Martin Riley (basketball)

Martin James Riley (born May 8, 1955) is a Canadian retired basketball player, who was on the 1976 and 1980 Canadian Olympic teams.

Early life

Riley grew up in Winnipeg as one of five kids in a single parent household. He attended Sisler High School, where he played high school basketball for the Spartans, and led them to the 1973 provincial championship with an undefeated 38-0 record.

Playing career

University

Riley played college basketball for the Manitoba Bisons at the University of Manitoba, where he was on the 1976 Canadian Championship team, as the Bisons defeated St. Mary's in the final, 82-69, after losing the final the previous year to Waterloo by one point, 80-79. Overall, the Bisons were in the Canadian Championships four of Riley's five seasons on the team. In their 1976 championship season, Riley won the Mike Moser Memorial Trophy as Canadian University basketball player of the year. Riley was a First Team All-Canadian in three consecutive seasons from 1975-76 to 1977-78, and named a Men's Basketball Championship All-Star in 1974-75 and 1975-76, which were the two seasons the Bisons were in the championship final.

National Team

Riley was named to the Canadian men's national basketball team at age 17, when then coach Jack Donohue took a chance on him in 1973. That chance lasted seven years, as Riley played for Canada at two World Championships - in 1974 and 1978 - two Pan American Games - in 1975 and 1979 - and two World University Games - in 1977 and 1979.

He played in the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, where the Canadian team qualified for the medal round by finishing second in the group stage. But they lost in the semi-finals to the United States, and then lost to the Soviet Union in the bronze medal game, resulting in a fourth place finish.

Riley was part of Team Canada that came second at the 1980 Tournament of the Americas, which qualified Canada to compete at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow. He was named captain for that Olympic team, but they didn't go to Moscow, as the Canadian Olympic Committee boycotted the Games due to the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Riley remains disappointed at being denied the opportunity to compete in 1980, because he believed team was "good" and a definite medal contender.

Other play

Riley was a member of the Nicolett Inn basketball teams that won the Canadian Senior Men's Championship in 1979 and 1980. He played professionally in Argentina during the 1980–1 season.

Honors

Riley is a member of five Halls of Fame. He was inducted into the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame as an individual in 1995 and then again in 2007 as a member of the 1976 Olympic team.

Within Manitoba, Riley was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 1991, and subsequently two teams he was on were also inducted into that hall: the 1976 Manitoba Bisons team went in in 2011, and the 1979, 1980 & 1982 Nicolett Inn team went in in 2006. Riley was inducted into the Manitoba Basketball Hall of Fame in 1996. He was inducted into the Manitoba High School Sports Hall of Fame in 2011 for his play with the Sister Spartans, and the 1973 team that Riley led to an undefeated season is also in the Manitoba High School Sports Hall of Fame.

Most recently, Riley was inducted into the Canada West Hall of Fame as part of the 2020-21 Class.

Post playing career

Riley coached the Manitoba Bisons for three seasons from 1981-1984. After that he taught high school and coached basketball at Churchill High School, Dakota Collegiate and Miles Macdonell Collegiate.

References

1954 births
Living people
Basketball players from Winnipeg
Basketball players at the 1976 Summer Olympics
Basketball players at the 1975 Pan American Games
Basketball players at the 1979 Pan American Games
Canadian men's basketball players
1974 FIBA World Championship players
1978 FIBA World Championship players
Canadian expatriate basketball people in Argentina
Manitoba Bisons basketball players
Olympic basketball players for Canada
Pan American Games competitors for Canada
Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame inductees