Prospect Spotlight: Jhaidyn Richardson (2018)
OAK PARK — One of the Kansas City area’s top rising seniors, Jhaidyn Richardson is coming off a strong June playing with his high school team, the Oak Park Northmen.
At 6’4 2018, Richardson is a strong, inside-outside wing player who can handle the ball, get to the bucket and shoot from the outside. He brings a physicality to the game and is able to get into the paint and score easy buckets as well as shoot from the perimeter.
A year ago, Richardson averaged 8.8 points and a team-high 5.6 rebounds per game for a team that finished the season 19-8. His play was often overshadowed by the play of 2018 Ochai Agbaji, one of the state’s top returning players. But this offseason, Richardson has put in a lot of work on his outside shot and has taken his game to another level in the process.
“I’m an inside-outside guard that prefers to attack the rim rather than shoot, but I’ve really been working on my shot this offseason,” he said. “That is the main focus. I’ve also been working on my ball handling, keeping my body in shape and keeping a level head when things aren’t going good.”
This summer, Richardson and Agbaji have teamed to form a tough 1-2 punch and the Oak Park program put together a strong offseason under second-year head coach Brennan Scanlon.
“My high school team is doing good,” Richardson said. “We only lost three seniors this year, but one was a main factor, so I took it upon myself to step it up this year so it wouldn’t hurt us. We’ve had a great summer league so far and we’ve only lost two games and those were both winnable so we’re sitting pretty good. Plus we’re missing one of our top guys. Once he comes back we’ll be even better.”
This offseason, Richardson is playing with the KC Pacers, one of the Kansas City area’s top grassroots programs. He says the experience has helped him take his game to the next level.
“This is my first year playing with the KC Pacers,” he said. “I’m really liking it. I love the program and how they run things. They are getting me better and seem to have my best interest and want to see me do big things. I’ve worked my way up to the top team and plan on staying there through hard work. Main focuses are my shot and staying level headed.”
Richardson says his family has had the biggest influence on his basketball career to date.
“Seeing how hard my mom works makes me want to do the same and just try to make life as easy on her as possible,: he said. “I’d love for her to relax and leave the working to me one day. My brother and little cousin also look up to me, so I want to set a good example for them as well.”
A fan of Kyrie Irving, Richardson says he enjoys watching the way the Cleveland guard gets to the basket.
“He a great scorer and can create his own shots at will,” Richardson said. “He loves attacking the basket like I do but he has a lot more finesse of course. I’d love to be able to shoot like him from deep and from mid range. That would take my game to a whole new level.”
Richardson says he currently does not hold any offers and hasn’t heard from any college programs, but hopes that will change with a strong senior season.