Cardinals' Raridon knows system well

In this his junior year Mitch Raridon of North Central College moves up from valued reserve to key-man status, and nobody is better prepared to make that jump, because he knows the men's basketball coach's system better than anybody could.

There's good reason for that, because Mitch has been learning that system since he was a small child.

His dad, Todd Raridon, is in his fourth year as North Central's coach and he's relying on Mitch, along with fellow junior Chris Drennan, the first two off the bench the past two years, to move up this year as basketball players and team leaders.

This year Mitch, whose strong suits are ballhandling, outside shooting and defense, will be helping to run things on the floor.

"I've been watching my dad's practices my whole life," Mitch said. "I know that his philosophy is to work hard on rebounding and defense because those are the things you can control. I know his offense well, and I can play any position. I know where to go and where everyone else should go."

"Mitch has been in the gym watching practices since he was a baby," coach Raridon said. "He knows exactly what we're trying to do on both ends of the floor."

While Mitch has been a valuable reserve the past two years, he will be a major contributor this season.

The Cardinals lost their entire starting lineup, including the graduated front line of Dan Walton, Anthony Simmons and Adam Krumtinger, who have led the team in scoring and rebounding the past few years and also led the team into the thick of the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin title race.

"The past two years my job was to play in spots and get the ball to the people who score, play strong defense and get a tip here or an offensive rebound there," Mitch said. "This year, I'm starting at the '3' and I'll be counted on a lot more as a scorer."

"Both Mitch and Chris will have to take their game up to another level," Todd Raridon said. "So far they've been leading by example in practice. They set the tone for toughness, never coming out of drills on offense and defense. They've both spent a lot of time in the weight room."

With the 6-foot-3 Mitch and the 6-foot-5 Drennan leading the way, the Cardinals are hoping to produce a winning season in what should be a rebuilding year.

"We don't have a true center, but I think we're quicker this year," Mitch said.

Six-foot-five transfers Jeremy Williams and Matt Rogers will share the burden on the boards, while returning backup guards Reid Barringer and Dean Prince will also step up to new responsibilities.

"We're going to surprise a lot of people," Mitch Raridon said. "We have so many new guys, but no one knows about us. We're picked sixth in the conference so we're not getting any respect. We have everything to prove, we're hungry, but we have nothing to lose. So we're just going to go out and have fun."