Eric Reibe rejected UConn to solve USC’s recurring problem: Finding a real big man

Earlier this month, days after Connecticut lost to Michigan in the national title game, Eric Reibe said Huskies coach Dan Hurley came to him with an offer. Hurley wanted the 7-foot-1 German big man to stay in Storrs and anchor the Connecticut frontcourt next fall.

It was a tempting offer at such a prestigious hoops powerhouse. Especially after spending his entire freshman season scrapping for minutes behind All-Big East big man Tarris Reed.

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But Reibe turned Hurley down.

“I just decided to explore a better fit, for me and my game,” Reibe told The Times.

That exploration ultimately led him to USC, where Eric Musselman and his staff view the 7-footer as a centerpiece of their third portal haul in L.A. Reibe is joined so far by Georgetown transfer KJ Lewis and former Colgate point guard Jalen Cox in a class that’s sought to directly address the misses of Musselman’s first two forays into the transfer portal.

Read more: For Eric Musselman and USC, the margin for error in the portal is much smaller this spring

The most glaring of those, to date, has been in the middle. In his first May as coach, with limited time to build his roster, Musselman and his staff hung their hopes on Massachusetts center Josh Cohen, who proved to be a liability on both ends. Last season, the plan was to get bigger and better protect the rim with a 7-5 giant in Gabe Dynes alongside Ezra Ausar and Jacob Cofie. But that pairing produced mixed results.

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Reibe, though, comes to USC as a different caliber of prospect. A former McDonald’s All-American, he was the 36th-ranked prospect of the 2025 class. Early in his freshman season at Connecticut, with Reed sidelined, Reibe started for the Huskies in critical non-conference matchups against Arizona, Illinois and Kansas. Over those three games, Reibe averaged 11.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and two blocks per game.

“Eric was a soldier and a warrior for us,” Hurley told reporters earlier this week. “He saved us in the non-conference….

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/eric-reibe-rejected-uconn-solve-212627823.html

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Publish date : 2026-04-23 21:26:00

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