Full circle moment has Riley Kugel ready to win with Mississippi State
Mississippi State and Riley Kugel for destined for each other.
Kugel journey to Starkville might have had a detour and some ups and downs along the way, but it was always in the cards for him. A former four-star signee with coach Ben Howland, Kugel chose to opt out of his National Letter of Intent with State after Howland’s firing and he stayed in his home state of Florida to play for the Gators.
After two seasons of some good and some bad with the Gators, the transfer portal was the move for Kugel. Head coach Chris Jans and his staff were one of the first to contact and get him on board to return to a place that he first fell in love with over three years ago.
While most of the players and coaches he first grew familiar with are now gone, Kugel knew some players on the team and he grew his relationships with the rest of the crew. Overall, it has been a seamless transition back to State.
“I already knew a couple of guys like (Josh) Hubbard and Cam Matthews. Then I came in with guys like RJ Melendez and Kanye Clary and it’s fun,” Kugel said. “I know everybody is trying to work hard and we all have the same ultimate goal.
“I would say one adjustment is how small the city is. Then on the court, I would just say learning and taking constructive criticism from Coach Jans.”
Kugel looking to reach his full potential under Jans
The 6’5, 210-pound wing came from Dr. Phillips HS in Orlando, Fla., and Kugel made his impact felt early for the Gators the last two years. As a freshman, Kugel was one of the best in his class in the SEC as he earned All-SEC Freshman honors in 2022-23 with 9.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 0.8 steals.
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Kugel pushed his way into the starting lineup by the time SEC play heated up and would stay in there for the rest of the season. Last season was expected to be an even better year for Kugel in year two but he ultimately found his way out of the starting lineup. He finished the year with similar numbers at 9.2 points per game, 3.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.1 steals in 33 games, but his consistency wasn’t there.
Jans believes that he has the ability to get the most out of his talented transfer recruit.
“Everyone can see the talent and the body. He’s got two years of SEC experience under his belt, which obviously helps. Hopefully it will help him a lot as we get to the game portion of the schedule,” Jans said of Kugel. “He’s still learning on how we need to play. Every team is different, every staff is different. You have an idea what’s best for you, individually, and maybe sometimes we have an idea what’s best for you, individually, for our team.”
As for Kugel, he’s willing to do whatever it takes over the next few months.
The Bulldogs have built their team differently in year three of the Jans era. Players similar to Kugel’s scoring potential have been added to the roster to go along with superstar sophomore Josh Hubbard. Now, the pieces just have to fall into place for a special run.
“I want to win and I want to win a lot,” Kugel said. “Just like Coach Jans said, we want to win a lot of games in the (NCAA) Tournament. We want to make it far and make the Final Four.”
