A body like
Rawle Marshall, and a game like Rip Hamilton says D-League Senior Coordinator of Basketball Operations Brandon Barnett. The wing player with the most upside in our league says Director of Basketball Operations Chris Alpert. You think they like him in the D-League? After watching him play twice and sitting down with him between games, its not hard to tell why.
Jeremy Richardson started his college career at Copiah-Lincoln Community College. From there, he went to Division II powerhouse Delta State, where he was only named to the all-region
second team by Daktronics. He got a little bit of exposure for himself by working out with
John Lucaswho was
extremely high on him it must be saidand earned himself NBA workouts with his local Houston Rockets, as well as the Washington Wizards and Milwaukee Bucks, mostly off Lucas recommendations. We had him pegged as a player who should be invited to the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament after watching tape on him against Florida State and from his conference tournament, but that wasnt enough to get him an invite to the PIT or the pre-draft camp.
Without the assistance of an agent-- his father still handled his business for him as late as last weekhe found his way onto a D-League team after being shrewdly selected in the 2nd round by Fort Worth. Since then, hes averaging 18.5 points on 47% shooting from the field and 40% from the 3-point line. He was one of the hottest names amongst NBA scouts during the D-League Showcase in Sioux Falls, and it really wouldnt shock anyone if he were to be called up this season once non-NBA playoff teams start bringing up players with upside that they want to take a look at.
Upside would be a good place to start his scouting report. Standing 6-7 with an extremely long wingspan, Richardson has great size for the swingman position. He is a very good athlete who can get to where he needs on the court thanks to his quickness, and he elevates off the floor smoothly for mid-range jumpers with nice separation. Richardson has a quick release on his shot, and he made a great living for himself in Sioux Falls by coming off screens and curls endlessly knocking down shots. He didnt force a thing in either of his two games, which helped him hide his biggest weakness at the momenthis ball-handling skills. Richardson is much improved in this area compared with what we saw in college, but he still has a ways to go. He prefers to pull-up from mid-range rather than taking the ball all the way to the hoop, and therefore is averaging less than 3 free throws a game in the D-League so far. His frame is also on the lanky side, which doesnt help him much in this area. Defensively, though, he does a good job due to his length and work ethic.
As noted, he should be considered a prime candidate for a call-up this season, and will surely be an interesting player to follow over the summer.
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