Sunday at 1 p.m., the Davidson County Community College head coach takes his men’s basketball team into Williams’ new living room, otherwise known as the Smith Center, for a game against the North Carolina junior varsity. And remarkably, the Tar Heels’ JV will play in Ridge’s house – Brinkley Gymnasium – on Jan. 27 in a rare road game.
“I feel very, very lucky to get them to play us twice – that’s their only away game this year,” Ridge said. “We use it as a recruiting tool, and I hope we can continue to host games at Brinkley Gymnasium against them, make this a tradition. We hope to continue this great relationship.”
The relationship dates to 1992, when a hot-shot point guard from Ledford High School arrived in Chapel Hill with a burning desire to continue his playing career. Ridge tried out for the Tar Heels’ junior varsity team and made the roster at shooting guard his first two seasons, playing first for Randy Wiel and then Dave Hanners.
That Ridge and his teammates got to wear Tar Heel jerseys and play in the Smith Center at all was remarkable. JV teams, after all, came about during the dinosaur days when freshmen weren’t permitted to play varsity sports due to NCAA rules. But legendary UNC coach Dean Smith liked the JV experience and wasn’t about to do away with the program.
“Coach Smith always said he felt like everybody who comes to the university should have a chance to try out for the basketball team,” Williams explained recently at the Operation ACC Basketball media day. “So if you tried out, you did a good job, you were offered a chance to try out for the varsity. I played on a freshman team when freshmen weren’t allowed to play on the varsity, and I had a great experience. I coached it for eight years and loved it, then our son came along and was involved in it and I loved it for that.”
The paths of Scott Williams and Matt Ridge crossed at that time. After two years playing for the JV, Ridge got his tryout with the varsity and a meeting with Smith.
“I was a walk-on he knew he was cutting – he didn’t have to spend 30 minutes talking to me,” Ridge recalled. “But Coach Smith took the time to talk with me about my life. My dream was to become a coach and he took the time to help me reach my goals. That sent a message to me.”
Smith allowed Ridge to help coach the JV team with Hanners and then Phil Ford. In the 1995-96 season, Roy Williams’ son arrived in Chapel Hill – leaving behind his dad, who would coach the Kansas Jayhawks until coming to North Carolina in 2002 – and played on the junior varsity squad.
A few years later, when Ridge and his best friend were driving aimlessly on a cross-country trip, they happened to stop in Lawrence to look around, discovered that the Jayhawks were holding a basketball camp and stopped by to say hello. Scott Williams invited Ridge and friend David Neal to spend the night at the family home.
The elder Williams mostly busied himself chatting with recruits, but Ridge still laughed about “hanging out in the living room” with Roy.
The rest, as they say, is history. Ridge coached the East Davidson boys for years, spent a season as an assistant at Guilford College and then was tabbed to lead Davidson County’s men’s team as it ended a long hiatus.
The first two years of the Storm’s existence, DCCC landed on the Tar Heels’ schedule. The initial visit to the Smith Center saw Ridge’s team lead at halftime before suffering a close loss. Last year’s contest proved to be no contest as UNC romped.
“That left a bad taste in my mouth, and hopefully I can do a better job getting my guys ready to play,” Ridge said. “A lot of players are just overwhelmed to be playing in the Smith Center for the first time in their life. The JV players practice and play there every day, so they’re not shell-shocked.”
If Williams has his way, there will always be a team at UNC for the state’s smaller schools to play. The Big XII Conference outlawed JV programs during Williams’ stay in Kansas, and the Tar Heels are the lone team in the ACC still fielding one.
This year’s squad, coached by Jerod Haase, will play 16 games against small four-year colleges, five community colleges – including Guilford Tech on Dec. 1 – and a few prep schools.
“As long as I’m the head coach and people will allow it, we’re going to have it because I think it’s wonderful,” Williams said. “It was a tremendous experience for me, tremendously important to my development as a coach. I loved the fact that those 16, 17, 18 guys were going to be tremendous North Carolina fans forever.”
Ridge certainly can be counted among that group. He just won’t be rooting for the Tar Heels this Sunday or on Wednesday, Jan. 27.
“I feel very, very lucky to be involved in any capacity with Carolina basketball,” Ridge said. “When people talk about Carolina basketball as a family, it truly is. They really make you not just a better basketball player, but a better person.”
shanf@hpe.com | 888-3526
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