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Grant Riller couldn’t miss.

The Dallas Mavericks’ G-League affiliate, Texas Legends, led the Iowa Wolves with just over a minute to play on Feb. 9. Then, Riller put the game away.

Riller evaded D.J. Carton’s pressure and shook Jordy Tshimanga. Entering the paint, two more defenders tried stopping Riller, but the point guard performed a nifty move to get off a left-handed layup. The acrobatic attempt rattled home his career-high 46th point of the night.

On Monday, Riller will play in The Basketball Tournament (TBT) with Boeheim’s Army to compete for a $1 million prize. The team mostly consists of Syracuse alumni who last won the competition in 2021. General manager Shaun Belbey reached out to Riller and the decision to join was a “no-brainer.” He desperately wanted an opportunity to showcase his skills on a prestigious team.

“You kind of have to sit back sometimes, especially as a guy that’s in my shoes, you kind of have to wait for an opportunity and then do the most of it,” Riller said.

These teams know a thing or two about winning😎

A photo posted by the.tournament

Riller always lives in the moment. In high school, 247Sports graded Riller a zero-star recruit, but by his senior year, he had accumulated over a dozen low and mid-major Division-I offers. While recruiting Riller’s AAU teammate Kerry Blackshear, Clemson assistant Earl Grant couldn’t take his eyes off of Riller.

Grant mentioned Riller’s name to Clemson head coach Brad Brownell but Brownell never considered recruiting Riller. On a separate occasion, Grant and Riller coincidentally met outside an AAU tournament in Kansas City. Grant explained that Clemson wasn’t in need of guards at the time but he still saw Riller as “a special player.” Grant told Riller that he was “going to be great for somebody.”

A month and a half later, Grant became the head coach at the College of Charleston and called Riller the next day. After his official visit with the Cougars, Riller committed on the spot.

In 2015, Riller dominated Charleston’s summer and fall workouts. In a preseason tune-up scrimmage against Clemson, Riller dominated offensively.

“It’s a tie game with a minute to go and (Riller) has like 35 points,” Grant said. “And so Brad (Brownell) is looking at me like, ‘Who the hell is this guy?’ I’m like, ‘Coach, I talked about him every time… I don’t know… we wanted Kerry Blackshear.’”

10 seconds later, Riller tore his ACL, forcing him to miss his entire freshman season.

It was a devastating setback for Riller, but he made the most of his recovery and labeled the injury a “blessing in disguise.” A week and a half earlier, Riller’s teammate Joe Chealey – who hosted his official visit and grew up playing against Riller in Orlando – tore his Achilles.

“A lot of times in those rehab processes you feel alone,” Chealey said. “You don’t want anybody else to go through it because you know how tough it is. But, to see someone else going through it in real time was extremely motivating.”

During his rehab, Riller soaked in the college game from the sidelines, learning from Chealey. Riller also bulked up his skinny frame. Despite the grueling injury, Riller ended up being a four-year starter for the Cougars from 2016-2020.

Riller made the Coastal Atlantic Conference First Team three consecutive times (2018, 2019 and 2020). He became the second-highest scorer in program history (2,474 points) and in 2018 helped lead the team to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 19 years. Upon graduating, Riller entered the 2020 NBA Draft.

COVID-19 created uncertainty for Riller’s professional aspirations but Scott Nichols, Riller’s agent, moved him to Los Angeles with another one of his clients – former Penn State basketball star Lamar Stevens.

For four months, Riller and Stevens lived and trained together in pursuit of making it to the NBA. On Nov. 18, Riller became the fourth player in program history to be selected in the NBA Draft when the Charlotte Hornets picked Riller 56th overall.

Riller has only played in seven NBA games, all of which came at the end of his rookie season. Riller hurt his knee during training camp his rookie season and was sent to the G-League after recovering. Due to the pandemic, Riller played in a 15-game season inside the G-League bubble.

The following season, while playing in the 2021 NBA Summer League, Riller suffered a torn shoulder labrum. Despite knowing about his injury, the Philadelphia 76ers signed Riller to a two-way contract, helping him rehab, hoping he would be healthy for training camp.

Riller’s shoulder didn’t progress as expected, forcing him to undergo surgery and miss the entirety of his second professional season.

After a year off of the basketball court, Riller returned for the 2022-2023 season healthy. He spent the entire season in the G-League with the Texas Legends. Though he averaged 21.3 points per game while shooting 52.3% from the field, Riller never received an NBA call-up.

As a free agent this summer, he now has a chance to create new opportunities and garner extra looks for himself by playing for Boeheim’s Army.

Cuse Nation! Please welcome Grant Riller as a Grad Transfer to Boeheim’s Army

Grant played at the College of Charleston from 16-20’He was 3x 1st Team All-CAA. Grant was selected as the 56th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft by the Hornets.

WELCOME GRANT 🍊🍊🧡💙 pic.twitter.com/Jb5CZISknS

— Boeheim’s Army (@BoeheimsArmy) July 18, 2023

With guards Matt Morgan and Tyus Battle out for Monday’s game, and potentially longer as reported by syracuse.com, a significant amount of backcourt minutes have opened up. Riller will have a chance to remind teams of his talent by becoming a pivotal contributor during TBT.

“It’s another opportunity to showcase myself and show what I can do versus other good players,” Riller said. “You never know who’s watching, so you want to put your best foot forward.”

Published on July 24, 2023 at 1:57 am

Contact Justin: justingirshon@gmail.com | @JustinGirshon