Lakeville South Playmaker Riley West Gets Recruiting Interest

Riley West, a 6-foot-1, senior point guard from Lakeville South, is one of top playmakers in the state. Lakeville Patch caught up with West to learn the latest on his recruitment.

West is averaging 10.9 points per game for the Cougars, who are 21-8 and play Eden Prairie at the Target Center next Wednesday in the Minnesota Class AAAA State Tournament.

The Cougars have had an up-and-down season. They lost two heartbreakers early in the season against state powers, falling to defending Class AAA champion St. Paul Johnson 61-60 at the buzzer and 93-89 to two-time defending Class AAAA champ Hopkins. Lakeville South had won ten straight games before losing to Eastview, who they defeated in the section semifinals last Saturday.

They went on a 6-2 run before losing three straight South Suburban Conference games, which dropped them from a likely No. 1 seed to the fourth seed. 

Lakeville Patch caught up with West to learn the latest on his recruitment and talk about how the season has gone thus far.

What colleges are you starting to hear from right now?

“I just talked to UW Stout, St. John’s, Bethel, Crookston a little bit. There are few others. I’m still deciding between a few schools in the WIAC and MIAC and a couple of D2 schools. I’m still trying to narrow it down a little bit.”

Have you had a chance to visit any campuses or make any visits?

“I visited Stout and River Falls. I visited Bethel a few times and a few other schools.”

When it finally comes to making your college decision, what are going to be the main factors in picking School A over School B? 

“There are a lot of factors, obviously. I‘ve got to have a good game style. I’ve got to be a running team. Location is pretty big, too. If it is closer to home, that’s nice. But, if I get playing time, that is the big thing really.”

How about your team? You had two tough losses early on against two of the best teams in the state, How do you feel the team is playing and how much do those tough losses help you?

“We came out and played the two top teams in the state right away. We lost on a buzzer beater to St. Paul Johnson and only by four to Hopkins. We stack up great against every team in the state. Coming out and playing those great teams right away, we played great and we know that we can play with them later on in the season, if we get them.”

How about your team chemistry? How long have you been playing together?

“We’ve been playing together ever since I can remember. We have always played well together. We’ve always been a competitive team and we really jell well together.”

How much do you think that helps your familiarity with each other? You know where each other is going to be on the court.

“You can look at each other’s eyes and know if you are going to back door or if you are going to come and set a screen. We play great together.”

You also play AAU basketball with Spencer Pankonin and Jon Chistensen all during the spring and summer together. Do you think that helps even more?

“Playing year-round, obviously playing so much basketball, we know each other like the back of our hand. We know what each other is going to do. What each other is going to say, really. We play great together.”

Have you thought much about what you would like to major in at college?

“I’d like to be a teacher. I think it would be fun to be a teacher and a high school coach.”