Pridgett brings energy, fire to Grizzlies

By Glenn Junkert
For GoGriz.com

"My No. 1 goal as a player is to bring a lot of energy and fire. I want to turn the heat up." – Sayeed Pridgett

March is that time of year when winning teams often "advance to the dance" because of an energetic boost from a younger player pushing to expand his role to help his team. Sayeed Pridgett has proven ready to be that man for the 2018 Big Sky Conference champion Montana Grizzlies, who this week clinched that title.

The 6-5 sophomore guard – Montana's season-long sixth man – has provided defensive energy, a mid-range scoring punch and roster depth for his Griz with increasing reliability. Pridgett has steadily upped his time on court – now at 22.5 minutes – and his scoring average. As Montana's fourth-leading scorer (8.2 points per game) Pridgett's trademark role as a versatile mid-range scorer has made Montana's offensive attack more of an enigma for opponents. Game by game, the young combo guard is polishing his unique style.

In Pridgett, Montana's coaches had always envisioned a physically and mentally gifted player on the verge of breakout-star power. His development during Montana's championship run has been welcomed.

A native of Oakland, California, and a product of the widely known East Bay basketball culture, Pridgett (El Cerrito H. S.), along with freshman teammate Timmy Falls (Dublin H. S.) take pride in following the footsteps of a line of heralded Montana guards, and Oakland natives, who most recently include Will Cherry (McClymonds H. S.) and Mario Dunn (Salesian H. S.), and for that matter, Montana associate head coach Chris Cobb (East Bay) as well.

"The cool thing about the recruiting relationship with Sayeed is obviously myself being from the Bay Area," Cobb said. "I went to Bishop O'Dowd High School in the East Bay area, where Sayeed is from. I've known Sayeed and watched him since he was in eighth or ninth grade at different tournaments.

"When we (Cobb and head coach Travis DeCuire) first got here as coaches, Sayeed was one of the first targets we had right away. Sayeed was someone we really believed in. We had a lot of relationships with people he knew and played for, so we developed a strong belief in him, his family and what he's about.

And...

"What first drew us to Sayeed is his fire and heart," Cobb said.

As a key target in the second recruiting class of DeCuire's tenure, Pridgett is most-often described as possessing the size and muscle of a small forward in combo with the deft ball-handling, shooting and court-vision-skills of a point guard.

"From a basketball level, his size and skill level stand out," Cobb said, "but I think the thing that first stands out is Sayeed's heart and his competitive level; he's just a great competitor and a great person."

His increased on-court contributions during his sophomore season are a good omen for Montana's near- and long-range future. Nothing's guaranteed in college hoops and, with experienced Montana veteran guards in junior starters Ahmaad Rorie and Michael Oguine – widely considered the best starting one-two guard tandem in the Big Sky Conference – floor minutes have to be earned. Pridgett loves the challenge, and his results are stacking up.

As a talented, but still raw-skilled freshman, it became clear to Pridgett that he had to do whatever it took to earn floor time. That is why Pridgett has embraced his role as Montana's sixth man – the player that's always the first sub onto the court, usually within the first two or three minutes of game action in DeCuire's program.

Despite Pridgett's considerable offensive skills, he struggled with his defensive game as a freshman recruit of promise. In a Montana program that has long emphasized defense first, it quickly became clear to Pridgett that some things had to change in his personal game – most of them on defense. Those changes were hard-earned during a full summer of conditioning.

"Coach Trav challenged me," Pridgett said. "My defense is what it is because, after my freshman year, Trav challenged me to focus on my defense. So I took the challenge seriously to work all summer to come back ready as a sophomore. Every game I want to make a statement on the floor that I can guard and play defense."

Within every game's first three minutes, like clockwork, Pridgett is Montana's first man off the bench. And also like clockwork, Pridgett uses his lanky frame to unleash a charge of energy on defense and on the boards. Pridgett's No. 1 goal is lock-down defense. His stats line stands as proof. Despite coming off the bench, Pridgett's 1.3 steals per game rank seventh in the Big Sky. He's also the team's fifth-best rebounder, averaging 4.0 boards per game.

