The Connecticut Huskies are back on the board in the 2025 class with the commitment of Eric Reibe on Wednesday afternoon. The 7-foot big man from Germany who plays for The Bullis School In Potomac, Maryland, gives coach Dan Hurley his second commitment for this cycle and a versatile and skilled big man for the future.

Reibe picked the Huskies over Creighton, Indiana, Kansas, and Oregon.

A 7-foot southpaw, Reibe has been one of the biggest risers in the national class in recent months. 

He was outside the top 100 last spring but is now a four-star prospect ranked No. 27 overall according to 247Sports after strong outings on the Pro16 Circuit, at the NBPA Top 100 Camp, during the June scholastic period, and at the Under Armour Elite 24 Game in August.

Just outside the five-star range, Reibe’s current ranking means he will certainly be In contention for McDonald’s All-American honors and could be in the discussion for another jump up the 247Sports rankings.

“They want to use my offensive style of play and elevate it to the max,” Reibe told 247Sports recruiting reporter Dushawn London. “Coach Hurley believes there are a lot of ways to use me and he wants to develop my defensive side because that’s what lacks the most right now. He thinks with what he did with (Donovan) Clingan on the defensive side, he can do with me. He’ll train me the hardest and instill the same principles. They see me as a player who can get minutes early and fight for a starting spot.”

Reiber joins Darius Adams, the No. 22 ranked prospect, in UConn’s 2025 recruiting class. The Huskies are expected to add at least one more player from the high school ranks.

Scouting Reibe: Big man with range

Reibe is one of the most skilled big men in the national class. A 7-foot, 235-pound modern-day center, Reibe has a naturally sturdy build.  He can dribble, pass, and shoot. He’s already a major floor-spacing threat with easy range to the arc that allows him to pull opposing big men away from the rim as a stretch-five. He’s a good passer who can make reads, hit cutters from various spots on the floor, and play out of dribble-hand-off action.

Reibe also has a very advanced understanding and feel for screening. He’ll set brush screens when it’s appropriate and is a tough cover because he can roll into space and make decisions in the lane or pop behind the arc.

Reibe’s size and basketball IQ also make him a threat in the lane. He’s a massive target in the post, very hard for opposing defenders to get around, and often able to shoot over top of them. He also has soft hands, good footwork, and is very difficult to double-team because of his passing ability. He also understands offensive actions, spacing, and should so be a very quick fit for offensive structure at the next level.

Mobility, physicality, and durability are the long-term keys for Reibe to maximize his potential. While he’s gotten stronger and improved his conditioning in recent months, there are still times when he brings the ball down inside, fades away unnecessarily, or doesn’t play through contact as forcefully as he should. He’s not especially light on his feet, but has shown flashes of being able to guard ball screens away from the basket when he’s fully locked in. In the lane, he’ll need to assert himself more as a shot-blocker and defensive rebounder.

Reibe’s roster and scheme fit at UConn

Connecticut’s two national championships were characterized by, among other things, one of the most intricate halfcourt offenses in college basketball. That type of system requires both basketball acumen and face-up skill at all five positions on the floor. Perhaps more so than any big in the country, Reibe has the offensive skills to flourish within that system.

Conversely, though, Connecticut has also had one of the highest-rated defenses in college basketball in each of the last two years. Even beyond that, Hurley’s teams at Rhode Island and even Wagner before that have prided themselves on their scrappiness and ability to defend. Simply put, there’s a high bar on that end of the floor. While Reibe may have an easier time sitting back in the lane in deep drops, that isn’t likely to be the case at UConn. Reibe will be required to be up at the point of the screen and able to contain dribble drivers, just as players like Adama Sanogo and Donovan Clingan have done in recent years. Simultaneously, he’s going to be expected to provide real rim protection.

In other words, Reibe will be forced to grow on the defensive end of the floor, and that’s a path to unlocking his best long-term upside.

A big part of the transition, particularly on the defensive end of the floor, will come from conditioning. Again, this is where Clingan’s path provides a template to follow. Clingan completely changed his body in his first summer at Storrs, unlocking mobility at his size that we hadn’t seen from him at the high school level. Reibe will almost undoubtedly be developed along those same lines.

Samson Johnson is expected to take over the starting center position at UConn this season. But Johnson is entering his fourth year in the program, so there will very likely be immediate minutes available in 2025-26. The expectation is that Reibe will be ready to take over the starting center position as a sophomore in Storrs.