Riley Childs, a Medway High senior, has risen to be 5-foot-11, and has found stardom, averaging 23.7 points and 11 rebounds per game this season. “I’ve been here nine years, and Riley’s the most versatile player I’ve had,” said Medway coach Joe Iannone.
“I was more of a dancer when I was young,” said Riley Childs. “My mom, Tracey, was a dancer. I did recitals for the Medway Dance Authority. I didn’t get into sports until later. I was introduced to basketball in second grade. I was really bad.”
She stuck with it though, and in fifth grade, playing for a town team, it began to click. “I got better, and I fell in love with basketball. But I wasn’t truly confident in myself until eighth grade” when she started playing AAU ball.
That confidence has since skyrocketed.
Childs, a Medway High senior, has risen to be 5-foot-11, and has found stardom, averaging 23.7 points and 11 rebounds per game this season. “I’ve been here nine years, and Riley’s the most versatile player I’ve had,” said Medway coach Joe Iannone.
He kept Childs on the varsity when she was a freshman. She came off the bench. “Riley earned her minutes,” said Iannone. “She has a high basketball IQ. She makes the right pass and sees the floor well. She’s a good defender too.”
Childs recalled that freshman season came with some pressure. “I had to prove myself to the upperclassmen. But I had fun too.” The next season she’d earned a starting job. “I didn’t find out until the day before the first game.”
The hard work had paid off that sophomore season, although two injuries – sprained hip, fractured ankle – sidelined Childs for seven games. The latter injury happened in a scrimmage against Natick as the Mustangs were prepping for the state tournament, which she had to sit out. “I wasn’t very lucky,” she summed up.
Last season Childs felt “I had something to prove,” not just to her coaches and teammates, but also to the coaching staff at Boston University where she had committed to play basketball. Meanwhile her high school team was looking for her to lead the offense. She got a confidence boost from her dad, Rich. “He’s always had a big influence on me.”
Childs went on to lead Medway in scoring, averaging 16.8 points per game. “She’s a slasher,” said Rich, “a driver. She doesn’t rely on the jump shot.”
“Riley got some second-chance baskets because she goes after the ball,” said Iannone. “She’s a fierce competitor, an intense young lady.”
Everything was working for Childs in a game against Holliston last month when she scored 41 points. “I think I made my first three 3-pointers, it was awesome.” She finished with half-a-dozen buckets from behind the arc.
“That was crazy,” said Rich.
After the game Childs felt she must have had a 30-point game, give or take, not realizing how those three-pointers add up quickly. “She’s a mismatch when she’s knocking down threes,” said her dad. Childs also pulled down 21 rebounds that night.
It’s been a long journey from the time Childs traded her dancing shoes for sneakers. There was the disappointment of being cut from her 6th grade AAU team. She stayed with it and joined the Bay State Jaguars AAU team in 7th grade, but harbored no big dream of playing in college some day.
A key summer followed, when she played for the AAU Mavericks. It was a solid summer for Childs. “I proved to myself and everyone else that I was good enough.”
Her AAU travels have taken her around the country, each tournament sharpening her skills. “I loved the traveling,” she said. The competition was impressive. Childs never backed down. Well, maybe in the low post occasionally.
Childs checked out several colleges before settling on Boston University. It was an overnight at BU that sold her. “I committed the next day. I just knew I wanted to go there.” She’s seen a few BU games this season. Childs will take some classes in July and work out with the Terriers’ team.
Any downtime she can find is generally spent with friends from Medway. “We hang out a lot,” she said. And it’s common for Childs and her dad to go find a game to watch. They were at Conte Forum recently when Boston College shocked then top-ranked Duke. “Unfortunately,” said Childs, “I’m a big Duke fan.”
She’s bound to pick up some fans of her own when she starts wearing the Terriers’ scarlet and white, with her dues paid in full.
Lenny Megliola can be reached at lennymegs41@gmail.com. Follow on Twitter @lennymegs.