Beyond the Box Score Podcast David Kaplan

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 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.






**Sponsored by FastModel**



Be sure to check out FastModelSports.com and use the promo code "BOXSCORE" for 15% off your purchase.


---

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beyondtheboxscore/support

Coach Tysor "Ty" Anderson shares his journey from growing up in a basketball family to becoming a successful college basketball coach in his own right.

Ty Anderson's grandfather was a legendary coach and a Naismith Hall of Famer [Charles "Lefty" Driesell] and his uncle is Chuck Driesell. Coach Anderson has blazed his own trail after being a PWO and Student Assistant at Georgia Tech, he's probably the only NCAA Division I coach who served in the Peace Corps.

He got his first college coaching job at South Georgia State College before going to Cambodia with the Peace Corps. When he returned to the United States, he became a Graduate Assistant at North Georgia College in the Peach Belt Conference.

Coach Anderson became the Head Coach at South Gwinnett High School in 2016 and led them to a 32-22 record during his two seasons at the helm. After South Gwinnett he accepted the same role at Holy Spirit Prep in 2018. At Holy Spirit Prep he coached future 1st Overall Pick in the NBA Draft - and future NBA All Star [and Olympian] Anthony Edwards. The team finished the season with a 20-14 overall record, including a perfect 10-0 mark in the region.

Coach Ray Harper added Ty to his coaching staff at Jacksonville State as the Coordinator of Basketball Operations, and eventually was promoted to an Assistant Coach. The Gamecocks advanced to the NCAA Tournament in his final season on staff.

He went on to accept an Assistant Coach position at Wofford and is set to enter his third season on staff with the Terriers in 2024-25.



**Sponsored by FastModel**


Be sure to check out FastModelSports.com and use the promo code "BOXSCORE" for 15% off your purchase.

---

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beyondtheboxscore/support

Coach Randy Phillips shares his journey from growing up in Jackson, Mississippi to playing basketball at the professional level, and now coaching NCAA Division I basketball at UNCG.


He started off his college career at East Central Community College before transferring to Radford where he played for Coach Mike Jones. Phillips and future NBA player Carlik Jones went on to win the 2018 Big South Conference Tournament and won their First Four game in Dayton.


After graduating from Radford he played professionally in Canada, France, and Switzerland. In 2021 he retired from playing professionally and joined the UNCG coaching staff working under Coach Jones.

**Sponsored by FastModel**


Be sure to check out FastModelSports.com and use the promo code "BOXSCORE" for 15% off your purchase.




---

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beyondtheboxscore/support

Coach Ethan Kahn shares his journey from growing up in Arizona to becoming a Student Assistant at the NCAA DI level, and eventually becoming an Assistant Coach at Bemidji State University (NCAA DII).

Kahn served as a Student Assistant at Northern Arizona from 2017 until 2021 and moved across the country to become a Graduate Assistant in North Carolina at Catawba College. He served as the Director of Basketball Operations and Video Coordinator in addition to being in graduate school.

Coach Kahn helped with all aspects of the program at Catawba and during the 2022-23 season he served as the Head Developmental Coach for the Red team.

In 2023 he was named an Assistant Coach at Bemidji State University in Minnesota.


**Sponsored by FastModel**

Be sure to check out FastModelSports.com and use the promo code "BOXSCORE" for 15% off your purchase.


---

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beyondtheboxscore/support

Coach Jarren "JD" Dyson shares his journey from being a DIII student athlete at Emory & Henry (now NCAA DII) to becoming a D1 Assistant Coach

Dyson served under Coach John Krikorian at Christopher Newport University
and helped lead the CNU to back-to-back conference championships and a run to the program's first-ever Final Four appearance in 2016.

Following a 99-19 record and three conference championships during his time at CNU, Coach Dyson landed an Assistant Coach position at Lafayette College - he went on to spend five seasons at Lafayette under the legendary Coach Fran O'Hanlon.

After Lafayette he returned to Christopher Newport for one season - and helped them win the NCAA DIII National Championship. Following that feat he returned to the Patriot League to be an Assistant Coach at Army on first year Head Coach Kevin Kuwik's inaugural coaching staff.





**Sponsored by FastModel**
Be sure to check out FastModelSports.com and use the promo code "BOXSCORE" for 15% off your purchase.








---

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beyondtheboxscore/support

Coach Billy Bales shares his journey from growing up in Elizabethton Tennessee to becoming a coach at the NCAA DI level.
Bales played college basketball at Lenoir-Rhyne under three different head coaches (John Lentz, Ryan Odom, and Everick Sullivan). In 2016 he led the Bears to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA DII Tournament. He remained at Lenoir-Rhyne as a Graduate Assistant under Coach Everick Sullivan and again helped them reach the NCAA Tournament.
After completing his master's degree at Lenoir-Rhyne, Bales was hired by Coach Ryan Odom at UMBC and he spent one season coaching at UMBC before going with Coach Odom to Utah State as the Director of Player Development. While at Utah State he helped the Aggies to a 2023 NCAA Tournament berth, as well as a 2022 NIT appearance.
Coach Bales was hired at VCU in April of 2023.


**Sponsored by FastModel**
Be sure to check out FastModelSports.com and use the promo code "BOXSCORE" for 15% off your purchase.

---

Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beyondtheboxscore/support