Tariq Ingraham: the last Bronc standing

By Benjamin Shinault and Rich Saile

Over the last three seasons for Rider men’s basketball, they have added and subtracted copious amounts of talent through the transfer portal and freshman recruitment. But one thing has remained the same: graduate student forward Tariq Ingraham. From having an injury riddled stay at Wake Forest to taking his talents back home, Ingraham has had quite the journey on his way to Rider.

Early adversity

Ingraham came to Rider before the 2022-23 season as a transfer from Wake Forest University. At Wake Forest, Ingraham faced adversity immediately. During a practice before his freshman season tipped off, the 6-foot-9-inch forward tore his left achilles. The injury sidelined Ingraham for the rest of the season, but he went on to make a speedy recovery from his injury in time to play in the 2020-21 season.

In that season, Ingraham only appeared in two games. Ingraham shined in his collegiate debut against Delaware State, recording 19 points and five rebounds in 18 minutes, and shooting 100% from the field and the free throw stripe.

Despite the great performance against Delaware State, Ingraham only saw seven more minutes wearing a Demon Deacons jersey. Ingraham, in his second season with Wake Forest, dealt with more medical concerns. With this, Ingraham packed his bags and headed for a change of scenery. 

“I’m going to go where I am wanted,” Ingraham said. 

Back home

Ingraham, who is from Philadelphia, played high school basketball at Monsignor Bonner & Archbishop Prendergast Catholic High School. With the Friars, Ingraham played with former Bronc Ajiri Ogemuno-Johnson ’23. 

In high school, Ingraham made 2019 All-State, led his team to the 2019 Class 4A Pennsylvania State Championship game and part of the 1,000-point club.

Wake Forest recruited Ingraham in his senior year of high school, which is where he committed, but his true home was always Rider.

“I wanted to be close to home, [Head Coach Kevin Baggett] actually recruited me in high school, but I decided to go to Wake, and he recruited me with Ogemuno-Johnson,” Ingraham said.

In his first season with Rider, Ingraham played in 30 games and started 16 of them as a junior. He finished with averages of six points, six rebounds and shot 59% from the field.

From there, Ingraham only got better. Last season, Ingraham averaged nearly 10 points and seven rebounds, and blocked 29 shots.

Ingraham, commonly a rebounder and defender, dabbled in his offensive bag of tricks and scored in double figures 14 times.

Ingraham was a magnet for the basketball last season, as he reeled in 207 rebounds, which planted him at sixth in the MAAC.

Baggett, who has known of Ingraham’s talents since his high school days, spoke out on what Ingraham means to the Broncs both on and off the court.

“Riq [Ingraham] has been everything we thought he would be. He’s been a great leader  on the court, off the court. He’s playing at a high level with great confidence,” Baggett said.

‘He held my head up’

The Broncs have had quite the amount of roster turnover over the three years while Ingraham has worn cranberry and white. This season alone, Rider is adding 10 new players, and, last season, Rider welcomed in eight. 

Over the three years of being at Rider, one player in particular sticks out to Ingraham. He looks up to and owes a lot to his former high school teammate, Ogemuno-Johnson. Ogemuno-Johnson and Ingraham played together at Rider for one season.

“Ajiri [Ogemuno-Johnson], when he was here, held my head up when I got into some difficulties,” Ingraham said. 

Past experiences

Back in the 2022-23 season, when Rider saw an early exit by the hands of the Saint Peter’s Peacocks, and the year after, when Rider once again faced elimination in the quarterfinal round, Ingraham has had his fair share of playoff scars.

Ingraham, the longest-tenured Bronc on the roster, delved into how he feels and what he expects both for himself and his brand new teammates.

“We want to get to the NCAA tournament. That’s my dream, my college dream. Obviously, I want to play professionally after that, but I want to experience playing in the NCAA tournament,” Ingraham said.

Ingraham’s road to the tournament will start on Oct. 26 in the Alumni Gym when the Broncs welcome Holy Cross for an exhibition match.