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DETROIT FREE PRESS
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Saturday, March 18, 2000
METRO FINAL
1B
MITCH ALBOM
Copyright (c) 2000, Detroit Free Press
RICHARDSON COULD BE THE NEXT FROSH HERO
ISEE BIG things. I see alley-oops and thunder jams. I see blocks that swoop
like the hand of God. I see liftoff from the foul line, astronaut hang time,
two-fisted dunks that leave the rim in need of medical attention. I see
tip-ins, put-backs, "gimme-that-ball" rebounds, so high he could spray paint
his name on the backboard.
I see a future of big nights, big numbers.
I see Jason Richardson.
And he is sitting on the bench.
The bench? Yes. The bench. Oh, Richardson may be a sub right now, but he's the
real deal, folks. If you know anything about basketball you can see that the
moment he enters the game, even if he makes one mistake after another. Certain
talents, like certain brush strokes, belong to the artists. It's just a matter
of finding the right canvas.
Richardson, a 19-year-old, 6-foot-6 freshman, has the right body, the right
leaping ability, the right quickness. He has the brush strokes. The
tantalizing question for Michigan State fans is: Could this NCAA tournament be
his canvas?
"He is scary good," admitted coach Tom Izzo, in preparing for today's
second-round game against Utah. In the Round 1 victory over Valparaiso,
Richardson had a career high in minutes played (25). He scored nine points and
grabbed 10 rebounds, both nearly twice his average. He also had the night's
defining moment -- a thunderous dunk off a Mateen Cleaves alley-oop that
seemed headed for the rafters.
"Jason is such a live wire," Izzo said. "Even if he's not making the shot or
the block, he's near the ball."
Precisely. Which is what makes him a potential tournament firecracker. The
things he does -- swooping in for rebounds, making spectacular dunks,
slithering constantly into position -- tip big games during March Madness.
Do the names Toby Bailey, Mike Bibby, Grant Hill and Michael Jordan ring a
bell? Not only did they all win college championships, they all did it their
freshman year. And they all showed a certain breezy indifference to the
pressure of it all, which is what allowed them to fly when other players
froze.
I see Richardson.
I see the same potential.
From Saginaw to East Lansing
Here is an episode from Richardson's past: When he was 14, he made his first
dunk on a playground court. He got so excited he ran to his grandmother's
house, told his uncle, bet him $10 he could do it again -- right now! -- and
they ran down to the court and he did.
"Weren't you afraid it was a one-time thing?" I ask.
"Nah," he says. "Once I did it, I knew I could repeat it."
That tells me something. It tells me once a weapon is in his arsenal, he owns
it, like a trout in a fly fisherman's pouch. So the more nights he has like
Thursday, the more nights he'll have that exceed it.
Pressure? Well, true, pressure is the enemy of most freshmen. Then again,
Richardson has a high school history of coming up big in big moments. And even
this first year of college, he had some of his best numbers against North
Carolina, Arizona and Connecticut -- as a sub.
Besides, this is a kid who felt special on a basketball court "when I was 6."
This is a kid from Saginaw Arthur Hill who was Mr. Basketball in Michigan, a
kid who, when he jumps, doesn't seem to push from below as much lift from
above. This is a kid who stuns teammates in practice by catching every
alley-oop pass Cleaves throws -- no matter how ridiculous.
"I tell him, I'm a senior, you're a freshman, if you miss it, it's your
fault," Cleaves laughs.
He doesn't miss many.
His bubble won't burst
And, as Frank Sinatra once sang, here is the best part: Richardson, like many
young players, points the finger at himself. But with him, it's not for
boasting, it's for blame.
"I came here to improve," he says. He stunned Izzo earlier this season by
coming into the coach's office and launching into a speech about all his
weaknesses on the court.
"A lot of young guys, you tell them stuff, they don't listen," said Cleaves,
who has become a mentor to Richardson. "With Jason, he looks you right in the
eye. You know he wants to learn."
For now, he is, to coin a phrase, gingerly gonzo, tempering his explosions
with careful dribbling, passing off, playing defense, not trying to do too
much.
"How much of your potential are we seeing?" he is asked.
"About 70 percent, I think," he says, without flinching. "I hold back a bit,
because I'm here right now as a role player."
Well. If he's got 30 percent more height in his leap, they need to raise the
roof.
For now, other teams might be grateful that Richardson plays limited minutes
behind older players he admires. But his moment is coming. A tip, a rebound, a
block, a jam, an unpredictable move that turns the tide of a big game. I see
those moves. I see them inside this freshman, who, during a game, chomps on at
least seven sticks of gum.
"Bubblicious," he says, "strawberry and grape."
You know what else I see?
I see the people at Bubblicious smiling, that's what I see.
Contact MITCH ALBOM at 313-223-4581 or albom@freepress.com. Catch "Albom in
the Afternoon" 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WJR-AM (760).
THIS ELECTRONIC VERSION MAY DIFFER SLIGHTLY FROM THE PRINTED ARTICLE.
COLUMN;JASON RICHARDSON;MSU;BASKETBALL;COLLEGE