EMPHIS, Tenn. - As the UMass basketball team prepares for one of its biggest games in recent history, head coach Derek Kellogg has announced one of the biggest signings for the future of the UMass basketball program. Dynamic scoring guard Freddie Riley (Ocala, Fla.) has signed a National Letter Of Intent to play basketball with the Minutemen as he continues a sensational prep career. The 6-5, 175-pound guard is currently playing at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Virginia after a star-studded career at Vanguard High School in Florida. He is also a standout for the Florida Rams in AAU Basketball.

Freddie Riley at Vanguard High. Photo courtesy: UMass Athletics

"We are excited to add a player to our basketball program with the character and basketball ability that Freddie Riley has," said Kellogg, who is preparing the Minutemen for their ESPN nationally-televised game vs. Memphis. "From the first time I was able to see him play, he was a player that we earmarked for our program. He is player who can come in and do some very special things both on and off the court. I'm looking forward to coaching him at UMass and getting him to take his game to the next level. He has a chance to be a great player for our program and in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

"Freddie is a prolific scorer, he can really put the ball in the basket. He is long at 6-5, and plays above the rim. He is a very fun player to watch. He is ultra competitive and can play multiple positions. Once we get him a little stronger physically and playing a little better defensively, he will become a complete player. I am very excited to coach him and at some point in his career, he has a chance to be an excellent college player."

Riley is ranked as a national Top 100 recruit by various websites including PrepStars.com, Scout.com and Rivals.com. He was listed as the No. 85 player in the country by PrepStars, the No. 87 player in the nation by Scout.com. ESPN.com graded Riley as an 89 out of 100 on its scale, they also list him as the 31st shooting guard in the country.

Riley has begun his postgraduate season at Hargrave Military Academy playing for Kevin Keatts in Virginia with huge success. In his first five games for Hargrave, Riley is the team's leading scorer with a 22.8 points per game average, including 32 points in a game. Hargrave returns to action this weekend at the National Tip-Off Prep Showcase at Bryant University in Rhode Island. Hargrave has produced some of the top players in the nation including NBA draft picks David West (Xavier), Josh Howard (Wake Forest), Lonny Baxter (Maryland) and in the 2008 draft Joe Alexander (West Virginia) and Marreese Speights (Florida).

At Vanguard High School, Riley scored 1,037 career points under head coach Jim Haley. He was a three-year starter for the Knights as he earned 5A Player of the Year in North Central Florida. He averaged 16 points and 8 rebounds as a senior in earning various MVP and All-Tournament accolades. He became the 13th player in school history to crack 1,000 points and first since 1993.

At Vanguard, Riley was named to the Ocala Star Banner First Team All-Area in 2008. He was also honored as the Most Valuable Player of the Brinkley Memorial Tournament in addition to being named to the North Central Florida All-Star Team and the FACA State North-South All-Star Game. Riley scored a high-school best 30 points on two occassions, including against Florida State champion Jacksonville.

As a junior at Vanguard, Riley averaged 20 points and 6 rebounds and was named third-team All-State.

In AAU basketball, Riley starred for the Florida Rams and coach Matt Ramker, where he averaged 19 points per game. The Rams have had some of the top recuits in recent years including Florida freshmen Ray Shipman and Kenny Kadji and Louisville's Jared Swopshire. The Rams also produced former Florida Gator stars Marreese Speights and Taurean Green.

Freddie Riley, Jr. was born on Dec. 1, 1989 and is the son of Freddie and Norma Riley. He chose UMass after visiting Baylor, Marquette and South Florida.

he University of Massachusetts men's basketball team played against a well-known figure from its past Monday night, the same day a piece of its future officially joined the program when Freddie Riley's national letter of intent arrived.

The 6-foot-5 wing from Ocala, Fla, who is a postgraduate at Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham, Va., will be a Minutemen next year.

"I really liked their style of play and my relationship with the coaches," Riley said. "I liked the relationship the players have with each other. It's like a family."

Riley, who is ranked among the top 100 players in the nation by several recruiting services, is averaging 22.8 points in the first five games for Hargrave.

"We are excited to add a player to our basketball program with the character and basketball ability that Freddie Riley has," said UMass coach Derek Kellogg, before Monday night's game against Memphis and coach John Calipari, who led the Minutemen from 1998 to 1996.

"From the first time I was able to see him play, he was a player that we earmarked for our program," Kellogg added. "He is player who can come in and do some very special things both on and off the court. I'm looking forward to coaching him at UMass and getting him to take his game to the next level. He has a chance to be a great player for our program and in the Atlantic 10 conference.

"Freddie is a prolific scorer, he can really put the ball in the basket," he continued. "He is long at 6-5, and plays above the rim. Once we get him a little stronger physically and playing a little better defensively, he will become a complete player. I am very excited to coach him and at some point in his career, he has a chance to be an excellent college player."

Matt Ramker, Riley's AAU coach with the Florida Rams, said he believes UMass is a good fit.

"He's a dynamic offensive player, that will be one of the best shooters in all of college basketball as a freshman next year," he said. "The way Coach Kellogg is going to play, Freddie has an opportunity to thrive.

"Coach Kellogg did a tremendous job recruiting Freddie. He was at 95 percent of his AAU games this summer," Ramker added. "Freddie really trusts him a looks at him as someone who can teach and mentor him over the next four years. He had bigger schools in bigger conferences recruiting him, but he really felt that UMass was the place for him."

Riley originally committed to Florida Atlantic out of high school, but when there was a coaching change he elected to take a postgraduate year at Hargrave. He took advantage of the added summer of AAU competition, and his great play this summer considerably increased his recruiting value.

"He was a late bloomer. The extra summer to get exposure and extra year to develop at Hargrave was tremendous for him," said Ramker, who said he expects Riley to be academically eligible right away.

Riley's signing leaves UMass expecting one more letter of intent during the early period. Raphiael Putney, a big man from Woodbridge, Va., is expected to sign later this week as part of a ceremony at his school.

MINUTEMEN IN NEW YORK - UMass didn't make it to the 2K Sports Classic semifinals at Madison Square Garden this week, but fans in New York City were still able to see them because Monday night's game against Memphis was televised by ESPN and shown on one of the large-screen television monitors in Times Square.

Matt Vautour can be reached at [email protected]. For more UMass coverage, including a UMass sports blog, go to http://www.gazettenet.com/blog/umass-sports.