Andre Riddick (born February 1, 1973) is a retired American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

player. He is the

ULEB Cup EuroCup Basketball, commonly known as the EuroCup and currently called BKT EuroCup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual professional basketball club competition organized by Euroleague Basketball. The league is regarded as Euroleague Basketbal ...

's All-Time Leader for rebounds (383), steals (116) and blocks (122) and also has the highest

percentage of blocks (2 blocks per game). He played for the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

from 1991 to 1995.

Tenure at Kentucky

Nicknamed "The Rejector", Andre Riddick held the single season block record at 83 for Kentucky together with

Melvin Turpin Melvin Harrison Turpin (December 28, 1960 – July 8, 2010) was an American professional basketball player. He played five seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was an All-American college player at the University of Kentucky, ...

until it was broken by

Anthony Davis Anthony Marshon Davis Jr. (born March 11, 1993), nicknamed "AD" and "the Brow", is an American professional basketball player for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Davis, a Power forward (basketball), power f ...

in 2012, and he held the Kentucky single game block record of 9 together with

Sam Bowie Samuel Paul Bowie (born March 17, 1961) is an American former professional basketball player. A national sensation in high school and outstanding collegian and Olympic team member, Bowie's professional promise was undermined by repeated injuries ...

until it was broken by

Nerlens Noel Nerlens Noel (born April 10, 1994) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His collegiate basketball career ended in his first season with a tear of his ant ...

in 2013. A notoriously bad free throw shooter, the standard Riddick set has been invoked more than once when a Kentucky player had a bad night at the line. Riddick often performed a shuffle after he dunked the basketball. Riddick and his Kentucky teammates made the NCAA Final Four in 1993. During Kentucky's 1995 NCAA tournament Elite Eight game against North Carolina, Riddick angrily confronted

Rasheed Wallace Rasheed Abdul Wallace (born September 17, 1974) is an American basketball coach and former professional player. A native of Philadelphia, Wallace played college basketball for the North Carolina Tar Heels before declaring for the draft in 1995. ...

after Wallace hit him with his elbow, resulting in a technical foul issued to

Walter McCarty Walter Lee McCarty (born February 1, 1974) is an American basketball coach and former professional player who serves as the head coach of the Freseros de Irapuato in the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP). McCarty played for the NBA ...

, a call hotly disputed by former Kentucky coach

Rick Pitino Richard Andrew Pitino (; born September 18, 1952) is an American basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at St. John's University (New York City), St. John's University. He was also the head coach of Greece national basketball t ...

Professional career

During his professional career, Riddick spent eleven years at

Spirou Charleroi Spirou Basket, commonly known simply as Spirou, is a Belgian professional basketball club that is located in Charleroi. The club competes in the BNXT League, the highest tier of basketball in Belgium. The club's home arena is the Spiroudome which ...

, claiming six Belgian championships (2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011) and two Belgian cup titles (2003, 2009). In 2003-04, he earned Most Valuable Player distinction in the Belgian league. In the Belgian league as well as in the

, Riddick became the all-time leader in blocked shots. Riddick also played professionally in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In 1999, he won the Venezuelan championship with the

Trotamundos de Carabobo Trotamundos B.B.C. (), also known as Trotamundos de Carabobo, is a professional basketball team based in Valencia, located in the Venezuelan Carabobo State. The team currently plays in the Venezuelan SuperLiga. The team has won the Venezuelan cham ...

Coaching career

Riddick continued to coach in the Cincinnati area with the private coaching service

CoachUp CoachUp is a venture-funded startup company that connects athletes with private coaches. History CoachUp was founded in 2011 by former professional basketball player Jordan Fliegel with engineers Arian Radmand and Gabe Durazo. Its site, Coac ...

. In 2015, he was named assistant coach at the University of Cincinnati Clermont.

References

1973 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Belgium American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Japan American expatriate basketball people in the Dominican Republic American expatriate basketball people in Venezuela Centers (basketball) JDA Dijon Basket players Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Paris Racing Basket players Spirou Charleroi players Basketball players from Brooklyn Trotamundos de Carabobo players American men's basketball players Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School alumni Taipei Fubon Braves players American expatriate basketball people in Taiwan Chinese Basketball Alliance imports Metropolitanos de Mauricio Báez players 20th-century American sportsmen {{1970s-US-basketball-bio-stub