DeForrest Riley

01/08/04: Riley announces he will be attending XU.

01/05/04: "Former Winton Woods and Queen City Prophet superstar Deforest Riley-Smith has decided to leave Penn State and look for another collegiate home. Riley-Smith was seen at the Xavier-Alabama game and is said to be seriously considering the Musketeers. Other schools rumored to be in consideration are Kentucky, Louisville, Tennessee, Cincinnati, and Notre Dame. After speaking with Riley-Smith and his dad Dennis, it appears that Riley-Smith is interested in staying in the vicinity of his Cincinnati home and is looking for a big time basketball environment. In an Associated press article, Riley-Smith is quoted as saying the “environment” was disappointing at Penn State." - OhioPrepScene.com


Riley's stats from last year included 21 starts for Penn State and a 40% shooting percentage from the three point line and 90% shotting fro mthe FT line. He totalled 55 assists and 49 turnovers in 28 appearances. - Mike Ryan


01/03/04: Riley has announced his plan to transfer from Penn State to another school.


2001 and previous notes - - -
12/14/01: "It wasn't that he didn't like living in little Marion, La., but the town had only 800 residents, was tucked up by the Arkansas border and wasn't likely to provide a lot of competition or recognition from college recruiters. So DeForrest Riley packed up after his sophomore year, kissed his mother and sister good-bye and moved to Cincinnati, Ohio where his remarried father lived. And last year the 6-foot-5, 190-pounder led Winton Woods to a 20-0 regular
season and despite averaging a relatively modest 14.0 points a game, signed this fall with Penn State, rebuffing interest from dozens of schools including Ohio State, Xavier, Tulane and Stanford. Consider it the perfect move for a kid who's used to making plenty of them
on the court. "The toughest part was leaving my mom and my little brother," Riley told the Cincinnati Post. ''I guess I am kind of a momma's boy like that." He's also the kind of boy a momma would be proud to have. Riley is a strong student and a polite, focused young man. On the court he does a little bit of everything well. He can handle the ball, makes good passes and reads defenses well. He is also quick off the dribble, capable of gaining the lane and scoring or dishing from there. Leave him alone of the perimeter and he will knock down shots. He prides himself on his defense. "DeForrest is the reason we're as good as were are this season," Winton Woods coach David Lumpkin told the Post. "The success that we had comes from
tremendous balance on the perimeter." The other part of that balance is Robert Hite, Winton Woods other D-I guard who is signed with Miami-FL. "DeForrest's ability to shoot from the perimeter didn't allow opposing teams to play gimmick defenses against Robert," said Lumpkin. Said Hite: "It has been good for him because he likes to pass the ball. He can also score and it just gets the ball in his hands more often." Riley and Hite have meshed perfectly, with little ego problems if only because one of the reasons Riley came to Cincinnati was to play alongside better players and avoid being the sole focus of opponents. It's worked. "He's one of the reasons, along with Hite why Winton Woods is going to contend for the state title," said Dave Telep of BlueChipHoops.com. "He's versatile and could wind up playing a little at both guard positions in college. He's also a terrific student-athlete." And one that seems to know when to make all the right moves ... with the ball and without." - CBS Sportsline

09/27/01: "One of the standout perimeter players at Cincinnati (OH) Winton Woods, DeForrest Riley, joined the ranks of the committed this week. Riley opted to commit to Jerry Dunn’s Nittany Lions program. “I really liked them to begin with and when I went to see the campus I got to look at the rest of the team and I think it’s a good opportunity to play in a nice conference,” Riley said. Last year, Riley averaged 14 points a night for Winton Woods. He played this summer at Nike Camp and also on the AAU circuit with Ozie Davis and the Queen City Prophets. He selected PSU over Miami-OH, Tulane and Stanford. He recently completed his application to the Cardinal, but picked Penn State before he even found out about admittance. “It feels like a burden has been lifted off me.” At Penn State, he’ll play some combo guard but mostly run at the two-guard slot. Penn State has PG Brandon Cameron and big man Rob Summers already in their current recruiting class. For Riley, all that is left is a state championship. “We should have [won it last year] but we didn’t. We’ll be the team to beat in some people’s mind and so will Columbus Brookhaven.” - Blue Chip Hoops

09/24/01: "Deforest committed to Jerry Dunn and Penn State Sunday morning. I spoke with his father and he said Deforest was very excited." - Ozie Davis

09/24/01: "Deforrest Riley, the 6'5 smooth shooting Wing Guard out of Cincinnati committed to the Penn State Nitney Lions this weekend while on his visit there. Riley, who is one of the top offensive players in the Midwest is very effective off the dribble or on deep pull up jumpers. He is rated by John Stovall & Prep Spotlight Magazine as one of the top 10 Wing Guards in the Midwest (#8) and is one of the players I feel has a great upside. Riley is a standout at Cincinnati Winton Woods HS and is rated by Stovall as the #3 Senior in Ohio. He is a great pick up for the Penn State staff." - PrepSpotlight

09/06/01: "Riley will visit Penn State, Stanford, Miami/Ohio, Yale and Tulane." - Mike Duncan, Ohio Preps

08/29/01: "He's looking at Miami, Penn State, Stanford, Yale, and Tulane. Miami is as good a choice as any. Stanford is too far. Penn State is another good choice, although if he were going to play in the Big Ten he should have jumped the OState offer before they got Hart. Tulane is only an option IF he decides to go back to Louisiana..." - Ozie Davis, Ohio Preps

8/27: "says that he’s currently looking at four programs. Riley is looking at Penn State, Xavier, Yale and Stanford. He has an official visit set up with Penn State for Sept. 21." - Blue Chip Hoops

7/10: "Ohio State and Purdue were among the schools who sent head coaches to watch SG DeForrest Riley on Monday." - Blue Chip Hoops

