25  Joe Ries
	Class: Senior Hometown: St. Louis, Mo. High School: DeSmet Jesuit Height / Weight: 6-8 / 225 Position: Forward

Pronounced: REESE

2003-04 (Senior): Joe Ries is one of three returning starters for the Cowboys. The Sporting News 2003-04 College Basketball Preview issue named Ries the "Most Underrated" player in the Mountain West Conference. He started all 32 games for Wyoming a year ago. Ries was Wyoming's second leading rebounder for the 2002-03 season, averaging 4.2 rebounds per game. He also ranked 19th in the Mountain West Conference in rebounding. He is UW's second leading returning scorer from a year ago, having averaged 7.0 points per game. Ries is an intelligent, hard-working, blue-collar player. He brings a great deal of experience and understanding of the Mountain West Conference to the team. Ries was a solid contributor off the bench on Wyoming's two Mountain West Conference Championship teams in 2000--01 and 2001-02.

2002-03 (Junior): Ries averaged 7.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game as a junior, while starting every game for UW. He shot 50.0 percent from the field and 73.7 percent from the free-throw line. He scored in double figures in seven games during the 2002-03 season. On Feb. 1, 2003, Ries was the key to Wyoming's 90-80 road victory at UNLV, as he scored a career high 17 points. He grabbed a career best 13 rebounds against Detroit on Dec. 28, 2002. Other big games during his junior season included: an 11-point night against South Carolina; and 11-point performance in a two-point (79-77) road win at Colorado State; and a 10-point, nine-rebound game against CSU in the MWC Tournament.

2001-02 (Sophomore): Ries hit a big basket in the NCAA First Round win over No. 6 ranked Gonzaga on March 14, 2002. He also played an important role in two critical Mountain West Conference games as a sophomore. He came off the bench midway through the first half against Colorado State on Jan. 12, 2002, to play eight minutes after Josh Davis picked up two quick fouls. Ries' defense helped the Cowboys build a 32-23 halftime lead before going on to post a convincing 95-72 home victory. He played a total of 11 minutes in that MWC home opener for the Pokes. Two weeks later in a four overtime home victory over Air Force, Ries contributed a then career high six rebounds, while playing 13 minutes. His biggest rebound of the night came with 29 seconds remaining in the fourth overtime and Wyoming holding on to a 79-76 lead. Teammate Donta Richardson missed the second of two free throws, but Ries came up with the offensive rebound and passed it out to former Cowboy Paris Corner, who was fouled. Corner converted both free throws and gave the Cowboys a five-point lead at 81-76 with only 24 seconds remaining. UW went on to win 83-76. Ries came up with a career best two steals in the Air Force game. He scored a season high seven points vs. Montana State, and scored six against Portland State. He tied a season high in minutes played with 13 at Texas Tech. He scored four points and pulled down three rebounds against the Red Raiders. On the season, Ries averaged 1.8 points and 1.5 rebounds per game, while playing 6.7 minutes per game. He shot 61.8 percent from the floor and 66.7 percent from three. Ries appeared in 30 of Wyoming's 31 games.

2000-01 (Freshman): Ries had the best game of his freshman season when he scored eight points in 17 minutes to help ignite a 78-74 home victory over Creighton on Dec. 1, 2000. But perhaps his most memorable game as a freshman came in a critical win versus archrival Colorado State in Fort Collins, Colo., on Jan. 13, 2001. While not playing a minute in regulation, Ries came off the bench in overtime and scored two points and grabbed three rebounds in four minutes of play to be a key contributor in Wyoming's 70-69 overtime win. One week later on Jan. 20, Ries played 15 minutes, scoring four points and pulling down two rebounds as the Pokes defeated Utah 78-77 in overtime for their second consecutive one-point overtime victory. Those two conference wins were UW's first two of the season, and were the beginning of six consecutive for the Cowboys as they took control of the Mountain West Conference race. Ries averaged 1.6 points, 1.0 rebounds and 6.1 minutes for the season. He appeared in 24 of Wyoming's 30 games. His season rebounding high of four came against Air Force on Feb. 24, 2001. Ries also shot 48.0 percent from the field, hitting 12 of 25 field-goal attempts.

High School/Personal: Ries was rated among the Top 125 High School seniors in 1999-2000 by national recruiting expert Bob Gibbons. A two-time All-State selection, he averaged 11.9 points and 8.4 rebounds per game as a senior on way to leading DeSmet to a 27-5 record and the finals of the state tournament. Ries scored 21 points and grabbed 15 rebounds in the state championship game, although DeSmet fell short of capturing its second consecutive state title.

As a junior, he averaged 15.0 points, 9.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game. His junior season, DeSmet posted a 30-2 record on way to League, District and State Championships. DeSmet became the first team in Metro Catholic League history to go undefeated in conference play. As a junior and senior, Ries earned Metro Catholic League MVP, First Team All-Conference, First Team All-District, First Team All-Metro and First Team All-State honors. He was team captain as a senior. Coached in high school by Bob Steiner.

Born Dec. 19, 1981, Ries is the son of JoAnn and Charlie Ries. Ries has two older brothers, David and Charlie. He comes from an athletic family. His father played basketball at St. Louis University. His brother David played basketball and football at Kansas State, and his brother Charlie played basketball at Northern Illinois. Ries was also recruited by Illinois State, Northwestern, Notre Dame, St. Louis and Vanderbilt. He is majoring in finance at UW.