51ÊÓƵ

Meet the Coaches

Matt Ridge

Head Coach
matthew_ridge@davidsondavie.edu

During its 18-year history, the men’s basketball program at 51ÊÓƵ has become one of the elite junior college programs in the country. Under the leadership of Head Coach Matt Ridge, the STORM has won 497 games in 18 years, against just 88 losses. The 497 wins are the most wins by any National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II or Division III program in the nation over the 18 years. His 85% winning percentage is also the highest winning percentage in the country during this time frame. Also, 51ÊÓƵ has compiled a record of 274-19 (93.5 %) at home since the start of the program in 2007.

Ridge has directed the STORM to 14 outright regular-season Championships while being Co-Champions in four seasons. The STORM claimed the Region X Tournament Championship in 2010, 2011, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. In 10 of the 18 seasons, the STORM has advanced to both the District VII Championships and the NJCAA National Tournament. In national tournament play, 51ÊÓƵ finished 8th in 2010, 4th in 2011, 5th in 2016, 7th in 2017, 2nd in both 2021 and 2022, 5th in 2023, 3rd in 2024 and 6th in 2025. The STORM won the District VII Championship for the 9th time in 17 years. Unfortunately, the STORM did not get to attend the 2019-2020 NJCAA D2 National Tournament due to it being canceled because of the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Ridge made his college head-coaching debut in 2007-2008 with the STORM following a successful stint as the boys’ basketball coach at East Davidson High School in Thomasville, N.C. He turned the Golden Eagles from a bottom dweller into one of the Central Carolina Conference’s top teams over six seasons. During 2006-2007, Ridge was the assistant men’s basketball coach at Guilford College, helping lead them to an NCAA Division III Elite Eight showing. Ridge coached the inaugural STORM team (2007-2008) to a national ranking of 9th in the nation in NJCAA Division III rankings, a Co-Championship of the Tarheel Conference regular season and an overall record of 22-7. In the 2008-2009 season, 51ÊÓƵ was ranked as high as 4th in the nation with a record of 25-7 and were again regular season Co-Champions of the Tarheel Conference.

The third season, 2009–2010, saw the 51ÊÓƵ program continue to flourish, overcoming a number of injuries to go undefeated in the conference, capturing the outright Regular Season Championship. The team won the Region X title for the first time and defeated an extremely talented Montgomery College – Germantown in the District VII title game to advance to the NJCAA National Tournament in Delhi, N.Y.

The 2010-2011 season was one for the record books. After returning only two players from the previous season, Ridge and his staff brought in a recruiting class that would help push the STORM to the top of the NJCAA polls for the first time in program history. The STORM finished with a program-high 34 wins against just 2 defeats. 51ÊÓƵ was ranked #1 in the national polls for 15 weeks total, and 10 weeks consecutively. After capturing the Regular Season, Region X Tournament and District Tournament Championships, 51ÊÓƵ returned to the NJCAA National Tournament, this time in Loch Sheldrake, N.Y. In the first round, the STORM was upset by eventual national champions Mountain View College and finished 4th in the National Tournament.

The STORM captured another outright Tarheel Conference Regular Season Championship in 2011-2012. Although ranked in the top 10 nationally throughout the season, the 51ÊÓƵ journey came up a bit short in the Region X Tournament Finals against rival Sandhills. Ridge’s squad finished the season 29-3 record. The STORM finished 23-7 during the 2012-2013 season and 22-5 during the 2013-2014 season.

During the 2014-2015 season, 51ÊÓƵ finished 10-0 in conference play during the regular season and once again captured another outright Tarheel Conference Regular Season Championship. After being ranked in the top 10 of the national polls all season long, the STORM’s journey came up a bit short in the Region X Tournament Finals. Ridge’s squad would finish the season with an outstanding final record of 24-6 overall. The 2015-2016 season was another highly successful season for the STORM. 51ÊÓƵ finished as Co-Champions of the regular season, District VII champions, 5th in the National Tournament and an overall record of 30-5. The 2016-2017 season was another outstanding year for the 51ÊÓƵ men’s basketball program, finishing with an overall record of 30-5, regular-season championship, Region X Tournament and District Tournament Championships & the STORM returned to the NJCAA National Tournament, where they finished in 7th place. The STORM won another regular-season championship during the 2017-2018 season while finishing with an overall record of 22-7.

