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 YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) — Eastern Michigan University Head Men's Basketball Coach Rob Murphy has announced that Da'Shonte Riley (Detroit, Mich.-Country Day-Syracuse Univ.) has received an NCAA eligibility waiver that will make him eligible to play for the Eagles immediately. His first appearance in an EMU uniform will be tonight, Dec. 20, at Radford University.
"We are thankful to the NCAA for granting Da'Shonte the waiver for him to become eligible for competition right away," first-year coach Murphy said. "Da'Shonte transferred to EMU so he could be closer to his family in a difficult situation. I'm happy that he is able to give his family the support they need."
"Syracuse has a great program with a lot of tradition and was a very good environment, but I needed to be closer to my family," Riley said of his transfer back to the Detroit area. "Obviously, Coach Murphy recruited me at Syracuse and we already had a great connection so that is why I chose to come to Eastern Michigan. The opportunity to be near my family is the most important. I'm thankful the NCAA granted my waiver to play this season."
The 7-foot Riley, a graduate of Detroit Country Day , was a member of the Syracuse men's basketball program the past two years. He played in 17 games as a true freshman in 2009-10 and saw extensive playing time in the NCAA Tournament while filling in for starting center Arinze Onauku. He finished the year with a 1.4 scoring average and a 1.5 rebound mark. Riley was awarded a medical hardship in 2010-11 after breaking his 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.
As 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 lass B state championship on the way to a 25-7 record. He was named to the MHSAA state playoff All-Tournament Team that season.
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