Rihards Kuksiks

Rihards Kuksiks
No. 24 – Nizhny Novgorod
Position Shooting guard / Small forward
League VTB
Euroleague
Personal information
Born July 17, 1988
Riga, Latvia
Nationality Latvian
Listed height 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight 210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school Florida Air Academy
(Melbourne, Florida)
College Arizona State (2007–2011)
Pro career 2011–present
Career history
2011–2012 Valencia BC
2012–2013 Lagun Aro GBC
2013 Budivelnyk
2014 VEF Rīga
2014–2015 BK Jēkabpils
2015 Avtodor Saratov
2015–present BC Nizhny Novgorod
Career highlights and awards
  • Ukrainian champion 2013
  • Pac-10 Men's Basketball 2010-11 Scholar-Athlete

Rihards Kuksiks (born July 17, 1988) is a Latvian basketball player currently playing for BC Nizhny Novgorod of the VTB United League and Euroleague. He also plays for the Latvia national basketball team.

College

2007–08

His freshman year Rihards appeared in 27 games, averaging 5.4 points and 1.8 rebounds. He had double digits in six of final 12 games, including 15 in win at Washington and 12 in big home win vs USC. Rihards hit 21 three-pointers in final nine games against Pac-10 teams. Also, Kuksiks had 15 points on 6-of-12 field goals and had three three-pointers in win over seventh-ranked Stanford on Feb. 14.

2008–09

In his sophomore year Kuksiks established himself as a solid third option behind NBA draft picks James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph by averaging 10.3 points in 33.1 minutes per game. That year ASU played in the NCAA Tournament.

2009–10

After Harden and Pendergraph leaving for NBA, Rihards role got bigger and he finished season leading team in scoring with 12.1 ppg. In his junior year Kuksiks had six 20-point games.

2010–11

In his senior season Kuksiks averaged 10.4 points. Rihards finished his career in Arizona State with 280 career three-pointers made and he became the 34th member of ASU's 1,000-point, as he finished with 1,175 points.

Professional career

After graduating from Arizona State, Kuksiks returned to Europe, signing his pro contract with Valencia Basket,[1] one of the top teams in Spanish ACB League which is widely regarded as the best national league in Europe.

In October 2012, he returned to ACB and joined Lagun Aro.[2] In the middle of the season Kuksiks moved to Ukrainian powerhouse BC Budivelnyk, helping it to win domestic championship.[3]

In the following season Kuksiks returned to Latvia and played for VEF Rīga.[4]

In November 2014, he returned to court after recovering from injury and joined BK Jēkabpils.[5] On January 16, 2015, he signed with Avtodor Saratov.[6]

On February 18, 2015, Rihards moved to BC Nizhny Novgorod, where he is set to make Euroleague debut.[7]

Latvian national team

Kuksiks has been member of the Latvian U16, U18 and U20 National Team as well as Senior National Team.

In 2010, he was leading scorer for Senior Team, averaging 13.3 points and 3.4 rebounds in eight games. In his best game against Israel on August 8 he made seven three pointers which is all-time Latvian national team record in official games. Previous record was six three pointers made in one game by three players (Sandis Valters, Uvis Helmanis and Ainars Bagatskis).

In Eurobasket 2011 he was also team's leading scorer, averaging 16 points. In summer of 2012 he helped Latvia to qualify for Eurobasket 2013, scoring 12.1 points per game.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.vefriga.com/lv/jaunumi/zinas/vef-riga-tresdien-sanktpeterburga-pret-zenit-1698
  2. ↑ http://www.delfi.lv/sports/news/basketball/news/kuksiks-pievienojies-spanijas-augstakas-ligas-klubam-lagun-aro.d?id=42727874
  3. ↑ http://sportacentrs.com/basketbols/legionari/31052013-bagatskis_kuksiks_un_ernsteins_klust_par_
  4. ↑ http://www.sportando.com/en/europe/latvia/109898/rihards-kuksiks-signs-a-three-year-deal-with-vef-riga.html
  5. ↑ Rihards Kuksiks signs an open contract with BK Jekabpils
  6. ↑ http://avtodor.ru/index.php/news-events/item/300-rihards-kuksiks-joins-to-avtodor
  7. ↑ http://www.euroleague.net/news/i/5rkp78eiwvfyx737

External links