7/6: "He says that Ohio State, Xavier, Yale, Princeton and Tulane are some of his top schools. However, he claims that the five schools he mentioned are completely random and he’s open to exploring possibilities." - BlueChip Hoops (3 to 2)

6/11: "Last week, we wrote on the recruiting tussle taking shape for Cincinnati (OH) Winton Woods guard DeForrest Riley. However, we apparently left out a few key players. According to Queen City Prophets AAU coach Ozie Davis, two Ivy League schools have emerged as serious candidates. Apparently, Riley is strongly considering Yale and Princeton." - BlueChip Hoops

6/8/01: "Winton Woods lost in the sectional championship last year, but that’s not likely to happen next season as its two best players, Robert Hite and DeForrest Riley, will be seniors. Each is receiving plenty of recruiting attention heading into July. Winton Woods head coach David Lumpkin has himself a pretty good basketball team this year. Guards Robert Hite and DeForrest Riley are going to play college ball at a very high level. So far, each has received significant recruiting interest and some pretty good offers are on the table. Hite, a 6-2 combo guard, averaged 18 points per game last season. “He’s just very explosive and athletic,” Lumpkin said. “He shoots the three, a little streaky but he can score points in bunches. Robert gives you a lot of that aggressiveness that coaches look for.” Thus far, Xavier, CINCINNATI, Ohio State and Purdue have offered, according to Lumpkin. Clemson and Notre Dame are also showing interest and Lumpkin thinks the list will only grow after the summer. Riley, another combo guard, is the newcomer to Winton Woods. He transferred in last year from Monroe, La. Riley turned in a successful season in Cincinnati as he was also named all-conference and all-city after averaging 14 points and six assists. Tulane, Miami-OH and Xavier have offered Riley. Seton Hall, Marquette and Ohio State are inquiring about him and he’s on the watch list of those teams. Both Riley and Hite play with the Queen City Prophets and will attend either adidas or Nike Camp in July. “I think Louisville has shown a serious interest in both,” Lumpkin said. “Most of the schools that are recruiting them both are going to more or less look for whoever commits first. Both kids are very unselfish.” - BlueChip Hoops

5/2: named to the All Tournament Team (20 total players) at Jerry Watson's All-Ohio Great Eight Tourney. - MidWest Hoops

3/2: "The Akron-bound (Darryl) Peterson turned in a stellar defensive effort, limiting Winton Woods forward DeForrest Riley to two field goals and 10 points." Riley was 2-10 from the field and 5-6 from the line in the game that ended Winton's undefeated season.

2/20: "Riley and Hite have no match talent wise in the state. This team is young also. Best Player: 6'2 Jr. Robert Hite. Key Players: 6'5 Sr. Paul Mills and 6'4 Sr. DeForrest Riley" - MidWest Hoops

2/20: "his dad is about 6'6 and big boned, I am unsure about his mom or his grandparents. I think he might get to 6'5 or 6'6. He is athletic but in a much different way then Hite. Deforest is not as explosive off the floor, but will dunk on you if forced to. His ability to see the floor is another athletic trait that he has. As to Ohio State "getting" him, I dont know. His list is getting longer with Tulane, LSU, UC, Purdue, and others beckoning his call. There is also some discussion that he might attend an Ivy league school." - Ozie Davis, Ohio Preps

2/2/01: "There are several D1's that are recruiting him, but the question is will he stay around here or go back to Louisiana. If he goes back to Louisiana both Tulane and LSU are in the hunt. If he stays North, count Cincinnati, Ohio State, Miami, and others as being in the picture." - Ozie Davis, Ohio Preps

1/27: "Junior guard DeForrest Riley scored a career-high 31 points, leading undefeated and No.2-ranked Winton Woods to a 71-56 victory over Amelia in FAVC Buckeye Division action Friday at Winton Woods.
With Winton trailing by four points early in the second quarter, Riley scored 13 points to push the Warriors into a 34-27 halftime lead." - Enquirer

1/19:
http://enquirer.com/editions/2001/01/19/spt_no_1_winton_woods.html

"After losing 11 seniors and returning only two starters (Robert Hite and P.J. Mills), Lumpkin wasn't sure how good his team could be until DeForrest Riley, a 6-foot-5, 190-pound junior transfer from Monroe, La., enrolled in October. “When DeForrest arrived, I knew we would be good, real good,” Lumpkin said. “The JV team went 19-1 last year and we had a lot of good players coming up.” During the past four summers, Riley lived in Forest Park with his father and played on a Cincinnati AAU team with Hite, the Warriors' leading scorer with an 18-point average.
“DeForrest went back to Louisiana and played a few games,” Lumpkin said. “But, after talking it over with the coach, they decided it would be better in Cincinnati because he wasn't being challenged.” Riley has compiled a 4.0 grade-point average while averaging 12 points and six assists. “I heard about DeForrest but had never seen him play,” Lumpkin said. “He's very unselfish and the complete package. Every night, I receive compliments about him. Until Friday, he hadn't taken a bad shot.” Riley and Hite are two of four starters averaging in double figures."
(Teammate Robert) Hite and Riley haven't gone unnoticed by college recruiters. Together, they have made unofficial visits to Purdue, Ohio State, Xavier and UC. - Enquirer

12/1/00: (Winton Woods is picked the preseason as the 6th best team in the city) "Most coaches weren't aware when voting that DeForrest Riley, a 6-5, 190-pound guard from Louisiana, had transfered to Winton. Riley, who averaged 22 points and 10 assists, will join highly touted junior Robert Hite (15.9 points), P.J. Mills (15 points, 7 rebounds) and Byron Fields. If Riley plays up to expectations, look for Winton Woods to make a run at No 1." - Enquirer