[Portrait]: Mykal Riley one of the most French of the American Jeep Elite

Among the Americans being in the 18 teams of Jeep Elite, one of them is literally the most French of all I'm obviously talking about Mykal Riley and it's his story that I'll tell you.

Born on July 14, 1985 in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, the U.S. forward trained with the Alabama Crimson Tide between 2006 and 2008 with a certain Richard Hendrix who plays at Le Mans this year (Riley's club last year for anecdote). His team is involved in the Southeastern Conference which is a fairly high plateau with teams like LSU among others; Kentucky or even Florida etc....

During this period he saved lives thanks to a shot at the buzzer to send the game to overtime, the rest is he who tells it (proposal transcribed by the chain of Hoopsidia "Mykal Riley saved lives with a buzzer": "There was a conference tournament , I put a 3 points to send the game into overtime. It turned, hit the board and it came back."

Author of a good college season based on 14.9 points and 5.2 rebounds he was elected in the best 5 of his conference and thus entered the draft. Unfortunately for him he is undrafted but still manages to participate in the Summer League with the Golden State Warriors without a contract at the end of the summer.

Alabama Buzzer Beater vs Miss State

Alabama hits a 3 at the buzzer to tie Mississippi State and go into OT before a tornado hits the Georgia Dome. However, MSU wins.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ9SNN1sCt0

Exploring Europe:

He flew to Europe and Italy where he joined Ferrara, which was playing in the Italian 1st division at the time. On the spot he will be reunited with the future limougeaud Ndudi Ebi. He played his first professional game on October 12, 2008 against Tremano which ended in defeat. He compiles: 3 points (1/7 to shoots including 1/6 to 3 points); 2 rebounds and 0 assists in 26 minutes. He holds his benchmark match after 7 days and compiles 16 points (at 6/11 are 2/6 to 3 points); 1 rebound and 1 assist before returning a 19-point, 4-rebound copy to Brandon Jennings' Rome; Allan Ray and Luigi Datome.

Despite all this he left the club at the beginning of January but remained in Italy and joined the ranks of Imola (who is in the 2nd division) and is clearin the eyes of the general public and achieves an excellent second part of the season: 16.5 points; 6.2 rebounds and 2 assists. For his first match with Imola he compiled: 12 points; 3 rebounds and 4 assists in 31 minutes against Scafati. Performances that do not leave the different coaches in Europe indifferent.

Photo : https://www.court-side.com

Arrival in France in Nanterre

In the summer of 2009, he arrived in France in Nanterre which plays in Pro B and for his first season he seems to acclimatize perfectly to the French game by achieving a first year of high volley: 12.8 points; 5 rebounds and 2.7 assists average for 14.3 rating. His first burst came in the second day against Portel where he scored 27 points (at 9/12); 3 rebounds and 2 assists but mostly ... 7 steals. Although the club of the "Hauts de Seine" is not going up in the Pro A the U.S. winger agrees to stay in the Paris region and well he will take i want to tell you. Indeed the Arkansas native will be on this 2010-2011 campaign simply the top scorer; the best rebounder and obviously the best ... and managed to elevate his statistics which were already good the previous season. During this exercise "Mr. Unstoppable" as he is nicknamed will simply be one of the spearheads of this team in Nanterrian: 14 points (up 1.2 from the previous season); 6.1 rebounds (up 1.1 from 2009- 2010) and 3 assists (up 0.3) for 17.7 rating (up 3.4) all with a similar playing time compared to the previous year.

The rise in Pro A:

A major architect of the French club's rise to Pro A, Riley logically extended his contract with Nanterre and thus discovered the Pro A and carried out a third consecutive year under the green and white jersey. For his discovery of the elite he seems to be perfectly acclimatized to the division as well as to his requirements which are quite different from those he knew in Pro B and thus turns to 11.4 points; 4.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists for 12.8 rating. Alas for his discovery of the elite Pascal Donnadieu's team will not know the play off but the other formations are warned that the promoted can play the troubles parties and 1st roles.

Mykal Riley crucifie Orléans au buzzer - Dijon Orleans - 12eme Journée PRO A 2013 2014

Mykal Riley crucifie Orléans au buzzer - Dijon Orleans - 12eme Journée PRO A 2013 2014

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL0L8Cw_drg

Author of a good season he seems to be in great demand and responds favorably to the offer of Dijon coached then by Jean Louis Borg (now GM of the Burgundy club) who offers him a contract for 2 years. Alas a penalty (I will not mention it in this article out of respect for the player) comes to stop him and is therefore sanctioning and the club to end its collaboration with the U.S. forward. He went into exile for a year in Venezuela where he wore the tunic of the Bucaneros de la Guaira and had a good season based on 16 points; 6.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists.

