How ‘junkyard dog’ Dalen Ridgnal turns lost balls into saved possessions for Wichita State

It would have been a turnover 99% of the time, but that 1% chance is what Dalen Ridgnal strives to make happen on a basketball court.

A couple thousand Wichita State fans braved eight inches of snowfall on a Saturday night in November to watch the Shockers take on the No. 293-ranked KenPom team in the country.

Not exactly a script written in Hollywood.

But what makes Ridgnal so special is his willingness to chase the 1% every single time, even on snowy nights in November against a buy-game opponent.

So when Kenny Pohto’s alley-oop attempt sailed so high that not even 6-foot-11 Quincy Ballard’s fingertips could touch the basketball, Ridgnal’s initial instinct was to chase the loose ball. It didn’t matter that he was outside the 3-point arc at the top of the key when Pohto’s pass went hurdling out of bounds in the left corner.

The next bounce of the ball would have been out of bounds for a turnover, but Ridgnal swooped in just in time. He planted his left foot inches inside the boundary line, secured the ball, did a spread-eagle pose to generate the momentum to whip the ball back towards the nearest Norfolk State player and successfully hit Allen Betrand to knock the ball out of bounds and keep possession with the Shockers.

Ridgnal crashed into the cheerleaders sitting on the baseline and hit his head on the railing, which caused him to exit the game and miss the final eight minutes. He was later deemed fine by WSU head coach Paul Mills, who said Ridgnal is “Teflon tough.”

Hustle plays like that only show up in the box score as one rebound, failing to capture their momentum-shifting nature and impact they can have on a team. Ridgnal, a graduate transfer from Missouri State, specializes in them.

“We love his hustle. I mean, who doesn’t?” WSU center Kenny Pohto said. “Any team that has one of those guys is going to be a pretty successful team. We love having Dalen on the team. He’s a junkyard dog. That’s what he does.”

For most players, a hustle play like that would have been the highlight of their season. For Ridgnal, it was just one of three such plays he made in Saturday’s game alone to help WSU win 80-67 over Norfolk State and improve to 6-1 this season.

Another example — that won’t show up in the box score — of Ridgnal saving a lost possession for the Shockers occurred during his first stint in the game during the first half.

Colby Rogers tried to slot a kick-out pass to Ridgnal on the wing, but the pass was deflected high into the air. Norfolk State’s Jamarii Thomas (6-foot even) had inside position for the steal, but Ridgnal (6-foot-6) tracked the ball in the air and timed his jump so he could tip the ball safely to teammate Isaac Abidde in the corner.

It’s not often Ridgnal is immediately rewarded for his hustle plays, but this time his determination to extend a possession worked to his benefit: Seconds after the save, Pohto found Ridgnal on a backdoor cut for what turned into a three-point play for Ridgnal.

“He’s that guy who does all of the little things,” Pohto said of Ridgnal, who finished with 11 points, five rebounds and a steal.

Ridgnal saved another possession for the Shockers by the sidelines late in the first half, tracking down a blocked shot that could have been recovered by Norfolk State and throwing it off the closest defender out of bounds.

The way Ridgnal pursues the ball reminds Mills of a former player who just so happens to also sit on WSU’s bench: assistant coach Quincy Acy, a former star at Baylor who enjoyed a lengthy career in the NBA — in part by excelling in tracking down the 1% loose balls.

Those hustle plays don’t always guarantee additional points. Of Ridgnal’s three saves on Saturday, the Shockers only cashed in once.

But over time, those extra chances add up.

“Dalen’s pursuit of the ball is rare,” Mills said. “I remember Quincy Acy told me, ‘I just took playing hard for granted. I thought everybody did it.’ I had to tell Quincy, ‘You took it for granted because you did it. You don’t understand that everybody doesn’t pursue the ball like that.’ Whether it’s a rebound or it’s a loose ball, you can always count on Dalen to make sure the pursuit is there.”