Arkansas Coach Mike Anderson caught junior forward Jared Ridder off-guard with a scholarship offer during an in-home visit Monday night.
“I was actually pretty excited, said Ridder, who made a quick unofficial visit to Arkansas on April 10. “I wasn’t expecting it. It was mainly towards the end. I was just surprised and really didn’t know what to say. “
Ridder, 6-7, 195 pounds, of Springfield (Mo.) Kickapoo, also has scholarship offers from DePaul, Stetson, Missouri State, Lehigh. and others. He drawing interest from Florida, Xavier, Stanford, Wichita State and others.
Associate head coach Melvin Watkins and Scotty Thurman, who’s expected to be officially named as assistant coach in the near future, accompanied Anderson on the visit.
He liked Anderson’s recruiting pitch.
“Really Coach Anderson talked from his heart, he didn’t planned like flyers or anything that had their stats or any of the that,” Ridder said. “I really liked that. I really liked the coaches and what they had to say.”
Anderson and Watkins watched Ridder and Mokan Elite play in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League in Brooklyn over the weekend.
“He mainly said he likes my versatility and what I bring to the game,” said Ridder of Anderson. “He said he liked how I did all the little things for our team in New York. He was just saying I bring that and he really liked how I shot the ball. I should be a big guard for them and make a lot of shots.”
Ridder, who said he’ll return to Fayetteville next Thursday for an unofficial visit, averaged 19.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, shooting 58 percent from the field and 40 percent from beyond the three-point line as a junior.
He doesn’t anticipate making a quick commitment during his upcoming trip to Arkansas.
“I’m probably going to wait until the end of the summer and see what I have,” Ridder said.