Interview w/ Coach Matt Ridge (Head Coach & Athletic Director at Davidson-Davie CC)

2024-06-03

Coach Matt Ridge shares his journey from being a standout basketball player at Ledford High School to playing on the University of North Carolina JV team, to becoming one of the winningest NJCAA basketball coaches in the country. After sustaining an injury in high school his recruitment was derailed and that led him to UNC and trying out for the JV team. Following two season playing for the JV team, he stayed on as a Student Assistant for the JV team, and soaked up as much knowledge from the staff - including...

After sustaining an injury in high school his recruitment was derailed and that led him to UNC and trying out for the JV team. Following two season playing for the JV team, he stayed on as a Student Assistant for the JV team, and soaked up as much knowledge from the staff - including being a fixture behind the bench during the varsity games learning from the late Dean Smith.

Coach Ridge coached high school basketball prior to taking a leap of faith and joining the coaching staff at Guilford College (NCAA DIII) in 2006, and was on staff for their run to the "Elite Eight" featuring players like Ben Strong, Tyler Sanborn, Justin Strickland, and Caleb Kimbrough.

[Then] Davidson County Community College hired him to be the first head basketball coach in program history and he quickly assembled a talented roster than was ranked as high as 9th in the county and finishing the season as co-champions of the Tarheel Conference regular season.

The program moved up to NJCAA Division II and hasn't missed a beat. Coach Ridge has led the Storm to back-to-back National Championship games, followed by a 5th place finish, and a 3rd place finish in the NJCAA DII National Tournament in the last 4 years. His players have gone on to have great success at the four-year level as well.

The Storm has won 466 games in 17 years, against just 83 losses. The 466 wins are the most wins by any National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II or Division III program in the nation over the 17 years. Coach Ridge's Storm have an 84.88% winning percentage - also the highest winning percentage in the country during that time frame - including winning 93% of their home games.

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