By RUSSELL BENNETT
SELF-CONFESSED Pakenham Warriors “glue guy” Jay Richardson may often be outsized in the post against some of the behemoths of Big V Division 2 basketball, but one thing is absolutely certain – he’ll never be outworked.
A big part of what makes up the Warriors’ heart and soul, Richardson will return in 2014 to man the paint once again for his second season with the side.
His relationship with Warriors mentor Ryan Rogers stems back to their time together in the Sherbrooke youth system in 2005.
They’ve been through a lot since – including Richardson falling out of love with the game and turning to the party scene.
“I was 16 and I’d decided I’d had enough – I’d rather go out and party and chase girls,” said Richardson, now 22.
Having since forged a reputation as the Warriors’ equivalent of Reggie Evans – the Brooklyn NBA franchise’s under-sized, yet physical and big-bodied force on the glass – Richardson was enticed back to the game in some of the most heartbreaking circumstances.
“Ryan started talking to me again in 2011 – I had three years off,” he said.
“One of our guys from those under-16 and 18s Sherbrooke teams committed suicide.
“We met up again at his funeral and Ryan asked if I wanted to play basketball again.
“He was down at Southern Peninsula at that stage.
“It was a bit of a travel from Ferny Creek (where Richardson still lives) to Rosebud, but I put up with it for a couple of months.”
The 192-centimetre, 97-kilogram power forward-centre ultimately followed great mate Rogers to Blackburn, and then eventually Pakenham.
“To be honest, I’m still slowly getting back into the game after such a long time off,” Richardson confessed at Warriors training early in the week.
“I’m nowhere near what I used to be,” he said.
“In my mind I’m not anyway.”
While Rogers admits Richardson’s offensive game could still use some polish, he raved about his off-the-ball game and all-around intensity.
“Jay has always been a really good, undersized defender who has always had an uncanny knack of coming up with double-figure rebounds in games and can influence them without being a significant scorer,” Rogers said.
“He was really starting to get things on track in 2012 season but then had a significant ankle injury which kept him out for six to eight weeks in a key part of the season.
“Last season, we needed someone just like him – a glue guy who we could depend on defensively.
“As he had so often in the past, he took the key matchup of opposition guys – imports … guys who were six inches bigger than him.
“I consider him to be in an elite category, defensively, when it comes to the premier bigs in the league.
“Offensively we’re still trying to get his game back to how it was looking in his junior days because he shoots the ball really well from the perimeter.”
For Richardson – it all revolves around toughness.
“I’m definitely not afraid to bump or bruise anyone in the middle of the key,” he said.
“I’m always hungry for the ball – no matter where I am I’m always first on the boards.
“It’s fair to say I like a bit of physical contact.”
He doesn’t mind talking to his opponents either – getting on top mentally.
“A perception about basketball is that it’s soft,” he said.
“But it’s definitely not. Not at this level.”
First and foremost, Richardson wants nothing more than to lead his Warriors to Division 2 glory next season. Individually, he would love to average a double-double – 10 points and 10 boards.
God help anyone who tries to stand in his way.
