David Riley finally found an opportunity that made him think it was time to leave what he helped create at Eastern Washington of the Big Sky Conference. Despite uncertainty about the future, Riley made the jump in part because all it required was a short move down the road.

Riley was introduced Thursday as the coach at Washington State, taking over for Kyle Smith, who left for the same position at Stanford after leading the Cougars to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 16 years.

“It’s just the idea of being in a college town where there’s no distractions, you have a really passionate group around you that cares about the university, that cares about the basketball team,” Riley said of his move to Washington State. “There’s a real support system here and I think it’s very conducive to building a family atmosphere with the team.”

Riley is young — he’s only 35. He spent 13 years at Eastern Washington in a variety of roles, and he’s only been a head coach for three years.

But was highly successful in that stint, going 62-30. With Washington State facing a shaky foundation, Riley could end up being an optimal hire for the Cougars to navigate the next few years.