Once his suspension has been served he is back in France in Dijon for the 2013-2014 financial year and once again will be decisive in the good ranking of his team: 6th with a record of 18 wins for 12 losses (while being unbeaten at home please) including a  shoot at the buzzer to knock out Orleans and win on the wire: 73 - 72:

In the 2 games against Le Mans in play off he notably made a copy of 31 points (at 12/20); 8 rebounds and 1 assist for 35 ratings just that and in the second game he repeated with 31 points again but it is 12 rebounds and 2 assists that fill his stats sheet and an overall rating of 37.

Despite all this, the beautiful Burgundy adventure will end in the semi-finals after a 3-2 defeat against CSP Limoges who will be titled this year by beating Strasbourg in the final. Riley will run at 13 evaluation spans out of all 5 games but that will not be enough.

Photo : www.dijon-sportnews.fr/ Anatole Barbier

On June 10, 2014, the Nanterrien club announced the return of Mr Unstoppable to its ranks an asset of experience that will not be the least to go for titles. Forming a back line of fire with his compatriots T.J Campbell and Jamal Shuler. Author of a big start to the season (6 wins in 7 games) the club of 92 can see far in the league as well as in EuroChallenge (5 wins 1 small defeat in the group stage).

Throughout the season, the group lives well and I want to prove the results that speak for themselves. At the halfway point Pascal Donnadieu's players recorded only 3 defeats in the league and 3 during the EuroChallenge. For the first time in its history the club of 92 will participate in the quarter-finals of a European competition and its opponent is the Italian club Brindisi and wins quietly 2 rounds to 0 and rallies the Final 4 to face Frankfurt.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1z2hav

In the final 4, the players of Nanterre showed a huge solidarity and this quality will once again fly against the German club Frankfurt where played a certain Justin Cobbs well known of the French championship (passed by Gravelines and Le Mans). In front for much of the match the Franciliens were frightened when they saw Frankfurt pass in front with 2 minutes to go thanks to 2 free throws by Justin Cobbs but carried by Kyle Weems who scored the Nanterriens again pass in front. Kyle Weems again scored a huge 3-pointer with the foul with 53 seconds left (7/10 in the end) and finally a somewhat haphazard pass from Jamal Shuler miraculously fell into his hands to pass to Jaiteh who found himself alone under the circle and who marq Eu. From the stands we hear "We are in the final; we're in the final" proof of the fervor around the club.

Only black spot of this match: it is that after 6 minutes 30 of play we see that Mykal is injured and limps quite severely ... Verdict: Fatigue fracture and 4 months off for the Pine Bluff native. His season ended a big blow for the winger who had ideally started the game.

 https://www.lequipe.fr/Basket/Actualites/Les-temps-forts-de-la-finale-nanterre-tranbzonspor-63-62-en-video/554274

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtVCCAQWdQI

During the 2015-2016 season, he appears to be in what is perhaps his best season in Pro A: 13.7 points; 5.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists for 16.1 rating. During this impressive campaign he played 5 games at 28 evaluation and 14 at more than 20 which proves a certain regularity in his game. As a result, he and the club decided to unite for another three years from January 2016, a contract that would last until June 2019.

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3p8tf2

Unfortunately, the 2016-2017 season doesn't seem to be going as planned as the Arkansas native sees his stats drop and his performance seems to be a little below expectations placed on him at the time of signing. In 25 minutes his stats dropped to: 7.6 points; 4.7 rebounds and 2.2 assists for 9.6 rating. In FIBA Europe Cup his stats are similar: 8.6 points; 4.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists average, a disappointment for the club but that does not prevent him to win 2 new titles: the FIBA Europe Cup against Chalon on Saône and the French Cup.

2017 - 2018: Relaunch at Le Mans and new title 

On June 26, 2017, in a statement on the club's website Pascal Donnadieu announces the end of the collaboration and the player. Two days later the Sarthois club Le Mans enlists him for the coming season. His coach Eric Bartechecky said of his arrival (related proposals via Bebasket): "Mykal Riley fits the profile of players we were looking for. The goal will be to hold him accountable so that he can return to a performance close to his 2015-2016 season." Author of a good individual start to the season: 11.6 points; 5 rebounds and 3.1 assists for 12.5 rating.

During campaign ingeg with the Mancelle team the American will experience the joy of a new title: French Pro Champion His 1st after 6 years in the national elite but his 5th title (including championship and European Cup).

2018 - 2019: Chalon on Saône 

On July 12, 2019, he joined the Élan Chalon on Saône coached by Jean Denys Choulet. He is called upon to replace his predecessor and compatriot in the post: Lance Harris who has returned to Slovenia and is to hang under his wing with Mickael Gelabale the young Assane Ndoye who developed for a year and a half on the side of Blois in Pro B.

Charts

French Pro B champion in 2011 with JSF Nanterre.

Winner Eurochallenge 2015 with JSF Nanterre.

Winner of the 2017 Coupe de France with Nanterre 92.

Winner of the 2017 FIBA European Cup with Nanterre 92.

French Pro A champion in 2018 with Le Mans.

Personnal distinctions

Participation in the All-Star Game LNB 2014, 2015

January MVP of the 2015 Pro A regular season with Nanterre

All I have to say it’s happy birthday Mister Unstoppable !