Pridgen's double-double leads to Player of the Week honors
12/3/2024 2:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Add another award to Joe Pridgen's trophy case. The MVP of the Stew Morrill Classic has been named the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week, the league announced on Tuesday.
Pridgen has been a revelation for Montana since arriving from Northeastern over the summer, and he put together his best week of basketball in leading Montana to a 3-0 record at their home MTE.
He earns his POTW honor for his performance in Wednesday night's win over CSUN. Pridgen had 20 points and 13 rebounds in the game to become the first Grizzly in over two years with the stat line, and it led the Grizzlies to a good win over the 5-1 Matadors.
"I'm really happy for Joe," DeCuire said. "He's been great for us in a lot of ways. You can look at the numbers, the way he impacts the game with his energy. But also in the locker room, his positivity, his enthusiasm, his coachability have been huge. It's leadership that we have not had in a long time in terms of assuming accountability for not only himself, but whoever is in his group."
While the games didn't count toward this week, Pridgen shined in all three games for Montana. He averaged 17.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, shooting 61.1 percent from the floor across the three games.
He stole the show with a highlight reel worthy of an entire season confined to just three games. Pridgen had eight dunks across the three games, including several poster-worthy jams.
He shot better than 50 percent in all three games, and hit the 20-point mark twice.
But it's been about much more than just his offense. Pridgen also averaged a steal per game and had a block in the win over CSUN.
"I want my team to be tough and physical. It's getting harder to recruit guys that fit those characteristics," DeCuire said. "Joe exemplifies them as well as anyone we've had, if not just in a long time, ever. I think that's played a huge role in our last week of success."
Pridgen is averaging 13.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game this season. He's 11th in the Big Sky in scoring and 3rd in rebounding. He also leads the conference in field goal percentage this year, shooting 66.2 percent in Montana's eight games.
The 6-5 forward is also in the top 10 in the Big Sky in both blocked shots (7) and steals (12). The countable stats are impressive, and his attitude and leadership have also been high level.
"I get a technical at Utah State, and he knew what the point of that was and held the team up and we went on a run based off our defense and hustle," DeCuire said. "He dives on the floor, he contests shots, he does all the things that impact winning, and he just happens to be scoring the ball at the same time. He's been the perfect addition to this group."
Montana has played a wide variety of opponents in terms of levels. The Grizzlies have faced off against three teams that are in the top 15 of the first NCAA NET Rankings that have a combined 21-0 record. They have also played a pair of non-D-1 teams, and have had three other home contests.
Pridgen has played well regardless of the opponent. He had 14 points and 9 rebounds at Oregon, and 18 points and 8 rebounds at Utah State.
"He's given our guys a lot of confidence in terms of our ability to stand up to whoever is in front of us," DeCuire said. "I think that he's helped us weather storms in games just with his mental approach and his confidence regardless to what the scoreboard says, so I think he's been very healthy for this program."
He's the second Grizzly to earn the Big Sky Player of the Week this season. Money Williams was honored on Nov. 19. This is the first time Montana has had multiple Players of the Week in the same season since 2019-20.
Pridgen has been a revelation for Montana since arriving from Northeastern over the summer, and he put together his best week of basketball in leading Montana to a 3-0 record at their home MTE.
He earns his POTW honor for his performance in Wednesday night's win over CSUN. Pridgen had 20 points and 13 rebounds in the game to become the first Grizzly in over two years with the stat line, and it led the Grizzlies to a good win over the 5-1 Matadors.
"I'm really happy for Joe," DeCuire said. "He's been great for us in a lot of ways. You can look at the numbers, the way he impacts the game with his energy. But also in the locker room, his positivity, his enthusiasm, his coachability have been huge. It's leadership that we have not had in a long time in terms of assuming accountability for not only himself, but whoever is in his group."
While the games didn't count toward this week, Pridgen shined in all three games for Montana. He averaged 17.3 points and 8.7 rebounds per game, shooting 61.1 percent from the floor across the three games.
There goes that man ✈️#GrizHoops | #GoGriz pic.twitter.com/U7z3IXWnqB
— Montana Griz Basketball (@MontanaGrizBB) November 28, 2024
He stole the show with a highlight reel worthy of an entire season confined to just three games. Pridgen had eight dunks across the three games, including several poster-worthy jams.
He shot better than 50 percent in all three games, and hit the 20-point mark twice.
But it's been about much more than just his offense. Pridgen also averaged a steal per game and had a block in the win over CSUN.
"I want my team to be tough and physical. It's getting harder to recruit guys that fit those characteristics," DeCuire said. "Joe exemplifies them as well as anyone we've had, if not just in a long time, ever. I think that's played a huge role in our last week of success."
Pridgen is averaging 13.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game this season. He's 11th in the Big Sky in scoring and 3rd in rebounding. He also leads the conference in field goal percentage this year, shooting 66.2 percent in Montana's eight games.
The 6-5 forward is also in the top 10 in the Big Sky in both blocked shots (7) and steals (12). The countable stats are impressive, and his attitude and leadership have also been high level.
"I get a technical at Utah State, and he knew what the point of that was and held the team up and we went on a run based off our defense and hustle," DeCuire said. "He dives on the floor, he contests shots, he does all the things that impact winning, and he just happens to be scoring the ball at the same time. He's been the perfect addition to this group."
Montana has played a wide variety of opponents in terms of levels. The Grizzlies have faced off against three teams that are in the top 15 of the first NCAA NET Rankings that have a combined 21-0 record. They have also played a pair of non-D-1 teams, and have had three other home contests.
Pridgen has played well regardless of the opponent. He had 14 points and 9 rebounds at Oregon, and 18 points and 8 rebounds at Utah State.
"He's given our guys a lot of confidence in terms of our ability to stand up to whoever is in front of us," DeCuire said. "I think that he's helped us weather storms in games just with his mental approach and his confidence regardless to what the scoreboard says, so I think he's been very healthy for this program."
He's the second Grizzly to earn the Big Sky Player of the Week this season. Money Williams was honored on Nov. 19. This is the first time Montana has had multiple Players of the Week in the same season since 2019-20.
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