What makes Dalen Ridgnal an elite ‘city’ rebounder on Wichita State basketball team
By Paul Mills’ estimation, 90% of rebounds in a college basketball game are secured below the rim.
He calls those “suburban” rebounds.
The 10% that occur above the rim? Those are known as “city” rebounds.
The past two months of practices for the Wichita State men’s basketball team have revealed Dalen Ridgnal, a 6-foot-6 graduate transfer from Missouri State, is something of an expert in grabbing city rebounds.
“Dalen is an elite rebounder, like a shockingly elite rebounder,” Mills said. “He has this uncanny ability that you see in European basketball a lot, this ability to tip it to himself while it’s coming off the rim. I was just watching a clip of him rebounding over (6-foot-11 center) Quincy Ballard, which is no small task. It’s a unique ability to do what he does at his size. It’s really not something you can teach, it’s just something that you have and he has it.”
Shocker basketball fans will be reminded of two of the program’s better rebounders in recent memory when watching Ridgnal: he has a similar tenacity in chasing rebounds as Monzy Jackson and does it with a similar frame to Rashard Kelly.
While Kelly studied the art of rebounding and mixed effort with smarts in his pursuit, Ridgnal shares the same desperation as Jackson when it comes to rebounding: go every time like it’s the last time.
He only averaged 4.3 rebounds per game last season at Missouri State, which doesn’t seem impressive, but considering he played less than 18 minutes per game, Ridgnal’s per-minute rebounding was outstanding. He was one of only four players to rank in the top-eight of both offensive rebounding rate (8.5) and defensive rebounding rate (21.4) in the Missouri Valley Conference.
At Cowley College, Ridgnal was a two-time All-American, averaged a double-double for his career and ranked second in NJCAA Div. I in rebounding (12.8) during his sophomore year.
Despite joining WSU the day the team left for its exhibition tour in Greece, Ridgnal still managed to lead the Shockers with his 34 rebounds collected in three games.
Ridgnal said the root of his rebounding skills can be traced back to the fourth grade when his aunt used to sit up in the stands of youth basketball games in Kansas City and scream at him to grab rebounds.
“Ever since then, I just chase the ball,” Ridgnal said. “I don’t really study (rebounding). I just go and get the ball, honestly.”
It’s a style that WSU assistant coach Quincy Acy, who led Baylor in rebounding for his final two seasons during his collegiate career, can relate to.
“Having a nose for the ball, not being afraid of contact, timing, those are all big factors that go into being a great rebounder,” Acy said. “Dalen has all of that, but really he just has a nose for it. It seems like he’s a magnet for the ball.”
Because of his outside shooting ability, Ridgnal is typically outside of the 3-point arc when a shot goes up. And when his 6-foot-6, 215-pound frame is afforded a running start, he is nearly impossible to box out. What he lacks in height, Ridgnal makes up for in wingspan and leaping ability. He claims to never have a plan when a shot goes up, other than to find a crease in the paint where bodies are clashing.
That spontaneity is somewhat of a gift and a curse to Ridgnal. It’s what makes him such an effective offensive rebounder, but the way Mills coaches defensive rebounding at WSU, he will need better discipline at that end of the floor.
“I’m on him all of the time, mainly defensive rebounding, because I used to be the same exact way,” Acy said. “I was a hell of an offensive rebounder, but defensively, I would sometimes forget to box guys out. At this level, you’re not going to be able to out-jump and out-tough everybody.”
Ridgnal has already proven he can grab the city rebounds, but his challenge for this season from the WSU coaching staff is to prove he can secure suburban rebounds too.