"I don't really work on steals," Pridgett said, "but it is one of the rules of our defense – to be in the right position at the right time – so when that happens it becomes instinct, to anticipate something before it happens.

Added Cobb: "We still push Sayeed and try to get more out of him on defense. When a kid goes from high school to college, it's hard to adjust to the physicality of defense, but he's responding. His defensive success has given him more minutes on court, and that has given him more opportunities to score, which he has done at an increasing level.

"Sayeed is a little bit of a tweener. He can play one through four if you need him to. He's got old-school game, he's very skilled for his size, he's smart since he's watched a lot of basketball and learns from seeing other people do things, and then does them himself."

Pridgett played major roles in Montana's final three conference home games. Prominent in the 90-63 win over Montana State were several highlight-reel plays by the acrobatic Pridgett. Over nine explosive second-half minutes, he scored 14 points with a variety of twisting drives, up-and-under reverse layups, smooth pull-up jumpers and combative rebound put-back shots against the Cats.

In Montana's final conference game – a 75-64 home-court win over Idaho State – Pridgett logged 25 huge minutes, with key stops against the Bengals' perimeter shooting game. He converted five mid-range shots (for 10 points) and was a monster on the boards, raking down eight critical rebounds – a significant chunk of Montana's 45-27 board dominance over the Bengals.

Pridgett's roommate and friend, Rorie, is a vocal advocate.

"I think Sayeed is the best sixth man in the Big Sky Conference," Rorie said firmly. "Sayeed, along with Bogdan Bliznyuk (Eastern Washington), are the two most versatile players in the conference who can play a lot of positions.

"Sayeed brings instant offense and instant rebounding as soon as he checks into the game. When we play our five-out offense, and Sayeed plays the four, he's a matchup nightmare; people can't guard him. When they put their four man on him he'll drive, but when they put their three man on him, he'll just post up on them."

Pridgett's versatility has allowed him to play in other roles as well, frequently rotating with starting wing Bobby Moorehead, and – because of his rebounding moxie – occasionally moving to power forward when Montana switches to its spread, five-out offense.

"What Sayeed brings to the table is the versatility to play more than one position," Rorie said. "It's turning into a real polished inside-outside game. He really showed that against Montana State when we spread the floor."

Pridgett's multi-position versatility has also opened up Montana's multi-pronged attack for another Oakland guard, freshman Timmy Falls, himself more of a fit as a one or two guard.

Pridgett's fire and game is no surprise to Falls, though. As high school players in the competitive high school basketball scene of Oakland, the two were familiar with each other.

"Sayeed's definitely one of the toughest physical players I've played with," Falls said. "He's kind of like an undersized big, but since he plays guard also he can play them both. Add to that, he has a really good mid-range game with really good ball-handling skills for a three guard, and that makes him versatile in all areas.

"One thing about Sayeed is he has tremendous finish as he gets around the basket, and no one in this league can stop Sayeed, compared to other three guards in this league. Sayeed can do it all."

Pridgett's role and versatility have also allowed Montana coaches to make adjustments at both ends of the floor. Pridgett's wide defensive profile has been at the point of Montana's trapping defense, particularly on hedges and defensive switches at the top of the key, and in jump traps near half court.

Offensively, Pridgett's speed and mid-key scoring versatility allow Montana to spread the floor in its five-out offense, or as a slasher from the high post against zone defenses, where in recent games he's put the hammer down with clutch baskets.

"Honestly, I've found that being the sixth man is not hard," Pridgett said. "I can see what mistakes the other team is making, and then I can come in off the bench and really capitalize on what the other team is doing wrong, and to also make adjustments to what we're doing wrong."

Despite Montana's historic championship run, Pridgett's goals remain consistent: to bring the fire.

"What I need to do down the stretch of this season is to bring a lot more energy to this team," Pridgett said. "I want to make an impact on the floor with defensive stops, blocks and steals. On offense I'd like to bring an impact to the mid-range game.

