‘Selfless’ teammate played through injury to help Wichita State basketball in WKU win
When Dalen Ridgnal wasn’t in the game on Thursday night, he was standing behind the Wichita State men’s basketball team bench.
It wasn’t because of excitement or nerves. It was to avoid further injury.
Not that any WSU fans could have been able to tell by Ridgnal’s performance on the court, where he grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds and scored seven points in 23 minutes off the bench in the Shockers’ 71-61 win over the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers.
But WSU head coach Paul Mills said the same back injury that prevented Ridgnal from playing in the Iowa closed scrimmage three weeks ago flared up before Thursday’s game.
“We actually didn’t know if Dalen would be able to play tonight,” Mills said. “He played through injury. He wasn’t healthy tonight, but he just battled through it and that kind of speaks to his selflessness and wanting to add value to the team. Knowing he’s got a responsibility to other people. He’s going to fight through that and he came through with some big rebounds there.”
Ridgnal was the latest addition to WSU’s roster, as he didn’t join the team until the day it left for the Greece exhibition tour in August.
In his short two months with the team, the graduate transfer from Missouri State has already made a serious impression on his teammates with his boundless energy on the court and unwavering positivity.
“The thing about Dalen is he might be the most selfless basketball player I’ve ever played with,” WSU junior guard Harlond Beverly said. “Literally anything that contributes to winning, he’s willing to do. If that’s not play, if that means diving on a ball, hitting 3s, whatever that entails, he’s absolutely willing to show up and try his absolute hardest. He’s a great player and a great teammate.”
Ridgnal is a former junior-college All-American at Cowley College, but his career at the Division I level has been somewhat muted. He hardly played during his lone year at Georgia during the 2021-22 season, then he was productive (5.0 points, 4.3 rebounds while shooting 37.3% on 3-pointers) but outside of the consistent rotation at Missouri State last season.
He may have found his perfect basketball fit at WSU under Mills, who has a great appreciation for his shooting ability and tenacious rebounding ability but also all of the other intangibles that Ridgnal brings to a basketball team.
“You almost have to calm him down on the bench because he gets so excited,” Mills said. “There’s energy that happens and some of it is just through your own internal enthusiasm. He’s just a naturally happy guy. He’s a phenomenal teammate and the kid is a joy to be around.”
Ridgnal is capable of shouldering a larger scoring load, but is thriving in his first two games for the Shockers by embracing his energy role off the bench.
So far, WSU hasn’t needed him to score much. He has 10 combined points on just seven shots. But where Ridgnal has become a force is on the glass, as he has totaled 20 rebounds in just 49 minutes of play.
Mills likes to call rebounds grabbed above the rim “city” rebounds and Ridgnal has been specializing in them this season. He added a handful more on Thursday where he skied above crowds to snatch the rebound over everyone, which helped him track down 11 of his 13 boards on the defensive end.
It’s no surprise he currently leads WSU in both offensive (9.2%) and defensive (24.0%) rebounding rate, which is made even more impressive considering he was playing through an injury on Thursday in a physical matchup with WKU.
“To see him go up there and grab those rebounds through contact,” WSU guard Xavier Bell said. “He brings that energy when we need it. He came in with the right attitude off the bench and got the crowd involved. What he does is super beneficial for us.”
Watching Ridgnal succeed already reminds Mills of a conversation he had with coaching friend Tom Crean, who coached Ridgnal at Georgia, during the summer when the forward entered the transfer portal.
“Tom told me, ‘Paul, you have to take him. He will find a way,’” Mills said. “There hasn’t been a day that’s gone by and Dalen Ridgnal is not the last person out of the gym. He works. He has a motor. He is just a phenomenal young man. So yeah, we lucked into that one.”
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