On the second Griz possession of Montana’s game against Northern Colorado last Saturday, Michael Oguine took one dribble from the top of the key, drew the help defense, and kicked the ball to a wide-open Sayeed Pridgett in the right corner.
Last year, Pridgett would have driven, or passed the ball off to reset the offense. Saturday, the shot went up.
Three points, Montana.
Barely four minutes later, Oguine drove and kicked to Pridgett in the right corner again.
This time, the Bears were covering him more closely, but Pridgett dribbled once, stepped back to the wing and let fly again.
Splash.
If the first 3 was one that Pridgett wouldn’t have taken last year, the second is one that he wouldn’t have even thought about.
Montana forward Sayeed Pridgett (4)/by Jason Bacaj
Through the first two years of his career, the junior from the Bay Area attempted a grand total of 26 3-pointers over 65 games, making four. That’s 15.3 percent.
This year, Pridgett has added the 3-pointer to his offensive repertoire, shooting 22 and, more importantly, making 10 of those in 17 games.
“I’m a lot more confident (shooting 3s), honestly,” Pridgett said. “My teammates helped me a lot, they always get mad at me for not shooting them if I’m open, so I know those guys believing in it, it makes me believe in myself even more.”
That’s still not very many, but compared to his earlier career, it’s a massive jump, and it’s paid off.
Pridgett made all three of his long-distance attempts against Northern Colorado and scored 26 points, leading the Griz to a statement win as they snapped a two-game losing streak.
Along with his 16 points against Eastern Washington earlier in the week, it was enough for him to capture Montana’s first Big Sky Player of the Week award of the season.
Pridgett has started all 17 of Montana’s games so far after coming off the bench last season, and bumped his scoring average by nearly five points in the process.
The 3-pointer isn’t the only element of his offensive game that has improved, but it’s the most notable.
When he made four 3s on five attempts against Creighton in the sixth game of the season, it was as many as he’d made in the first two years of his career, combined.
Montana forward Sayeed Pridgett (4) in 2018/by Brooks Nuanez
The adjustment didn’t come easily for Pridgett.
As the winner of the team’s Ryan Dick Award for most improved player after each of his two previous seasons, though, it’s not surprising that he poured a lot of effort into it this offseason.
“I was shooting a lot,” Pridgett said. “About 300 shots a day, 3-pointers, for sure. Just getting on the shooting machine or getting with my brother and my father in the gym, trying to catch and shoot from all five spots on the floor.”
Being able to shoot the 3 has also opened up the court for the rest of Pridgett’s offensive game.
A crafty scorer who came to Montana as a great inside finisher with a reliable midrange shot, he shot over 50 percent from the field as a true freshman in 2016-17.
Extending his range has only made him more dangerous.
“I do think the fact that he’s jumped up and made quite a few and shot for a good percentage has forced some people to come out and get him,” Travis DeCuire said. “When they do that, typically he’s going to have a mismatch on the drive, which is putting him in playmaking positions.”
Montana head coach Travis DeCuire (L) with forward Sayeed Pridgett (4)/by Brooks Nuanez
With the added threat, Pridgett is shooting a career-high 58.3 percent from the field in 2018-19, fifth in the conference behind four big men, all at least three inches taller than Montana’s 6-foot-5 guard/forward.
“It helps my game a lot, because it makes me more versatile on the floor,” Pridgett said. “A lot of teams didn’t guard me outside on the perimeter, so now it helps me get to the rim better, which is what I want to do.”
Expect the trend to continue. Even within the season, Pridgett has shown increased willingness to shoot.
After not attempting a 3-pointer in four of the first seven games of the season, he’s shot at least one in nine of the 10 games since.
“He allows us to coach him,” DeCuire said. “He’s settled into whatever role we’ve given him, and allowed us to coach him hard, and still maintained his aggressiveness and his confidence, and that’s not always easy to do. … He’s worked hard to get the green light to shoot the 3, and so he’s earned that right.”
Photos by Brooks Nuanez. All Rights Reserved.
