UT Martin – Unusual Roster Stability

One on One with Ryan Ridder

(St. Louis, MO) – During the ‘portal pandemic’ UT Martin is experiencing unusual roster stability. 1,690 college basketball student-athletes have entered the portal. That is roughly 37 percent of the hoop playing Division 1 athletes.

While three players left the UTM program (David Didenko, Mikel Henderson and Phillip Hughes), second-year head coach Ryan Ridder saw eight of ten possible returners make the decision to stay in Martin, Tennessee. The Skyhawks won eight games last season and lost their final seven contests and SEVNTY-TWO PERCENT of their possible returning roster chose to stay.

Ridder must be building something we wanted to investigate.

Coaching Staff & Culture

Ridder is young (37) but has been around the coaching block. He held assistant coaching positions at Embry-Riddle and Campbell University and cut his head coaching teeth in the junior college ranks. Ridder went 95-28 at Daytona State College, winning four conference titles, before becoming the head coach at Bethune-Cookman. The Wildcats claimed one regular season title during Ridder’s three-year stay.

(Here is our first ever interview with Ryan Ridder)

He assembled a staff of both well-traveled, but younger coaches with similar passions and some, with whom he had worked previously. Ridder’s father, Steve Ridder was the head coach at Embry-Riddle and he and current UTM assistant Denver Cobb each coached under the elder Ridder.

Associate head coach Matt Sligh has served at Division 1 schools Kent State and Missouri State and won 37 games in two seasons as the head coach at Motlow State and recruited and coached two NBA players in Jaylen Barford and Alize Johnson.

Cobb and Ridder played collegiately together at Embry-Riddle and both worked for Ridder’s father at the school. His experiences at Texas Tech with coach Chris Beard preceded his three-years as an assistant with Ridder at Bethune-Cookman. The two came to UTM together last season.

Assistant Erik Buggs played collegiately at Valparaiso and was the head coach at Hoop City Basketball Club (Memphis). Director of Basketball Operations is Tiel Daniels, a Southern Illinois and Colorado State player. Daniels Ga-ed at CSU and was an assistant coach in the junior college ranks.

Ridder says staff dynamics are an important part of a program’s success. He believes the coaching continuity has aided in the unusual roster stability.

 

Unusual Roster Stability

Bethune-Cookman took 2020 off so Ridder had plenty of time to lock in on what he believed about coaching. During his first season at UTM there were on-court lessons, Ohio Valley Conference lessons and practical travel questions to answer.

He didn’t truly know any of his players. They dealt with injuries and a brand new league. Ridder says there was much to learn during his first Skyhawk season.

Despite and the disappointing 8-22 record, UTM is enjoying unusual roster stability. The Kentucky native says his returners are optimistic that better days are coming. One of Ridder’s mantras is to help each of his players feel valued and know their role matters.

Headlining that returning group is all-OVC wing K.J. Simon. The 6’3 Simon was technically on the Ridder’s Bethune-Cookman squad of 2020-21, but since the university opted out of playing basketball that season, the two never truly worked together.

Simon led the team in scoring (16.9 ppg), blocks, steals and minutes-played. He is a D1 veteran, having also played at Troy.

Ridder believes his players can see the proverbial ‘light at the end of the tunnel’.

 

 

 

New (& Old) Skyhawks on the Team

UTM has landed four highly regarded recruits. None are high school players. Jaylen Myers, Jordan Sears and Desmond Williams just completed productive season. Myers and Sears come from the junior college ranks and Williams arrives via the portal from Troy.

Former Skyhawk star Parker Stewart returns after two years after the passing of his father, former UTM head coach Anthony Stewart.

Ridder and his staff worked hard to fill perceived needs with these additions. Myers is a talented big man who rebounds at a high level and was one of the NJCAA’s top rebounders and free-throw shooters. Williams and Sears are talented guards from outstanding programs.

 

 

After the senior Stewart suddenly passed away, Parker understandably took a step away from the the game and the UTM basketball program. While returning to collegiate hoops at Indiana last season, Stewart averaged over six points per Hoosier game.

One of the most exciting stories in college basketball is the former all-OVC performer ‘coming home’. Ridder tells us Stewart’s return wasn’t planned, but was more of an epiphany for both Parker and the head coach.

 

 

Simon and Stewart represent two, all-conference players on this year’s roster. Eight returners are set to turn the program in the right direction. K.K. Curry won several ‘Newcomer of the Week’ awards and forward Josh Endicott is coming back from injury.

OVC and mid-major basketball fans are wise to keep an eye on the Skyhawks and its unusual roster stability. To watch the entire conversation head to YouTube and to hear Harry Schroeder’s interview click on Valley Hoops Insider Podcasts.

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