. 7 overall pick Bilal Coulibaly, and the Wizards have a very promising young core.

Riley is excited for the opportunity to build from the ground up and develop with a large contingent of the roster that is relatively new to the league, just like him.

“I feel like it’s the perfect fit, just being able to grow with a bunch of guys who are around the same age as me,” Riley said. “Just being able to learn together and just being able to hold each other accountable is a great feeling.”

The first opportunity for Riley to get together with his young teammates was at the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas last month. Riley only played in two of the team’s five games; he was held out of the final three games with an injured thumb.

Riley’s pro debut was with a five-point outing on 2-6 shooting, and he also chipped in three rebounds and three assists. Surrounded by all of Washington’s other young talent, he was not going to have the ball in his hands all the time. However, Riley still played at a solid level and his next and final game of Summer League was more efficient offensively. Riley dropped 16 points, going an almost perfect 5-6 from the field, and dished out three assists again.

With only two Summer League games under his belt, it is unfair to make any conclusions about how Riley’s game is transitioning to the NBA. Even so, Riley himself feels confident that the tools that led to his success at the college level, especially the last couple of months of the season, are already starting to translate to the pros.

“I think my ability to make reads, I feel like I translate (that) at any level,” Riley said. “So I feel like that’ll never change. And just being able to make reads and my IQ, I feel like translates very well.”

Riley has been touted as one of the most skilled players in his draft class, and he has shown that he has all of the offensive tools to be a successful pro. The questions for him have always come with his strength, and with that, his defensive capabilities. Riley recognizes that, and while he put on a lot of weight while at Illinois, he is continuing to prioritize his body ahead of his rookie season.

“I’ve just been super focused on the weight room, gaining weight, that type of stuff,” Riley said. “That’s been my biggest goal so far.”

Outside of his continued physical development, the 2025 Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year is also looking forward to learning from the Wizards’ proven players. Even though Washington has such a young roster, they have two very successful, experienced veterans who will provide valuable mentorship for Riley this season. NBA Champion and three-time All-Star Khris Middleton, along with 12-year veteran and career 21.1 point per game scorer CJ McCollum, were both added to the roster via recent trades.

“They just have so much experience on me, so just picking their brain when it comes to little things like defensive schemes, offensive schemes, different things like how to carry yourself and stuff like that, I just feel like it’d be important to learn,” Riley said.

That plus the detail that the Wiz first game starts at the same arena that Riley played his last college game. Neat for him.