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In
an era when coaching changes are commonplace
across all sports, Adrian College men's
basketball coach Buck Riley has been a staple
of longevity.
This season marks the "silver anniversary"
as Riley begins his 25th season as head
coach of the Bulldogs. He is the longest
serving men's basketball coach in school
history, nearly doubling the tenures of
former Adrian coaches Gregg Arbaugh (1957-71)
and Dale Sprankle (1923-36).
Since 2000, the Bulldogs have emerged as
a contender in the always-tough Michigan
Intercollegiate Athletic Association. Under
Riley, the Bulldogs have made two appearances
in the MIAA Tournament Finals (2001, 2005)
and have defeated several nationally ranked
teams in the last six seasons.
In 2001, Adrian made a surprise run to the
MIAA Finals. Entering as the sixth seed,
the Bulldogs scored playoff victories over
perennial league powers Albion and Hope,
both in overtime, to reach the championship
game.
One of the most successful campaigns in
Riley's tenure came in 2003-04. That season,
the Bulldogs won 16 games on their way to
another trip to the MIAA Finals. During
the regular season, Adrian defeated cross-town
rival Siena Heights (ranked No. 2 in the
NAIA national polls at the time), defending
MIAA-champion Hope and eventual league champion
Calvin. In the '04 playoffs, the Bulldogs
met up with Hope again in the semifinals
where Adrian dismissed the top-seeded Flying
Dutchmen at the Holland Civic Center. The
Bulldogs advanced to face Calvin in the
MIAA Finals, while Hope (21-5 that year)
didn't receive a berth to the NCAA national
tournament.
Riley has coached 17 First Team All-MIAA
players and six conference scoring champions
in his career. Fourteen Adrian players scored
1,000 points during Riley's tenure, including
Dan Walter (1999-03), Steve Brooks (1999-03)
and Brian Schaefer (2000-05). The trio is
ranked second, third and fourth respectively
on the school's career points list.
Riley has a wealth of basketball experience,
including a coaching stint with the Sudanese
national team while on a government sponsored
goodwill trip to Sudan, Africa. In 1988,
he was a guest speaker for the NCAA Midwest
Regional Youth Education and Sports (YES)
clinic at the Pontiac Silverdome. Riley
has conducted basketball camps in southern
Ireland and visited numerous summer camps
across the U.S. as a guest speaker.
He is a three-time member of the NCAA Division
III basketball ranking committee and is
a NCAA national tournament representative.
Before coming to Adrian College, Riley was
the head basketball coach at St. Edward
High School in Lakewood, Ohio, where he
was the a physical education instructor
and business teacher (1979-82). Riley's
coaching career also includes stints at
Summit Station (1968-69), Kenton (1972-76)
and Amherst Steele (1976-79) High Schools
in Ohio. Riley amassed a 195-80 record during
his prep coaching career.
Originally from Upper Sandusky, Ohio, Riley
earned a Bachelor of Science degree in teacher
education from Southwest Oklahoma State
University in 1967.
He and his wife Jan have three children
- Scott, Michael and Kelley - and five grandchildren.
Scott played college basketball at the University
of Toledo and is currently the head boy's
basketball coach at Toledo (Ohio) Anthony
Wayne High School. Michael was a guard for
the Bulldogs (1998-00), finishing with 1,007
career points. Kelley was recently married
and is currently living in New Jersey. |
