Photo by d3photography.com

Forward - Connor Raridon
North Central (Ill.) College
2015 - 2020

All-American selections: 2019 (2nd), 2020 (1st)

All-Region selections: 2016 (Rookie of the Year), 2018 (2nd), 2019 (1st), 2020 (1st)

Conference MVP: 2020

NCAA Tournament appearances: 2016 (1st round), 2018 (1st round), 2019 (2nd round), 2020 (Sweet 16)*

• North Central (Ill.) was in the NCAA Tournament when it was canceled by COVID-19

From the archives

• Raridon shines as Cards silence Thunder (January 2020)
• D3hoops.com Classic Conversation: Raridon in Vegas (December 2018)
• North Central marches to fourth straight Tournament (February 2019)
• Raridon helps himself to Cards' career assist record (January 2018)

What others say: "Being around our program all his life Connor knew what would make our team successful and it didn’t matter who got the credit as long as we were overachieving as a group. He was the guy on the defensive end of the floor calling out screens even though he wasn’t involved in the screen. He’s the guy on the offensive end patiently surveying the defense waiting for the opponent’s defense to breakdown so we could score. Connor wanted his teammates involved at both ends of the floor and he knew how to make that happen." -- Todd Raridon, North Central (Ill.) men's basketball head coach

In their own words: "I had an incredible time playing D3 basketball at North Central College. My teammates, coaches, alumni, families made North Central basketball a really special place. Playing for my dad was a great experience. He taught me so much about discipline and hard work. I enjoyed being able to spend time extra time shooting, or watching film with my dad every day. It was also awesome to have my mom so close & see all my games. I wouldn’t have wanted to play at any other school, or for any other coach."

Where are they now: Credit analyst for Wintrust bank in Chicago

Career synopsis: Two words come to mind when describing Connor Raridon's basketball talent: versatile and selfless. A 6-6 forward with plenty of guard skills, the son of a coach, and younger brother of two accomplished basketball players, he absolutely could've taken his talent and preternaturally high basketball IQ to a different level and developed into a solid D1 contributor. Instead he played for his father and gave his heart and soul to North Central basketball - the centerpiece of a deep and stellar senior class in the midst of a special run when COVID called things off in 2020. 

Able to play or defend any position on the court, Raridon always did what was best for the team - scoring more points than anyone at NCC in the past 65 years, finishing fourth all-time in rebounds, and first in assists by a mile. His 634 assists puts him well into the Top 50 all-time for Division III and almost certainly the tallest guy to top 600. Even with his high point total, Raridon was more focused on his defense and how many points the guy he was guarding scored on him. He always knew how to get teammates involved, worked as hard as anyone else, and never cared who got the credit. Connor Raridon may not yet have reached his individual potential on the basketball court, but he elevated every team he played on, and that's a tremendous legacy.

If it seems like he was around forever, well, you wouldn't be wrong. He started all 27 games as a freshman for North Central, and that started back in 2015. He missed the majority of the 2016-17 season because of injury, but used that season of eligibility to return and have the year he had in 2019-20. Raridon finished with 1,761 points, second in school history, after playing in 119 games for the Cardinals.