The STORM moved up and competed in the Region 10 D2 conference during the 2018-2019 season.  Seven different players averaged double figures during the 2018-2019 season and STORM finished with an overall record of 19-12. The 2019-2020 season was another incredibly successful season for the STORM. 51ÊÓƵ finished as Champions of the regular season, Region X Tournament/District Tournament champions, the final ranking of 3rd in the nation in the NJCAA D2 National Poll and an overall record of 31-1. In the 2020-2021 season, 51ÊÓƵ certainly made the record books by winning both the regular season and Region X Tournament/District Tournament and advancing to the National Championship game in Danville, Illinois.  Unfortunately, the STORM finished the 2020-2021 season as National Runners-Up by losing to Des Moines Area CC 86-75 on April 24, 2021.  The STORM finished the 2020-2021 season with a final ranking of #2 in the nation and was the #1 seed for the D2 NJCAA National Tournament.

The following season (2021-2022), the STORM won both the regular season and Region X Tournament/District Tournament and advanced to the National Championship game in Danville, Illinois for the second year in a row.  51ÊÓƵ finished the regular season with a final national ranking of #2 in the country.  The 51ÊÓƵ men’s basketball team is the only basketball team in the history of Region X to ever play in the national championship game in back-to-back years. The STORM finished with another amazing overall record of 33-3 during the 2021-2022 season.

The STORM continued to break records during the 2022-2023 season by finishing the regular season undefeated (29-0) and with a final national ranking of #1 in the nation.  The 2022-2023 team also won the district tournament for the 8th time in 16 years and finished 5th in the NJCAA National Tournament with an overall record of 35 – 1.  The 35 wins are the most wins in a single season in program history.

51ÊÓƵ tied their single-season wins record again during the 2023-2024 season by finishing 35-2 on their way to winning both the regular season outright and the district tournament for the 9th time in 17 years. The STORM finished 3rd in the NJCAA National Tournament

The STORM continued its dominance of Region 10 during the 2024-2025 season by winning another regular season championship and its 10th District Tournament Championship in 18 years. 51ÊÓƵ finished the 2024-2025 season with an overall record of 31–5 and 6th in the NJCAA National Tournament.

Ridge and his coaching staff continue to bring in quality players and get them to buy into the team concept. Ridge and his staff have produced seven All-Americans, five Region X Players of the Year and four Region X Freshman of the Year award winners in the 18 years of the program’s existence. Ridge was named the Region X Coach of the Year four consecutive times, and also the District VII Coach of the Year in 2010, 2011, 2016, 2017, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. Ridge was named the Region X coach of the year 11 times during 18 years.

After graduating from Ledford (NC) High School, where he played varsity basketball for three years, Ridge attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and graduated in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in secondary mathematics education. Ridge also completed his master’s degree (through the University of Phoenix) in Curriculum & Instruction in October 2012. He played two seasons on the Tar Heels’ junior varsity men’s basketball team before spending his final two seasons as the team’s student assistant coach under Phil Ford and Dave Hanners.

Ridge and his wife Candice reside in Thomasville, N.C., with their three daughters, Mattison (19), Parker (16) and Ella (14).

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Cory Dumas

Assistant Coach

After spending one season as assistant men’s basketball coach at Greensboro College, Coach Dumas returns to 51ÊÓƵ to help further develop and strengthen the program.

