NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of Kansas of last decade

By Joey Loose | Aug 16, 2022

Mar 26, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Kansas Jayhawks forward Perry Ellis (34) reacts with forward Landen Lucas (33) and Sviatoslav Mykhailiuk against the Villanova Wildcats during the first half of the south regional final of the NCAA Tournament at KFC YUM!. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /

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NCAA Basketball UCLA Bruins forward Cody Riley Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports /

10. Cody Riley – UCLA

A 6’9 forward from Kansas City (yes, the one on the Kansas side), Riley was a top 50 recruit from the 2017 class who chose to take his talents west to UCLA. Before his career got started, he was one of the players arrested for shoplifting in China, though his involvement certainly made fewer waves than LiAngelo Ball. The following season he started playing basketball for the Bruins and developed into a very solid forward under coach Mick Cronin.

As an underclassman, he had a few decent outings but clearly wasn’t the first scoring option, even in the frontcourt. As a junior, he averaged 10.0 points per game, including a career-high 22 points in a win over Arizona State. That same year, he started all of UCLA’s six NCAA Tournament games, including 14 points in their Final Four loss to Gonzaga. He started most of his games across four years with the Bruins, including some decent numbers this most recent season.

Even though he was a talented power forward who contributed to that deep Tournament team, it’s no surprise that on a squad with Johnny Juzang, Jaime Jaquez, and others that Riley is a bit underappreciated. He was an important cog for the Bruins for four seasons, racking up decent rebounding and block numbers, especially during that important junior year.

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