BOISE, Idaho — Joe Pridgen has only been a new father for a little less than a year. The one thing he knows is he won’t be raising his daughter Samarra as a Boston Celtics fan.
That might seem crazy considering Pridgen hails from Boston. Pridgen got worn out on the Celtic green growing up the third of seven brothers. So like middle brothers are prone to do, he decided to be a contrarian. He decided to be a Los Angles Lakers fan.
“I’ve always been a Lakers fan because everyone in Boston shove the Celtics in your face, so that pushed me away from it to be honest,” Pridgen said with a smile. “You either love them or you hate them. My brothers like the Celtics so I have to go Lakers.”
Regardless of who Pridgen roots for, the University of Montana senior has garnered as many fans in a short amount of time as any Griz in recent memory. The physical, edgy power forward has unlocked a variety of lineups for Montana coach Travis DeCuire. And his dunks have made him an instant favorite of Griz nation.
“He’s the guy who connects the three guards with whoever is at center for them,” said Sac State interim head coach Michael Czepil. ‘”And because he can dribble it, he’s a ball mover, a connector on the floor. He’s highly valuable for them.”
Pridgen also brings an element of toughness and a mature leadership style that helped elevated Montana back to the top of the Big Sky Conference this season. The Griz won 24 games last year. But this Griz team seems to fit DeCuire’s personality and his desired playing style more than any UM team since the global pandemic knocked Montana from the championship ranks for a few years.
“I think that’s the biggest thing is we’ve got a young man in our program that will run through a wall for his teammates and with his teammates,” DeCuire said. “There’s no question that they’ll follow him through that wall.”
Pridgen’s journey from Winchendon, Massachusetts to Missoula, Montana has included many stops. And his journey to fatherhood helped land him in the Garden City for what was supposed to be his final season of college basketball, although he received an NCAA waiver and will return again next year.
Pridgen met his wife Grace as high school students in New England after she moved back east from Kalispell as a freshman. They continued to date throughout Pridgen’s basketball odyssey that’s on its fourth stop.
When the couple found out they were expecting, they contemplated perhaps moving closer to Grace’s family. DeCuire believed his roster was finished. But assistant coach Anderson Clarke stayed in touch with Pridgen. After a last-minute Zoom call, DeCuire believed Pridgen would fit perfectly on his revamped roster. The problem was that Montana didn’t have a scholarship
Pridgen would have to walk on to the Griz. After he earned first-team All-Big Sky honors, you could argue he’s one of the greatest walk-ons in league history. But being a walk-on also came with the reality that Pridgen had a family to support.
He’s used some academic scholarships to ease the burden and was able to qualify for in-state tuition since Grace is a Montana resident. He also has a few NIL deals that have helped support the family financially.
“I’m a long ways from home, but Montana is great,” Pridgen said. “It’s kind of everything I’m about. The outdoors, great people, good vibes. Montana is awesome.”
Pridgen has been able to maintain his production and his high-flying style — he has 32 dunks and counting so far this season — while balancing being a first-time father in a brand new place.
“It’s a challenge, you have to make sure all the little stuff is tight if you want to be successful,” Pridgen said. “But it’s a challenge I enjoy and get a lot of gratitude out of.”
Pridgen grew up just outside of Boston and learned early on that if he wanted a chance to even touch the basketball in games with his six brothers, he’d have to scratch and claw.
“I grew up with six brothers, so being a junk yard dog is the only way you get the ball around the house, Pridgen said. “The way I play comes from that and from understanding what teams need to be successful. I think my role here is to be that. We have a lot of talented guys on the team and letting them do what we do has allowed me to do what I do best.”
During his time at Winchendon School and Governor’s Academy, Pridgen was a standout. He earned All-Independent School League honors as a junior and was ranked as one of the top five forwards in Massachusetts by the New England Recruiting Report.
That helped land him a spot at Holy Cross, a private Jesuit school in Worchester, Massachusetts with 13 NCAA Tournament appearances and the 1947 national title to its credit. As a freshman, Pridgen started right away, averaging 35.2 minutes per game. He was the Patriot League Rookie of the Year after averaging 17.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. His 521 points as a freshman were the second-most in Patriot League history.
