Ajay Riding Title: Assistant Coach Experience: Fourth Season Alma Mater: Fresno State, '07 Email: ariding@csus.edu Bio: Former Fresno State and San Joaquin Delta College player Ajay Riding will begin his fourth season as assistant men’s basketball coach at Sacramento State in 2012-13. His duties with the Hornets include serving as the team’s academic coordinator while assisting with player development, scouting and recruiting. During Riding’s three years on the staff, Sacramento State has increased its conference win total each season. Last year (2011-12), the Hornets posted their most overall victories (10) since the 2006-07 season, went 5-3 during the second half of Big Sky Conference play, won their most road games (4) since the 2005-06 season, set the Div. I-era record for highest field goal percentage (.451), swept a Big Sky road trip for the first time since 2006, and yielded a Div. I-era low 69.1 opponents’ points per game. Moreover, the Hornets have been Academic Progress Rate (APR) compliant every year of Riding's three-year tenure, including a 981 score in 2009-10, the second highest in program history. In addition, point guard Dylan Garrity became just the third Sacramento State player to earn Big Sky Freshman of the Year honors since the program joined the league in 1996-97. Of the 11 Sacramento State players that have expired their eligibility during Riding’s tenure, eight have graduated and the remaining three are on pace to graduate in the fall of 2012. A native of Davis, Calif., Riding spent two years (2007-09) working with the men’s basketball coaching staff at Fresno State as a volunteer assistant.      A graduate of Fresno State in 2007 with a degree in mass communications and journalism, Riding played a combined 47 games for the Bulldogs in 2005-06 and 2006-07. He was both a Western Athletic Conference and Fresno State scholar-athlete award winner, and helped the Bulldogs to a 37-23 combined record during his two seasons with the team as a student-athlete. That included a 22-10 overall record and a National Invitational Tournament appearance during his senior season.      No stranger to Katz’s coaching philosophy, Riding spent two years playing for Katz at Delta College in 2003-04 and 2004-05. During those two seasons, Riding helped the Mustangs to a pair of conference championships and a 52-8 combined record. The 2004-05 squad finished with a program-best 30-2 record and reached the Final Four of the state tournament.      Prior to playing at Delta College, Riding prepped at Davis High School where he was an all-conference selection.

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