As Kevin Baggett enters his twelfth season leading Rider, he has built a reputation as one of the most consistent coaches in the MAAC.
The Broncs have had regular season success following their 2017-18 regular season championship, but have yet to lace up their March Madness dancing shoes in nearly thirty years.
However, with both Siena and Iona going through major rebuilds, this could be Rider’s year to be the last team standing in the MAAC Tournament in Atlantic City.
Similar to last year with All-MAAC First Team selection Dwight Murray Jr. and Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson returning for their extra year of eligibility, the foundation of this year’s team will be fifth-year returnees Mervin James (Second Team selection) and Allen Powell, who is hoping to return to his 38.5 3P% combined across his sophomore and junior seasons after shooting just 29.2% from three last season.
James and Powell are clearly the best two returning scoring weapons, but were both ranked in the bottom-two of the team’s defensive efficiency ratings, according to Evanmiya.com, necessitating the need elsewhere to balance their offense with others’ defense.
Returning seniors Corey McKeithan and Tariq Ingraham ranked third and first, respectively, in defensive efficiency with McKeithan penciled in next season as the first guard off the bench and Ingraham in the mix to start at center.
A three-star recruit out of Philadelphia, Tariq Ingraham finally got regular rotation minutes after playing a total of sixteen minutes across his first three seasons at Wake Forest. A preseason Achilles injury forced Ingraham to redshirt his first season and he dealt with long-term Covid symptoms after playing just two games as a redshirt freshman, but Ingraham played every game last season, starting the last fourteen games.
At 6’11 255, Ingraham is a classic low-post big, whose season highlight was a 20 point, 8 rebound and 3 block performance against Saint Peter’s back in March. With Ogemuno-Johnson graduated, Ingraham is finally poised to step up as next year’s full-time starting big.
In competition with Ingraham will be incoming JUCO transfer JT Langston. With a build similar to Ogemuno-Johnson’s, Langston will be able to pitch in at both the 4 and the 5.
John Mosley, Langston’s head coach at East Los Angeles College, writes: “First and foremost, Rider fans are getting a loyal kid who comes from a great family. JT Langston was a leader for ELAC with his play and commitment to doing whatever it took to win.”
“He led our team to the CCCAA Final Four as an All-American, All-State selection and Conference MVP. He is a very athletic shooting forward who can defend multiple positions and is a competitor when finishing at the rim. There are not many kids [today] that are cut like JT Langston.”
Averaging just 14 minutes per game last season, Langston’s per-40 stats are off the charts: 24.8 points, 18.0 rebounds and 4 blocks. Obviously, there's a jump from the CCCAA JUCO level to the MAAC, but more importantly, Langston’s can-do attitude and two-way versatility should make him an important rotation piece right away.
The scoring and shooting void left behind from Murray Jr. and Allen Betrand graduating will be taken on by the additions of brothers TJ and Tyriek Weeks.
A redshirt senior with 56 career starts at UMass, the 6’4 185 TJ Weeks has been a consistent scorer, averaging ten points per game and shooting 36.5% from the three point line throughout his career.
Expected to immediately start in the backcourt alongside Powell, TJ can impact the offensive end in a variety of ways: “a catch-and-shoot maestro with a smooth lefty stroke, TJ possesses an excellent shooting touch from deep,” writes UMass beat writer Michael Bergman of Hoop Group, “TJ also excels in designed off-ball screens [and is] a great cutter on the baseline. Great rebounder for his size too, well developed positioning skills and footwork.”
An efficient scorer who doesn’t turnover the ball frequently, TJ Weeks certainly has All-MAAC potential and has two years of eligibility remaining.
At 6’6 200, TJ’s brother Tyriek is Rider’s likely starter at the 3-guard after an impressive freshman season at Miami Dade Junior College where he averaged 14.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 0.9 blocks per game, while shooting 40% from three and nearly 80% from the charity stripe.
As it stands, the Weeks brothers, Ingraham, James and Powell will make up the team’s starting lineup with Langston and McKeithan regularly counted on bench pieces.
The remainder of Rider’s roster, although one scholarship is still available, are freshmen with this year’s class summing up as one of the Broncs’ most widely recruited in quite a few years.
Originally a three-star prospect that was recruited by USC and San Diego State out of Fairfax High in Los Angeles, freshman combo guard DJ Dudley played a post-grad season last year at LA Premier Prep.
Their head coach Keion Kindred writes: “DJ is a special talent. A great kid who truly loves the game of basketball. A student of the game. DJ is an athletic guard who plays at his own pace. Very shifty and versatile, [DJ] can finish above the rim with both hands and has the ability to make difficult shots on the perimeter. He competes at both ends and plays with a chip on his shoulder. Many schools recruited DJ, but his heart was set on Rider when meeting Coach Baggett. DJ could be one of the next greats to come out of Rider! Enjoy the show!”
Considering that all of Rider’s guard depth behind Powell, the Weeks brothers and McKeithan are freshmen, Dudley, along with incoming freshmen Ruben Rodriguez and Nic Anthony, will compete for immediate rotation minutes.
A native of Reading, PA, Rodiguez was offered by Drexel, Saint Peter’s, FDU and Jacksonville while Rider was Nic Anthony’s only offer.
Philadelphia area native Ife West-Ingram picked Rider over offers from St. Bonaventure, FDU, Quinnipiac and Robert Morris. The 6’6 180 wing put his athleticism on display in the 2023 Philadelphia All-American Game Dunk Contest where he defeated Saint Joseph’s commit Dasear Haskins. With a frame similar to Tyriek Weeks, West-Ingram has a chance to earn immediate playing time behind Weeks at the 3-guard.
Even though incoming freshman Moustapha Sanoh stands at 6’11, he did not start playing organized basketball until his freshman year at Executive Education Academy in Allentown, PA. Based on that profile alone, Sanoh sounds like a redshirt candidate, but considering that he is the only other Bronc, aside from Ingraham, who is taller than 6’9 and weighs more than 215, Sanoh could be used in spells to provide size down low.
Considering the overall youth of this year’s squad, expect Baggett to lean on a shorter, veteran-laden rotation anchored by the offense of James, Powell and TJ Weeks, the upside of Ingraham, Tyriek Weeks, Langston and Dudley, along with the steady two-way play of McKeithan.
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