In his first year at 51ÊÓƵ, he helped lead the program to:

• 1st in Conference
• Region 10 and South Atlantic District A Champions
• Overall Record of 35-2 (21-1 in conference games)
• 2nd in the national ranking and received the 1 seed in the national tournament
• 3rd in the national tournament

In his second year at 51ÊÓƵ, he helped lead the program to:

• 1st in Conference
• Region 10 and South Atlantic District A Champions
• Overall Record of 31-5
• #1 in the national ranking and received the 8th seed in the national tournament
• 6th in the national tournament

Coach Dumas was a former four-sport athlete (basketball, football, soccer and track) at High Point Andrews. He later attended North Carolina A&T State University to play basketball; however, his playing career was cut short due to two ACL tears. He graduated in 2005 with a degree majoring in Exercise Sports Science. Upon graduation, he obtained a position with the City of High Point as a Senior Lead Director in the parks and recreation department from 2006-2015. During his tenure, he mentored inner city youth, performed volunteer work with the visually impaired residents of High Point, created programs for the youth as well as the adult population, served as a venue manager of cycling with Special Olympics of North Carolina, as well as the head of the annual Midnight Basketball program.

• In 2016 Coach Dumas began teaching Sports Medicine and Team Sports at UNCG Middle College while still coaching at Calvary Day School located in Winston-Salem.
• In 2011 Coach Dumas joined the coaching staff at Calvary Baptist Day School as an assistant men’s varsity basketball coach. In 2014 he became the Head men’s J.V. Coach while still serving as an assistant to the varsity team as well. Coach Dumas’ team finished with a record of 20-3 and a conference record of 16-0 during the 2015-16 season.
• In 2012 Coach Dumas became the head coach of the Men’s 17U Triad Defenders basketball organization. After one year as head coach, he led the team to a second-place finish in the North Carolina USSSA state championship. In 2015 and 2016 Coach Dumas’ team won the NC State USSSA 17U Men’s Basketball State Championship. They placed 2nd as state runner-up in 2017.
• In 2019 coach Dumas accepted the men’s basketball coaching position at his former high school, T. W. Andrews. In four seasons he was able to revive the historic program from being ranked 258th in the state to finishing 9th and 8th in his last two seasons.
• Coach Dumas is a firm believer in Philippians 4:13, he can do all things through Christ, and he has a passion to motivate and inspire all walks of life in a positive direction.

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Kadeem McGriff

Assistant Coach

Kadeem McGriff enters his first season as an assistant coach with the 51ÊÓƵ men’s basketball program. He brings over seven years of coaching experience, along with a strong background in player development, leadership, and mentorship both on and off the court.

Originally from New York, McGriff developed a passion for basketball at an early age, competing in local games and learning the fundamentals from his father, a respected figure in New York City basketball circles. He was also influenced by renowned Brooklyn coach Frankie Jones, who helped shape his early understanding of the game.

At the age of 12, McGriff relocated to North Carolina, where he continued to grow as a player and student of the game in Southern Pines. During this time, he played under Hall of Fame coach Mike Apple, gaining valuable insight into team culture, discipline, and program development.

McGriff began his coaching career in Greensboro, North Carolina, working at Craft Recreation Center where he focused on developing foundational skills in young athletes. He later joined ProSkills Basketball as a head coach within the Spartans organization, earning a reputation for player development and building competitive teams.

He transitioned into high school coaching at T.W. Andrews High School, where he contributed to the program’s growth over four seasons (2018 – 2022), helping establish consistent competitiveness and guide the team to multiple winning seasons, highlighted by a 16–10 record in 2019–20 and a 15–9 finish in 2021 – 22.

McGriff later coached at Dudley High School, leading the junior varsity team to an impressive 30–3 record over two seasons. Most recently, he served as an assistant coach at Southern Guilford High School, helping guide the team to a playoff appearance.

In addition to his team coaching experience, McGriff is the founder of the Proficient Basketball Coaching Clinic, a program designed to mentor and develop coaches through effective strategies in player development, leadership and program building.

Outside of basketball, McGriff is an educator in Guilford County Schools and holds a bachelor’s degree in sport management and a master’s degree in education. His experience in the classroom allows him to positively impact student-athletes both academically and athletically.

McGriff’s future goals include continuing to develop student-athletes at the collegiate level, helping players earn opportunities to compete at the next level and building programs centered on discipline, culture, and accountability. He also aims to expand the Proficient Basketball Coaching Clinic to reach more coaches and athletes, while continuing to grow professionally within the collegiate coaching ranks.