By Ryne Rickman, UT Martin Sports Information Director
MARTIN, Tenn. – To say the offseason was chaotic for Ryan Ridder would be a severe understatement.
Fortunately for the first-year University of Tennessee at Martin head men’s basketball coach, it was a rewarding type of craziness. After he was hired as the 12th leader in the history of the Skyhawk men’s basketball program on March 30, Ridder quickly got to work building a coaching staff.
In the span of 120 days, Ridder had remarkably found 14 student-athletes and six members of his inaugural staff. The 2021-22 roster was complete with a unique caveat – UT Martin would be the only program out of 358 NCAA Division I institutions to not return a single player from the previous season.
So how did Ridder do it?
“We probably did as many Zooms as anybody in the country,” said Ridder, who has spent the last four seasons as head coach at Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach, Fla. “The biggest challenge at that time when we were putting our roster together was that there was still no face-to-face recruiting. We watched as many videos as we could, we talked to people we trust, we looked at statistics and watched Synergy. We found an unbelievably fun group of guys who are built the right way – they’re accountable, they want to be coached, they are great ambassadors to the community and they are trying to excel at every area in life – not just basketball. We have 21 people who are working towards a common goal every day – building a special program at UT Martin.”
Ridder’s recruiting pitch was solidified by his successful resume. The 36-year-old Lexington, Ky. native owns a 143-73 career record and has orchestrated five conference championships in his eight seasons as a collegiate head coach. That includes four titles in four years at Daytona State College and a regular season conference championship at Bethune-Cookman in 2017-18, the same year he earned the Joe B. Hall Award which recognized the nation’s best first-year Division I head coach.
“The thing that we sold is the people,” Ridder said. “We sold relationships and experiences. I think a lot of people get caught up in the glitz and glam of facilities or how nice the uniforms are and those things – to me at least – aren’t important. Our program puts the student-athletes first. Whether you’re the number 1 or the number 14 player on our roster – all of these guys are valued. We have a process – we’re going to tell you the truth when recruiting you and we’re going to coach you hard but more importantly, we’re going to love on you and we’re going to be in your life not just these next four years but the next 40 years.”
The 14 players – six Division I transfers, one Division II transfer, two junior college transfers and five true freshmen – bought into that message and quickly formed a bond.
“Ultimately, I didn’t meet 13 of the 14 players until July 5 when they stepped on campus,” Ridder said. “The one player who we brought over from Bethune-Cookman – we didn’t get to coach him last year. There are only two people – myself and Denver Cobb, who was with me as an assistant coach at Bethune-Cookman – who have ever had a season together. No one’s done any of the drills we run in practice before, so we literally had to learn something new about our program every day. That part has been really challenging but it’s also been a blast.”
The obvious key to a successful Skyhawk season is chemistry. Not only has Ridder been impressed with his squad’s ability to learn each other’s tendencies on the court, but he has been equally fascinated with his team meshing off the hardwood as well.
“Our chemistry actually is very good,” Ridder said. “But that chemistry has to turn to production on the court and that takes time. It’s something we work on every day but it’s not something that can just happen overnight – we have to find a way to really use each other’s skillsets and enhance each other. I know our guys love each other off the court and we are becoming more and more comfortable on the court. By March, after playing 31-plus games with each other, we think we have a chance to be really successful because of our off-court character right now.”
As far as on-court intangibles, Ridder envisions a 2021-22 UT Martin squad that can light up the scoreboard and is active on the glass.
“Everywhere I’ve been, we have traditionally played a very fast pace and been a very good rebounding team,” Ridder said. “The game of basketball is transitioning and we put a premium on shooting in the recruiting process – we will have four to five players on the floor who can make shots at all times. We will look to play up-tempo, we have a lot of playmakers who can move the ball fairly well. We’re going to play extremely hard and all five guys have to find a way to rebound the basketball night-in and night-out.”
Seven guards grace the Skyhawk roster, none of which are more accomplished than graduate Darius Simmons. The 5-11, 180-pound southpaw tossed in 1,215 career points and shot 40.4 percent from three-point range at Lenoir-Rhyne, a Division II program located in Hickory, NC.
KJ Simon spent last season with Ridder at Bethune-Cookman but did not compete as the school opted out of all sports. Prior to that, he scored in double-digits six times at Troy in 2019-20. Mikel Henderson is a sophomore who helped Cowley College to a NJCAA runner-up berth last season, pouring in 962 points in two seasons. Koby Jeffries was also part of a winning program at UAB last year as the Olive Branch, Miss. native has four seasons of eligibility remaining at UT Martin.
Bernie Andre was one of Ridder’s first commitments as the graduate forward was the 2018-19 Big Sky Conference Newcomer of the Year. He posted 11 games of at least 20 points over two highly productive seasons at Northern Arizona before playing last season at FIU.
Three more Division I transfers are expected to play big roles in the Skyhawk frontcourt. Josh Endicott averaged 8.7 points and a team-high 6.2 rebounds per game last season at North Florida, while KK Curry (seven double-figure scoring performances in 2020-21) and David Didenko (once the No. 35 ranked junior college prospect in the nation in his class) played at South Alabama and Georgia Tech, respectively.
Chris Nix will additionally look to provide a big boost as the 6-9, 215-pound forward averaged 11.8 points, 9.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game while shooting 62 percent from the floor at Columbia State Community College.
UT Martin’s highly acclaimed freshman class includes guard Phillip Hughes (over 1,000 career points as part of three consecutive Mississippi state championships at Madison-Ridgeland Academy), guard Grant Hurst (1,469 career points at Cleveland High School in Tennessee), forward David Kamwanga (integral member of the prestigious Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia), swingman Josiah Morris (15.8 points and 9.0 rebounds per game last season at Central Kentucky HomeSchool) and guard Dylan Pumpian (Georgia 7A all-state honoree from Walton High School).
Ridder’s squad will face a daunting schedule that includes a pair of nationally ranked opponents as well as eight other formidable Division I opponents before Ohio Valley Conference play starts on Dec. 30.
“We tried to challenge ourselves with our nonconference slate,” Ridder said. “The OVC is so challenging in itself that we just wanted to make sure we were prepared for different scenarios. We like to be exposed in the nonconference portion so we can figure out how to find a chance to get hot in March and win a championship. I’ve watched a lot of OVC basketball – I have unbelievable respect for our league that has produced multiple wins in the NCAA Tournament and has pros playing in the NBA right now. Every night for 31 nights – I don’t care who we’re playing – we have to prepare the way that we do and be focused on us trying to find a way to put our best foot forward.”
The 2021-22 year is just the tip of the iceberg for an ascending Skyhawk program under Ridder, whose passion for the job is infectious.
“You don’t hear us really talk about building great teams – we talk about building great programs,” Ridder said. “If we can control the controllables – attitude, effort and energy – that will translate to on-court success. I get fired up to go to work every day because there is something special about tipping it up with this group who is appreciative of the opportunity to be at UT Martin. I don’t remember a time where I’ve been more excited to strap it up and go start a season.”
Graphic Courtesy of UT Martin Sports Information