Luther J. Riley (born December 4, 1971) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach. He is the former head coach for

Alcorn State University Alcorn State University (Alcorn State, ASU or Alcorn) is a public historically black land-grant university adjacent to Lorman, Mississippi. It was founded in 1871 and was the first black land grant college established in the United States. O ...

. Before being coach of Alcorn State, he was the coach John W. Provine High School where he won five state championships in eleven seasons.

Personal life

Riley grew up in

Walnut Grove, Mississippi Walnut Grove is a town in Leake County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 510 at the 2020 census, a sharp decrease from 1,911 at the 2010 census, due to the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility being closed by the state in Septem ...

. He graduated from

East Central Community College East Central Community College (ECCC) is a junior college located in Decatur, Mississippi. ECCC serves a five-county district: Leake, Neshoba, Newton, Scott and Winston counties. It opened in September 1928. Band The Band's name is the Wall ...

in 1992 where he earned an associate of arts degree in liberal arts. He also received a Master of Science degree in secondary education from Alcorn State University in 1998. He played college basketball at East Central under head coach Marty Cooper and Mississippi Valley under head coach

Lafayette Stribling Lafayette Stribling (June 1, 1934 – October 30, 2021) was an American basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete wi ...

. Riley is a member of the 100 Black Men of Jackson and the Mississippi Association of Coaches.

John W. Provine High School

Riley was the coach of the John W. Provine High School Rams for eleven seasons and compiled a winning percentage of (.803) with an overall record of 286–70. He won five state championships and was named coach of the year five times.

Alcorn State

On March 28, 2011, Riley was named the head coach at

where he amassed a 34–77 record in just under four full seasons. During the 2014–2015 season, Riley took a leave of absence "to evaluate some things". While some speculated that the leave of absence was due to a physical altercation with a player, Riley said those allegations were "completely false" and that he expected to return before the end of season. Riley never returned to Alcorn State and his contract expired without renewal in March 2015. On April 14, 2017, Riley was arrested in

Madison County, Mississippi Madison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 95,203. The county seat is Canton. The county is named for U.S. President James Madison. Madison County is part of the Jackson, MS ...

and charged with a

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

defraud In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compensa ...

and cheat a former high school basketball player that he recruited while coaching at Alcorn State. According to court records, on or around June 13 of 2013, Riley admitted and pled guilty to willfully and intentionally cheating a recruit by making false pretenses about the tuition, room, and board costs at Alcorn State. Riley collected money from the recruit and claimed that the money would go towards the costs to attend Alcorn State and promised to use the money to hold his basketball scholarship. In reality, Riley kept the money for himself and did not honor the scholarship. Riley was ordered by the Madison County courts to pay $2,750 in restitution and serve one year of

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...

in exchange for pleading guilty.

College Basketball Head coaching record

Columbus High School

Riley was announced as the head basketball coach at Columbus High School in May 2015. Led by

Robert Woodard Rear-Admiral Sir Robert Nathaniel Woodard, KCVO, DL (; born 13 January 1939) is a former Commander of the Royal Yacht Britannia. Naval career Educated at Lancing College, the school founded by his great-grandfather, Rev Nathaniel Woodard, Woo ...

during the 2015–2016 season, Columbus compiled a 27–5 record and won the 6A state championship. After being named coach of the year, Riley did not sign the contract offered by the Columbus School District because he claimed the superintendent promised him a raise for winning a state championship. The superintendent, Dr. Philip W. V. Hickman, denied Riley's claims and said that all teachers are paid based on experience and "hired as a teacher".

High School Administrative career

Riley was introduced as the principal at Bessemer City High School at a Bessemer City Board of Education work session on June 11, 2020. On June 16, 2020, his probationary contract offer was tabled by the board for undisclosed reasons

In September 2020, Riley was hired as the assistant Principal at Holt High School within the

Tuscaloosa County School System Tuscaloosa County School System is a public school district headquartered in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. The district's boundaries parallel that of the county of Tuscaloosa, but do not include the City of Tuscaloosa proper, which is serve ...

. He was promoted to principal of the school on June 7, 2021, but resigned on February 22, 2022, for undisclosed reasons

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Riley, Luther 1972 births Living people African-American basketball coaches Alcorn State Braves basketball coaches Alcorn State University alumni American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Mississippi Basketball players from Mississippi College men's basketball head coaches in the United States East Central Warriors men's basketball players High school basketball coaches in the United States Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils basketball coaches Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils basketball players People from Walnut Grove, Mississippi 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople