Overview
Basketball is the family business for the Richardsons. Jase’s father, Jason, played 14 seasons in the NBA. His mother, Jackie, also played college basketball and was influential in training Jase during his youth. Jase was born in Berkeley, Calif., but attended Bishop Gorman in Las Vegas before transferring to Christopher Columbus in Florida. After coming off the bench to start his collegiate career, Richardson started his final 15 appearances under Spartans coach Tom Izzo, averaging 16.1 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 0.9 steals in 30.4 minutes per game during that stretch. Jase received Third-Team All-Big Ten honors and was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.
Analysis
To be expected given his family tree, Richardson looks like he’s been trained by pros his entire life. He’s an elite shooter who is great at navigating screens, and his tape is like watching shooting drills. Richardson’s 1-on-1 game relies on lethal stepback and hesitation moves, but he’ll need to expand his game to be a go-to scorer in the NBA. He isn’t a true point guard, but his shooting ability gives him a gravitational pull with defenders, and he’s willing to find the open player. There’s nothing flashy on defense with Richardson, but he also doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, which is rare for a freshman in Big Ten play.
Quotable
“Jase is like a 3.9 student. He speaks more languages – I don’t even understand him. He’s worldly. He works on his game. He doesn’t make a lot of mistakes. If he does, I’m going to tell him. But if I tell him once, it probably hits home.” – Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo
Some stats & tidbits
Richardson averaged 16.1 points (on 47.0% shooting from the field and 42.0% shooting from 3-point range) in his 15 games as a starter in the 2024-25 season … Father, Jason, was an All-American at Michigan State, played 13 NBA seasons and won two Slam Dunk titles … Mother, Jackie Paul Richardson, played college basketball at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs.
Projection
Richardson has a Stephen Curry (6-foot-2, 185 pounds) quality about him when he’s running around screens and raining 3-pointers from the clouds, but he’s not that level of shooter or ballhandler. You can also see flashes of the Clippers’ James Harden (6-foot-5, 200 pounds) when Richardson splashes a lefty, stepback 3-pointer, but Harden was bigger and a better point guard coming out of college. Philadelphia’s Jared McCain (6-foot-3, 190 pounds) and New York’s Cameron Payne (6-foot-3, 183 pounds) are more apt comparisons for Richardson. McCain looked like the clear favorite for Kia Rookie of the Year last season before a season-ending knee injury, and Payne has carved out a solid NBA career as a backup point guard.
— Profile by RotoWire.com