Prior to Fred Rike's arrival at Angelo State, the Rams were at the bottom of the Lone Star Conference. Just three years later, ASU is now one of the top teams in the region.
Last season, Rike guide the Rams to their first NCAA Division II postseason appearance in seven seasons after mentoring his squad to a 20-9 record and a second place finish in the LSC's South Division. ASU was
After being upset in the first round of the LSC Tournament, Rike's Rams claimed an at-large berth into the NCAA D-II South Central Region Tournament as the No. 7 seed in the eight-team event. Angelo State would be edged by the tournament's No. 2-seed, No. 7-ranked Southwest Baptist, 89-84, in their first appearance since 2002.
Three Rams would earn All-LSC South honors under Rike in 2009. Senior guard Lionel Brown was named first team all-conference was honored as the division's Newcomer of the Year. Senior guard Ryan Bennett collected second team honors while senior center Malik Motnii garnered honorable mention all-conference recognition. Brown would earn first team all-district honors by the NBCA and was tabbed second team all-region by Daktronics.
In 2007-08, Rike guided his Rams to their first postseason appearance in six years, finishing with a 17-11 record and tied for third in the LSC South Division, good enough for a spot in the LSC Championship Tournament. Rike coached three players from the 2008 squad to All-LSC South honors. Senior forward Marcus Hubbard got a first team nod for the second straight season, junior forward Denell Stephens was named to the second team and senior guard Jerod Haynes, who led the league in assists, received an honorable mention selection.
In his inaugural season at ASU in 2006-07, Rike laid the foundation for years to come as he established in his players a "no-quit" attitude that led to a four-game improvement in LSC South Division play and narrowly missing the conference tournament by just one game. This coming one season after ASU went 0-12 in LSC South play. Three of Rike's players received postseason accolades led by Hubbard, who became the first Ram in six seasons to be named to the All-LSC South first team and was also selected to the Daktronics All-Region second team. Seniors Ontario McKee and Turner Phipps both received All-LSC South honorable mention.
Prior to arriving at ASU, Rike spent five seasons as the associate head coach at the University of North Texas. In 2004-05, he helped guide the Mean Green to its best non-league start in 30 years, an accomplishment that led to the nation's 29th ranked recruiting class in 2006. Rike also has previous coaching experience at Tyler Junior College, Louisiana Tech University, University of Memphis and Georgia State University.
A native of Haskell, Rike has deep roots in both West Texas and basketball. A standout prep player at Tulia High School, he began his collegiate playing career at Tyler Junior College, where he was named all-conference after his sophomore season. He then spent one season at Sam Houston State University before transferring to West Texas State University (now West Texas A&M) for his senior year.
TJC was also where Rike's coaching career began in 1990 as an assistant coach for the Apaches. In 1993, they claimed both the Texas Eastern Athletic Conference (TEAC) and Region XIV championships, advancing to the NJCAA National Tournament. The next year, Rike made his first move to NCAA Division I as an assistant coach at Louisiana Tech, where he stayed one season before returning to TJC to take over the head coaching role.
Upon his return to Tyler, Rike quickly found success as his team posted a 27-9 record in 1995-96 and earned conference and regional titles en route to a NJCAA playoff berth. That run earned Rike TEAC and Region XIV Coach of the Year honors in just his second season as a head coach. The next year, his Apaches were ranked No. 1 in the nation by several publications, including Dick Vitale, Street & Smith's and College Sports Review.
After posting a 61-33 record in three seasons as head coach at TJC, Rike returned to NCAA D-I as an assistant coach at the University of Memphis alongside current North Texas head coach Johnny Jones. The two were assistants on the Tigers coaching staff for two seasons until Jones was named interim head coach prior to the 1999-2000 campaign. Immediately, Rike was promoted to associate head coach for the Tigers.
In his first season at Memphis, Rike was a key figure in the Tigers' recruiting class that was ranked No. 7 in the nation. The squad went on to the championship of the Conference USA North Division and advanced to the second round of the National Invitational Tournament (NIT). After three successful years at Memphis, Rike spent the 2000-01 season as an assistant coach at Georgia State under legendary coach Charles "Lefty" Driesell before reuniting with Jones at UNT. During Rike's season at GSU, the Panthers boasted a 29-5 record and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the second round.
Rike earned his bachelor's degree in physical education from West Texas State in 1989 and two years later earned his master's degree in health and kinesiology at the University of Texas at Tyler. He and his wife, Kimberley, have two daughters, Allie Katherine (12) and Jessie Kaye (10).
