Richardson taking basketball to next level
By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer
Reaching new heights should be no problem for Jason Richardson.
Ready or not, the high-jumping Richardson is expected to take on an expanded role this season for the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors are in training camp this week at the Cannon Activities Center on the Brigham Young-Hawai'i campus. On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Warriors will play the Los Angeles Lakers in exhibition games at the Stan Sheriff Center.
After a series of off-season moves, Golden State has been hyping a "new look" for this season. Richardson, a 6-foot-6 shooting guard, is one of only five returnees from last season's 38-44 team.
"It'll be a real different team from last year, but I like the mix," said Richardson, 22. "We have veteran guys who know how to win and young guys with a lot of skills who are willing to work hard."
Richardson is one of 11 "young guys" currently in camp. The veterans — players with at least four years of NBA experience — will report tomorrow.
During the off-season, Golden State traded leading scorer Antawn Jamison to Dallas, and second-leading scorer Gilbert Arenas signed with Washington as a free agent.
Richardson was the third-leading scorer last season with 15.6 points per game. He also contributed 4.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game.
He is not afraid to admit that he, too, wanted out of Golden State at the conclusion of last season. But since then, he has apparently smoothed over a shaky relationship with head coach Eric Musselman.
"I think Jason is looking to have a much bigger role than he had last year," Musselman said. "We thought he had a good sophomore season (in 2002-03), but I think he wanted more out of himself, which is a good thing."
The Warriors received veteran guard Nick Van Exel through the Jamison trade, and he and Richardson are expected to form one of the NBA's most dynamic backcourts.
"We lost a lot of scoring in (Arenas and Jamison), but it also opened up roles," Richardson said. "It's given other players opportunities to be leaders and scorers, and I want to make the most of my opportunity."
Richardson is best known for his dunking ability. He won the NBA Slam Dunk contest as a rookie in 2002, and then won it again last season. Michael Jordan is the only other player to win back-to-back dunk contests, and Richardson said he plans to go for a three-peat.
Richardson led the Warriors with 123 3-pointers last season.
So during the summer, he worked most on — get this — his jumping and shooting.
"You can never be satisfied on this level," said Richardson, who left Michigan State after his sophomore season to enter the NBA Draft. "I wanted to improve my shooting and my ball-handling the most. I also worked a lot on jumping off one leg to help me get to the basket quicker.
"I'm trying to get that complete game down so people recognize that I'm not just a dunker."
But sometimes, going unrecognized can be favorable. While a media frenzy surrounds the Lakers' Honolulu training camp — in part because star Kobe Bryant is facing a sexual assault charge — the Warriors have gone relatively unnoticed on O'ahu's North Shore.
Richardson was convicted in August of a misdemeanor domestic violence charge.
"It happened. I put it behind me," he told the Contra Costa Times. "It was something small that (escalated). I had to let that go, put it behind me and focus on the season."
After a two-hour morning practice yesterday, Richardson said: "A lot of things happened since last season both for me and this team. All I want to do now is look ahead and help this team get to a higher level."
Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-8101
