By Tucker Paquette
@tpaquette17
The idea of an athlete trying to blaze their own trail is undoubtedly one that holds lots of appeal to players and fans alike. For an athlete to do that while also following the roadmap laid out by none other than their own father 25 years ago?
Well, isn’t that even better?
Interestingly enough, for Christopher Columbus High School point guard Jase Richardson, he is planning to do just that.
Richardson will be at Michigan State next fall, the same university his father, 14-year NBA veteran Jason Richardson, played at for two seasons (1999 and 2000).
But the reasons why Jase, the No. 28 ranked recruit in the 2024 ESPN 100 and the No. 6 point guard in the nation, will soon call East Lansing home are more complex than his father’s own college choice.
The positive environment Richardson immediately encountered when visiting Michigan State stuck with him over the course of the process of deciding upon a college.
“For Michigan State, going up there on campus and talking to the coaches and players, I felt really connected to all of them,” Richardson said.
While Richardson’s father’s ability to give valuable insights into the Spartans’ culture certainly played some part in his decision, the interactions he encountered on campus also provided him with comfort that he was making the right choice.
“Even without my dad being there… I felt like it was family,” Richardson said.
However, it was an unfortunate setback in the spring of 2022 that provided Richardson with a unique advantage, and one he made sure not to overlook.
During this time, Richardson suffered a knee injury that required surgery and forced him to sit out almost eight months. As he went through recruiting and injury recovery, he was afforded the ability to use the injury as a lens into which schools maintained strong interest in him while he was unable to play.
“Throughout this process, I felt like I found schools that stuck by me when I was going through my surgery, so it was definitely those schools that I keyed in [on],” Richardson said.
Of course, even though Richardson had powerful motivations to choose Michigan State that weren’t related to his dad, Jason Richardson nonetheless was an important figure in his son’s college decision.
Richardson points to how his father has already traversed the road he is on now as one reason why he values his input so heavily.
“Having a [dad] that’s been through the process that I’m going through right now is a really big thing,” Richardson said. “I always talk to him, trying to figure out what he has to take away from the game.”
Richardson’s father has been a mentor to him far beyond the confines of the basketball court however, an illustration of their bond.
“Even off of the court, [my dad has taught me] how to be a better man,” Richardson said. “I feel like we have a great relationship.”
Beyond the quality of the people at the school and advice from his dad, Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo was a significant factor in Richardson’s process as well.
Having coached the elder Richardson 25 years earlier, Izzo is quite familiar with the family.
“[Izzo] was a really big piece,” Richardson said. “He was texting me every other day when I was getting towards the end [of the recruiting process]. I [think] he was trying to pitch to me [how] I could be the best version of myself over at Michigan State, and I felt like he welcomed me with open arms throughout the whole thing.”