During January, as his playing time decreased and Georgia State’s losses began to mount, Rashaad Richardson kept practicing his shooting and kept watching film.
Now, as his playing time is increasing and the wins are back, Richardson’s long-range accuracy is one of the reasons why. The guard has made six 3-pointers in the past two games, both victories, as the Panthers kept alive their chances of securing a top-four seed in the Colonial Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament.
“He creates,” coach Ron Hunter said.
Richardson likely will start his fourth consecutive game when the Panthers (16-8, 8-5), fifth in the CAA, host Northeastern (11-12, 7-6) on Wednesday. The Panthers are 2-1 since his return, during which he has averaged 7.3 points.
That doesn’t seem like a difference-making total. But Hunter said the fact that opponents know he can make 3-pointers forces them to guard him. Those decisions open the offense for Richardson’s teammates, notably guard Devonta White and center Eric Buckner, each of whom like to operate in the free-throw lane.
Hunter said with Richardson hovering on the wing, White no longer sees four players around the basket waiting on one of his drives. White scored a team-high 15 points in Saturday’s win against Hofstra, his most in the previous 10 games.
“Things seem more open,” White said. “I know that’s probably because he’s more of a threat on the 3-point line.”
In the past two wins — each by double-digits against North Carolina Wilmington and the Pride — most of Richardson’s points have come in the first half. As Hunter and White said, that creates openings for others. Of the 29 points Buckner scored in the past two games, 25 came in the second half as defenses spread themselves to try to defend Richardson, White and Jihad Ali at the 3-point line. As a result, the Panthers have established big leads and looked more like the team that went 4-1 in early January than the team that finished the month on a 1-4 skid.
The Panthers’ offense struggled during that stretch, with most of its scoring coming from Buckner and Ali. Hunter tried several different combinations of starters during the stretch in an attempt to spark the offense. Richardson, however, wasn’t an option. It wasn’t because of his offense, but because of his defense.
“Defense is effective once you get the hang of it. I wasn’t effective at the time,” Richardson said.
Hunter usually tailors defensive game-plans to opponents, rather than relying on a base defense. Richardson said he had trouble picking up what he was supposed to do. Because January was packed with 10 games, the team was rarely able to practice. Richardson played more than 10 minutes once in the month’s first seven games. As the schedule began to thin, and the team was able to practice, Richardson had time to work on the schemes he’d been watching.
“It’s starting to click,” he said.
While he was working on the mental aspect of defense, Richardson would continue the physical aspect of shooting. Assistant coach Darryl LaBarrie would gather the guards and work on situations and form for about 30-45 minutes most days.
The exercise and drills were similar to what Richardson would do in high school in Tampa. His coach, Ryan Pannone, would work with him five days a week, using a shooting strap on his arm to improve his fundamentals.
LaBarrie describes Richardson as a streaky shooter who is becoming more consistent. He has made 34.7 percent of his shots, including 33.8 percent of his 3-pointers. In the past two games he’s making 44 percent of his shots.
“Now he’s figured it out on both ends,” Hunter said. “He’s going to play more minutes based on defense and playing his role.”
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