Rihards Kuksiks is a Latvian professional basketball player who plays for Pallacanestro Varese of the Italian Serie A. He also plays for the Latvia national basketball team
Education
His freshman year Rihards appeared in 27 games, averaging 5.4 points and 1.8 rebounds. He had double digits in six of final 12 games, including 15 in win at Washington and 12 in big home win vs University of Southern California. Rihards hit 21 three-pointers in final nine games against Pac-10 teams. Also, Kuksiks had 15 points on 6-of-12 field goals and had three three-pointers in win over seventh-ranked Stanford on February
14.
In his sophomore year Kuksiks established himself as a solid third option behind National Basketball Association draft picks James Harden and Jeff Pendergraph by averaging 10.3 points in 33.1 minutes per game.
That year Arizona State University played in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament.
After Harden and Pendergraph leaving for National Basketball Association, Rihards role got bigger and he finished season leading team in scoring with 12.1 ppg. In his junior year Kuksiks had six 20-point games.
In his senior season Kuksiks averaged 10.4 points.
Rihards finished his career in Arizona State with 280 career three-pointers made and he became the 34th member of Arizona State University"s 1,000-point, as he finished with 1,175 points.
Career
2007-2008 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 After graduating from Arizona State, Kuksiks returned to Europe, signing his pro contract with Valencia Basket, one of the top teams in Spanish ACB League which is widely regarded as the best national league in Europe. In October 2012, he returned to ACB and joined Lagun Aro GBC. In the following season Kuksiks returned to Latvia and played for VEF Rīgeorgia In November 2014, he returned to court after recovering from injury and joined BK Jēkabpils.
On January 16, 2015, he signed with Avtodor Saratov.
On February 18, 2015, he left Avtodor and signed with British Columbia Nizhny Novgorod, where he made the Euroleague debut. Nizhny Novgorod ended the competition in the VTB United League after being eliminated by CSKA Moscow with 3–0 in the semifinal series.
On June 18, 2015, he parted ways with Nizhny. On August 23, 2015, he signed with Romanian team BCM U Pitești.
On November 6, 2015, he left Pitești and signed with Pallacanestro Varese of the Italian Serie A. In 2010, he was leading scorer for Senior Team, averaging 13.3 points and 3.4 rebounds in eight games.
In his best game against Israel on August 8 he made seven three pointers which is all-time record in official games. Previous record was six three pointers made in one game by three players (Sandis Valters, Uvis Helmanis and Ainars Bagatskis). In Eurobasket 2011 he was also team"s leading scorer, averaging 16 points.
In summer of 2012 he helped Latvia to qualify for Eurobasket 2013, scoring 12.1 points per game.
Membership
Rihards finished his career in Arizona State with 280 career three-pointers made and he became the 34th member of Arizona State University"s 1,000-point, as he finished with 1,175 points. Kuksiks has been member of the Latvian U16, U18 and U20 National Team as well as Senior National Team.