He wanted a new challenge after the postseason was called off in 2020, so he transferred to UNC-Wilmington. He averaged 12.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game but had his season end after 14 games.
The next off-season, he was on the move again, this time landing at Northeastern, a Coastal Athletic Association program in Boston with nine NCAA Tournament appearances to its credit. Pridgen started 23 games over 42 contests for the Huskies, averaging 7.9 points and 5.0 rebounds per game.
When he arrived at Montana, he had a wealth of experience with 65 starts, 87 games played and more than 2,500 minutes to his credit. Pridgen had 1,031 points in his career before this season started and Division I averages of 11.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.8 assists per game. That experience made an immediate impact on a Griz roster after UM graduated six seniors last off-season.
“Maturity: that’s what you get with guys who have played over 100 games,” DeCuire said. “Once you hit that century mark, there’s a level of confidence you bring that guys feed off. That’s what he’s done for us. He’s a calm, confident competitor.”
Following an 11-point, 11-rebound effort in Montana’s 83-72 win over Eastern Washington to secure a share of the Big Sky title, Pridgen conducted a post-game interview on the floor. In the middle of the address, Griz redshirt Chase Henderson commandeered the TV microphone and asked Pridgen, “How does it feel to have so many sons in the Big Sky”, a reference to how many players Pridgen has dominated this season.
“No comment,” Pridgen said with a smile, before elaborating on the championship. “Being a Big Sky champion is kind of like becoming a father for the first time. You don’t know what to expect but you are happy as hell to be here.”
The all-conference awards for the Big Sky were a juxtaposition between statistically outstanding individual seasons like that of MVP Dylan Darling at Idaho State and Northern Arizona sharpshooter Trent McGlaughlin and the balance displayed by the two co-league champions, Northern Colorado and UM.
Montana personified balance as six players averaged between 8.8 and 13.5 points per game. Pridgen is Montana’s third-leading scorer at 11.6 points per game. He led the Griz in rebounding at 7.0 points per game. And the 6-foot-5, 215-pounder also led the team in blocks with 23.
“When they play Pridgen and (senior post Te’Jon) Sawyer together, they are so big and physical,” Northern Colorado head coach Smiley said. “Then when they play Pridgen with the rest of them, they are four guards and him and they are so hard to guard. Then you have to change your approach to how you are guarding them. And even though Pridgen isn’t that tall, he’s so tough, and they can still hold their own defensively, because of him.”
Although his numbers are only solid, not eye-popping, Pridgen was the only first-team all-conference selection for the Griz. DeCuire was named the Coach of the Year and sophomore Money Williams earned Top Reserve honors. Williams, junior Malik Moore and senior Brandon Whitney all landed on the second team.
“Not all programs fit all people. I think that’s a mistake we make as coaches and as players as we select one another. Talent isn’t the only thing that matters. So much of it is about fit. We provided the things that Joe was looking for to continue to grow and have a positive experience,” DeCuire said.
“We are benefiting from it more than he is. For us, we get leadership. We get someone that doesn’t necessarily just talks to the game but plays the game. He shows up to practice every day, be coached, assume responsibility for mistakes, be ok with being corrected. When you feel like there’s guys on the team in the mood to get better and work, acknowledge it and accept it and improve with you.”
For Pridgen, he has found comfort as well as a renewal of his hoops passion. And it’s come with the joy of winning a championship.
The Griz play a Big Sky Tournament quarterfinal at 8 p.m. tonight against Northern Arizona. Pridgen will battle with Carson Towt, the nation’s leading rebounder. Like all the other challenges he’s faced this year, Pridgen is ready to embrace it.
“This year I was able to fall in love back with the game,” he said when it was announced he would return for next year as well. “Just the joy of playing hard and exerting yourself. Looking forward to when the ball maybe might stop bouncing, it’s kind of a dark, gray area to be looking at.
“Just being able to know you can finish out this season and have something to come back to, something that makes you feel kind of alive and something you really enjoy to do, that’s kind of why.”
