Former professional player Taaj Ridley begins his first season as a graduate assistant with Penn State Basketball in 2022-23.
Ridley brings a strong pedigree in both the playing and athlete development ranks to Happy Valley. A former professional player, Ridley has played overseas in multiple locations including Germany, Finland, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Brazil, Uruguay, Serbia, and Argentina, and was a member of the NBA G-League’s Long Island Nets in 2017.
Ridley owns a wealth of experience in skill and player development. He has trained and traveled with Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown for the last seven years. Ridley has conducted individual training sessions with Tacko Fall, Terrance Clarke, Bensley Joseph and Jalen Duren, among many other elite prospects, customizing workout drills, charting key metrics, and leveraging data to identify and track improvement areas.
Ridley also owns experience in the business and administrative sides of basketball, having worked as an assistant coach with the KB Gjakova Basketball Club in Kosovo, as a head coach for AAU teams, and as a brand ambassador for Nike and Jordan.
Ridley played collegiately at Iona College from 2011-13 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 2013.
Ridley brings a strong pedigree in both the playing and athlete development ranks to Happy Valley. A former professional player, Ridley has played overseas in multiple locations including Germany, Finland, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Brazil, Uruguay, Serbia, and Argentina, and was a member of the NBA G-League’s Long Island Nets in 2017.
Ridley owns a wealth of experience in skill and player development. He has trained and traveled with Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown for the last seven years. Ridley has conducted individual training sessions with Tacko Fall, Terrance Clarke, Bensley Joseph and Jalen Duren, among many other elite prospects, customizing workout drills, charting key metrics, and leveraging data to identify and track improvement areas.
Ridley also owns experience in the business and administrative sides of basketball, having worked as an assistant coach with the KB Gjakova Basketball Club in Kosovo, as a head coach for AAU teams, and as a brand ambassador for Nike and Jordan.
Ridley played collegiately at Iona College from 2011-13 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 2013.