Last week, the Eastern Michigan University basketball team added three players to its roster. Transfer students DeShonte Riley, Glenn Bryant and Austin Harper will all join the Eagles this season.
Both Riley and Bryant will sit out the 2011-12 season as transfers and will have two years of eligibility when they return with the Eagles in the 2012-13 season. Meanwhile, Harper, who is coming from Glen Oaks Community College and sat out his first season as a red shirt freshman, will be able to play this coming season and has three years of eligibility.
Riley comes to EMU from Syracuse University where he played under newly hired Eagles head Coach Rob Murphy. The 7-footer played 17 games with the Orange as a true freshman and filled the spot of starting center Arinze Onauke in the NCAA Tournament. He posted an average of 1.4 points and 1.5 rebounds per game during the season.
Riley sat out the 2010-11 season after being granted a medical hardship for a broken foot.
While a high school player, Riley earned All-State honors as a senior on head Coach Kurt Keener’s Country Day squad. Riley participated in the 2009 Adidas Kentucky Derby Classic and was named 15th team All-American by Hoop Scoop. He was ranked ninth among the centers in the Class of 2009 by Scout.com and was rated the 17th center and 123 overall in the Class of 2009 by Rivals.com. He was the captain of the team that finished 28-2. Country Day won four games in the state tournament before falling to Flint Powers Catholic in the quarterfinals.
When Riley was a junior, Country Day was 25-5 overall, falling to Flint Powers Catholic in the state quarterfinals. During his sophomore year, Riley helped lead Country Day to the last B state championship on the way to a 25-7 record. He was named to the MHSAA state playoff All-Tournament Team that season.
From the University of Arkansas comes Bryant, who is a native of Detroit and started his high school career at Macomb Dakota before playing his final two years for Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia.
While at Oak Hill, Bryant helped lead the team to a 40-1 record and the No. 1 ranking in the country as a senior in 2008-09. Rivals.com ranked him as the 36th best power forward and the No. 140 overall prospect in the nation as a senior. ESPN had him ranked No. 34 in the power forward category that same year.
Bryant averaged 11.3 points with more than 200 blocked shots as a senior.
During his junior season at Oak Hill, Bryant averaged 12.5 points on a team that finished 34-4.
As a sophomore at Macomb Dakota H.S., Bryant averaged 14.0 points, 9.0 rebounds and 6.0 blocked shots.
Bryant played two seasons at Arkansas and finished his career with a 3.4 scoring average and a 2.7 rebound mark while playing in 61 games.
The newest edition to the Eagles’ roster is Harper, the 6-foot-2 guard from Glen Oaks Community College.
Harper led the junior-college ranks in assists with 9.9 per game to help lead Glen Oaks to an 18-11 record in 2010-11. He averaged 15.4 points — second-best on the team — and connected on 29-of-67 three-point attempts for 43 percent. He shot 76 percent from the line, making 57-of-75 shots, and made 173-of-311 field goals for 56 percent.
As a senior in 2008-09, Harper was a first-team Class A All-State selection by the Detroit Free Press, was named to the Basketball Coaches’ Association of Michigan All-State team, was selected as a Bankhoops.com Class A second-team choice and was an honorable mention All-State pick by The Detroit News. In addition, he was a McDonald’s All-American candidate.
He completed his senior season at Grand Haven as the leading scorer in the West Michigan All-Star Game and also played in the BCAM Class A/B All-Star Game. He averaged 16.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.0 steals during his senior season on a team that finished with a 17-8 record and a district championship.
