Grant Lucas Riller (born February 8, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Beijing Royal Fighters of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the College of Charleston Cougars.

Grant Riller
Riller with College of Charleston in 2019
No. 24 – Beijing Royal Fighters
PositionPoint guard / shooting guard
LeagueCBA
Personal information
Born (1997-02-08) February 8, 1997 (age 27)
Orlando, Florida, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Listed weight190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High schoolOcoee (Ocoee, Florida)
CollegeCollege of Charleston (2016–2020)
NBA draft2020: 2nd round, 56th overall pick
Selected by the Charlotte Hornets
Playing career2020–present
Career history
2020–2021Charlotte Hornets
2020–2021Greensboro Swarm
2021Delaware Blue Coats
2022–2023Texas Legends
2023–presentBeijing Royal Fighters
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com Edit this at Wikidata
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

High school career

edit

Riller played basketball for Ocoee High School in Ocoee, Florida under head coach Rob Gordon. He was called up to the varsity team in ninth grade after initially playing at the junior varsity level.[1] As a senior on December 28, 2014, Riller scored a school-record 53 points in a win over Leesburg High School in the finals of the Ocoee Great 8 tournament.[2] He averaged 29.1 points per game in his senior season.[3] Riller was deemed a two-star recruit by 247Sports and was not rated by ESPN or Rivals. On October 4, 2014, he committed to play college basketball for the College of Charleston over offers from Cleveland State, FIU, and Hofstra.[4]

College career

edit
 
Riller (right) in November 2017

Riller suffered a knee injury prior to his freshman season and was forced to redshirt.[3] He was forced to wear a knee brace despite working all summer to get to full strength. In his collegiate debut, Riller scored 21 points against The Citadel. He averaged 13.1 points per game as a freshman, second-best on the team.[5] Riller scored 20 points and added four steals in a 83–76 overtime victory over Northeastern in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament. He was named 2018 CAA Tournament Most Outstanding player and joined teammate Joe Chealey on the All-CAA First Team. Riller averaged 18.7 points per game as a sophomore.[6] He scored a career-high 43 points in a 99–95 loss to Hofstra. As a junior, Riller averaged 21.9 points and 4.1 assists per game and led the Cougars to a 24–9 record.[7] He was again named first-team All-CAA.[8]

Coming into his senior year, Riller was named CAA preseason player of the year.[7] On December 14, 2019, Riller became the third Cougar in program history to reach the 2,000 career point mark, scoring 21 in a road loss to Richmond.[9] On January 16, 2020, he recorded the first-ever triple-double by a College of Charleston player, with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in a loss to Northeastern.[10] At the conclusion of the regular season, Riller was named to the First Team All-CAA.[11] As a senior, Riller averaged 21.9 points, 3.9 assists, and 5.1 rebounds per game.[12]

Professional career

edit

Charlotte Hornets (2020–2021)

edit

On November 18, 2020, Riller was drafted in the second round, 56th overall, in the 2020 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets. On November 30, 2020, he was signed to a two-way contract by the team. Under the terms of the deal, he split time between the Hornets and their NBA G League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm.[13]

Delaware Blue Coats (2021)

edit

On August 30, 2021, Riller signed a two-way contract with the Philadelphia 76ers.[14] However, he was waived on December 19 after making four appearances for the Delaware Blue Coats, Philadelphia's affiliate.[15]

Texas Legends (2022–present)

edit

On November 3, 2022, Riller was named to the opening night roster of the Texas Legends.[16]

Career statistics

edit
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

edit
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020–21 Charlotte 7 0 3.9 .667 .500 .1 .4 .1 .0 2.6
Career 7 0 3.9 .667 .500 .1 .4 .1 .0 2.6

Play-in

edit
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2021 Charlotte 1 0 4.3 .750 .0 1.0 .0 .0 3.0
Career 1 0 4.3 .750 .0 1.0 .0 .0 3.0

College

edit
Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2015–16 College of Charleston   Redshirt
2016–17 College of Charleston 35 27 27.0 .486 .333 .798 2.1 1.2 .9 .2 13.1
2017–18 College of Charleston 33 32 33.6 .545 .394 .729 2.8 2.0 1.3 .4 18.6
2018–19 College of Charleston 33 33 35.5 .538 .329 .806 3.4 4.1 1.2 .1 21.9
2019–20 College of Charleston 31 31 33.5 .499 .362 .827 5.1 3.9 1.6 .3 21.9
Career 132 123 32.3 .519 .356 .796 3.3 2.8 1.3 .3 18.7

References

edit
  1. ^ Collings, Buddy (November 27, 2014). "Riller hits thriller for Ocoee". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved December 2, 2019 – via PressReader.
  2. ^ Jackson, Emilee (December 29, 2014). "Ocoee's Riller scores 53, leads boys hoops to tourney title". West Orange Times & Observer. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  3. ^ a b Miller, Andrew (November 2, 2015). "College of Charleston's Grant Riller to miss season with knee injury". The Post and Courier. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  4. ^ "Grant Riller". College of Charleston Athletics. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  5. ^ Miller, Andrew (February 3, 2017). "College of Charleston's Grant Riller limping his way to success on basketball court". The Post and Courier. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  6. ^ Ryzewski, Stephen (March 8, 2018). "Ocoee High alum Grant Riller leads College of Charleston to NCAA Tournament berth". West Orange Times & Observer. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  7. ^ a b Miller, Andrew (October 9, 2019). "College of Charleston's Grant Riller is CAA preseason player of year, Cougars 2nd in poll". The Post and Courier. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  8. ^ "Hofstra's Wright-Foreman repeats as CAA men's basketball Player of the Year" (Press release). Colonial Athletic Association. March 8, 2019. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  9. ^ "Riller joins College of Charleston's 2,000-career point club in loss to Richmond". The Post and Courier. December 14, 2019. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  10. ^ Miller, Andrew (January 16, 2020). "Grant Riller's triple-double not enough in College of Charleston loss". The Post and Courier. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  11. ^ "CAA Basketball Announces Men's Basketball Postseason Accolades" (Press release). Colonial Athletic Association. March 6, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2020.
  12. ^ Collings, Buddy (April 3, 2020). "Orlando area college basketball All Stars for 2019-20". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
  13. ^ "Charlotte Hornets Sign Grant Riller and Nate Darling to Two-Way Contracts". NBA.com. November 30, 2020. Retrieved December 14, 2020.
  14. ^ "76ers Sign Grant Riller to Two-Way Contract". NBA.com. August 30, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  15. ^ "76ers Sign Myles Powell to Two-Way Contract". NBA.com. December 19, 2021. Retrieved December 19, 2021.
  16. ^ "Legends Announce 2022-23 Opening Night Roster". oursportscentral.com. November 3, 2022. Retrieved November 3, 2022.
edit