Copyright Shaw Local Enewspapers
Jayden Riley has been one of the most prolific scoring and passing guards around over the past two seasons at Yorkville Christian. Like many high school players in this current landscape, though, it took time for Riley’s college recruitment to catch up with his game. He’s found his home. The Yorkville Christian senior guard, Record Newspapers Player of the Year last season, has made his verbal commitment to Division I SIU-Edwardsville. “It just felt like a second home to me,” Riley said. “I went on a couple other visits and I liked the visits. But I knew when I went to visit there. When I walked into the gym for the practice, it just felt like my kind of environment. I thought it would be a really good fit for me.” Riley, Class 1A first team All-State as a junior, averaged 23 points, 8.5 assists and 4.5 rebounds, shot 53% from the floor and 83% at the free throw line. He became the fifth Yorkville Christian player to score 1,000 career points in December of last year, scored 39 points in the championship game of the Plano Christmas Classic and set school records for assists in a game (20) and season. “I’ll put him up against any point guard in the state,” Yorkville Christian coach Aaron Sovern said. “I’ll go to war with that kid all day.” Sovern said Riley played well in the live events in June and took care of business in AAU, demonstrating that he could facilitate and also guard, showing another side of his game. SIU-Edwardsville, which offered Riley on July 1, had a front-row seat to it. An SIU-Edwardsville assistant came to Yorkville Christian twice and the coaching staff was at every live period game at Riverside-Brookfield and Romeoville, and his AAU events. “He was their focus, which I think played a big part,” Sovern said. “He had 5-7 Division I offers, some small to mid-majors, but I will give credit to SIU-Edwardsville. They were out on campus a few times, watched some open gyms, were in constant communication. Had a lot of schools in but they were the ones he was the most comfortable with.” SIU-Edwardsville, a Division I program since 2008, won the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament championship last year and made its first NCAA Tournament appearance. If one has watched Riley, it’s no surprise what attracted the SIU-Edwardsville staff to him the most. “My passing,” he said. “They feel that I’ll be able to come in there and run the team and be their point guard. They said they’ll need one. They’ll be losing nine players, they need me to come in there and run the show.” The biggest thing Riley has been working on since last season is his shot. He improved as a 3-point shooter last year, and Sovern said he’s been shooting the cover off the ball in fall league and will be even better as a senior. That shot, and Riley’s strength, is the next phase in his development with an eye toward the college game. “Extending his range is one thing we knew he will have to do at the college level,” Sovern said. “The next thing is building his body and getting stronger. It’s eye-opening how strong these guys are. That’s the key is having that strength. He can get to spaces on the floor, finish and create. It’s that physicality. That is why we play the schedule we face, to get a preview of that.”
