Prospect Watch: Derek Richards (2019)
Class of 2019 guard Derek Richardson of Louisiana is a small player from a small school from a small town, but everything else about him is very big; especially the way he can get buckets. The 5’9″ Richards has been…
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Continue ReadingClass of 2019 guard Derek Richardson of Louisiana is a small player from a small school from a small town, but everything else about him is very big; especially the way he can get buckets.
The 5’9″ Richards has been a big scorer for the Bulldogs from the time he entered the starting lineup from Day 1 of his freshman year last season. He burst onto the high school scene in a big way last season when he earned All-Clarence Cannon Conference honors after averaging 17.6 points and making a whopping 99 3-pointers in his freshman season. Playing alongside his cousin, Zach Richardson, Derek was able to make a quite an impact.
“It was great playing with my cousin for a year and he really helped me along,” Richards said. “He told me other teams weren’t going to guard me as hard because I was just a freshman, so I just took advantage.”
Richardson has graduated, which left Richards as Louisiana’s main scoring threat, but that hasn’t slowed him down as a sophomore. Richards is currently averaging 22 points and 4.1 rebounds a game while shooting nearly 50 percent from 3-point range in leading the Bulldogs to a 13-4 record. Now, that teams are leery of his 3-point shooting prowess, Richards has been consistently scoring of drives to the basket this season.
“I fell in love with the 3-pointer last year, but my coach told me I needed to get to the basket a little more, so I’m trying,” Richards said. “We do a lot of contact stuff in practice, so I know how to get to basket hard and finish.”
With Richards leading the way, the Bulldogs are currently 13-4 on the season. Last week, Richards led the Bulldogs to the championship of the Bowling Green Tournament with a victory over Clopton, which extended their winning streak to six games. The winning streak started on Jan. 16 against the same Clopton team when Richards sank a 30-footer at the buzzer to give Louisiana a dramatic 49-46 victory.