Former EWU director of basketball operations David Riley, was hired as an assistant coach for the men’s basketball team.

Riley is excited on being part of the coaching staff and being able to take on a bigger role.

“Being able to help out and do everything that I’ve been able to do the last two years has been great,” Riley said. “Now, just being able to be a part of what we’re doing here as a coach and being on the floor is really what I’m excited about.”

Riley has aspired to have a teaching position in basketball for a long time. “I knew I wanted to be a coach pretty much since high school,” Riley said. “My uncle’s the head football coach at Oregon State, my grandpa was a football coach in the [Canadian Football League].”

“So I really got to see what it’s like from their perspective,” Riley said. “It just seemed like a really great career path.”

In his college basketball career, he earned All-Northwest Conference honors for four years from the 2007-2008 season through 2010 to 2011. Riley also helped his team win three Northwest Conference titles.

He averaged 11.9 points while shooting 43.1 percent at the 3-point line as a freshman at Whitworth University. During his sophomore year, Riley averaged 16.4 points along with 46.7 percent 3-point shooting. He averaged 13.4 points while shooting 40.9 percent behind the 3-point line as a junior. During his senior year, Riley improved his offensive numbers by averaging 16.5 points per game at 41.6 percent 3-point shooting.

He was honored with first team All-Northwest Conference in his last three seasons. Riley finished his college basketball career with 1,664 points averaging 14.6 points per game overall. He also finished with shooting 43.1 percent behind the 3-point line.

Eastern men’s head basketball coach Jim Hayford thinks Riley has a lot to bring to the table. “[Riley] has prepared himself to be a college coach,” Hayford said. “He studied coaches and was a part of our coaching staff last year in an administrative role.”

“What he brings is a good understanding of how we want to play the game,” Hayford said.

He views Riley as very bright and an excellent addition to the coaching staff. “He is really good with analytics, with statistics and using technology in coaching.”

According to Hayford, around 100 people applied for this position.

Riley graduated from Whitworth in 2011 with a bachelor’s degree in mathematical economics and a minor in math. He also received his master’s degree in physical education from Eastern in 2013. Riley worked as the video and analytics coordinator for the EWU men’s basketball team. He also helped with student-athlete academics and summer camps.

Assistant coach Alex Pribble said that Riley does not need to gain any familiarity with the team. “That’s the great thing about hiring [Riley] as a coach,” Pribble said. “He’s already very comfortable with all the players, with our system. He ran coach Hayford’s system as a player and now he has the ability to coach it, so the transition’s going to be extremely smooth.”

Riley played for Hayford at Whitworth University during the Pirates’ 2007-2011 seasons. While Riley and Hayford were at Whitworth, the Pirates went 98-18 overall.

Hayford said the fact that a former player is on his staff is a positive. “I really like it,” he said. “[Riley] maybe can help players understand something that I’m trying to communicate, but struggling with, that he understood having been on the receiving end of that coaching and I think that will help the guys a lot.”

Pribble said how Riley will fit in with the rest of the players and the coaching staff. “He’s likable,” Pribble said. “He’s got a great personality, he’s fun to be around, and I know he’s going to make my job more fun just because I’m going to be able to share so much time with him.”