7'2" Center Verbally Commits to UC

Mick Cronin has received another "Huge" commitment for the 2008-2009 season.  7'2" John Riek has committed to Mick and the Bearcats pending a qualifying SAT score in September.  By all accounts the kid is a good student and has a 3.4 GPA so he should qualify without issue.  He is from Sudan but has been here in the USA since 2006 and doesn't appear to have played in any questionable leagues like some recent Bearcat recruits have.

This could be a big piece to the puzzle for a Bearcats team who is looking to make it back to the NCAA tourneyment for the first time since Huggins was ousted.  Riek had entered his name in the NBA Draft this year but did not hire an agent.  He pulled his name out of the NBA Draft when he discovered that he had an ACL injury.  Assuming he qualifies (and the NCAA doesn't find some crazy reason to not let the kid play), he could be ready to play as early as December or January.