"I love the role I'm in. I can be a lot better, and that's what I'm working for. Our team is doing an amazing job right now, so that's what 's most important to me."

A conversation with Sayeed Pridgett:
How important is the city of Oakland for a young hoops player? Basketball in Oakland is very, very big, and there are a lot of big-name players who came from Oakland. The pressure in Oakland to be good is already there. The reputations are already there. So everyone in Oakland compares you to players who were there before you.

I grew up in Oakland, but played at El Cerrito High School, several miles north. I lived in Oakland, between McClymonds High School and El Cerrito. My first schools in Oakland were Berkeley Mainerd, and then I went to Montero Middle School in the Oakland Hills. I really wanted to go to McClymonds, but right around that time the streets in Oakland were getting kind of bad, so my mom and my dad told me, 'No, that's not the route for you, because we want you to get a solid education in a school where you can also play basketball.' That's when I decided to go to El Cerrito, which was good since I already had family there and I was able to live there, for four years.

When and how did you develop an interest in basketball? In about sixth grade I started to realize I could probably be good. I was taller than all my friends and was sort of dominant. Basketball is my life. Actually, when I was pretty young, I first thought about playing baseball and I played that a lot. But one of my parents' childhood friends, an AAU coach named Melvin Landry started me with the Oakland Rebels AAU program in about 2003. Back then I wasn't old enough to be on the team, but I was bigger than a lot of the older guys, so I played with the 5- and 6-year-olds in the Oakland recreational league with the Oakland Rebels.

When did you start to think you could play basketball in college? I grew up thinking I was going to be a center, but in middle school I started to think about becoming a guard after my middle school coach played me at point. At first, I was like, what is this? But my middle school coach, Jason Dillard, flat out said, 'Yo, man, you're not going to play power forward or center in college, so you need to get ready for this by playing point.' After that, when I played for the Oakland Rebels, Coach Raymond also played me at point guard. That's exactly the point where Montana started recruiting me, seeing I could play guard. As I learned guard skills and what it takes, that's when I really started developing and getting recruited by Montana. Coach Cobb was the guy who started talking to me, and then Coach Trav started to talk to me when I was a junior and senior.

Who are the people in your life that influenced you personally and athletically? Both of my parents –Terry Pridgett, Sr. and Perona Thomas – played basketball, so when I was growing up they took a big role for me. Where I get my jersey number, No. 4, from is because of my parents. Both of them wore No. 22, so I chose four because I added two plus two, which makes my number four. Those two have been with me all my life. I kind of struggled in school, so my dad pushed me to do better first off the court and then on the court. My mom really disciplined me off the court. She kept telling me that without my classroom work I would not be able to get to where I am right now. My mom texts me before every game. My dad was always at every game, at home or on the road.

I played for the same AAU program that Damian Lilliard played for, so we had the same AAU coach. P for that team, everyone realized there were some big shoes to fill as a player. There were other shoes too. I wanted to go to the same High School, McClymonds, where Will Cherry went. I looked up to Will. I talk to Will a lot and it's nice to see him succeed.

More on Sayeed
"Sayeed is just a great person. It's hard sometimes to explain because others don't always get to see what makes a team, but as a person, he's as vital as anyone on our team; he's got the best pure leadership skills in our program – from his voice to his example, to embracing his role that he's got. I think he'll have a huge finish for us this year and a huge next two years for us. He's far from a finished product. We have high hopes for him as we move into the future. There's still a lot for him to learn and give." – associate head coach Chris Cobb

"I was definitely aware of Sayeed. We played for rival AAU teams. I played for the Oakland Soldiers and Sayeed played for the Oakland Rebels, so we always used to see each other. I've actually known him since middle school." – freshman Timmy Falls

University of Montana Athletics

Players Mentioned

Timmy Falls

Bobby Moorehead

Michael Oguine

Sayeed Pridgett

Ahmaad Rorie

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