High School

Jase Richardson dazzles with an insane dribble, drive and scoop

Michigan State freshman, who starred at Columbus (Florida) and Bishop Gorman (Nevadea) in high school, shines as legendary coach Tom Izzo ties Bobby Knight's career Big 10 win record

Gary Adornato

Michigan State guard Jase Richardson is enjoying a spectacular freshman season with the Spartans, but he outdid himself with a dazzling drive and score against Oregon on Feb. 8 in a Big 10 contest.
Michigan State guard Jase Richardson is enjoying a spectacular freshman season with the Spartans, but he outdid himself with a dazzling drive and score against Oregon on Feb. 8 in a Big 10 contest. / Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Sometimes an athlete can showcase his potential in one spectacular performance. Michigan State freshman Jase Richardson, who graduated from Florida high school powerhouse Columbus and also played at Nevada's Bishop Gorman High School, may have boiled it all down to one play.

Saturday in a Big 10 game against Oregon, Richardson, who was making the first start of his college career, scored a season-high 29 points to help the Spartans rally from a 14-point halftime deficit and win going away, 86-74.

If that wasn't enough, the flashy freshman guard delivered a highlight reel play to help the Spartans take a commanding 10-point lead with 4:13 left in the second half.

Handling the basketball outside the three-point arc, Richardson dribbled to the top the key, drove one step towards the lane and quickly stepped back. As his defender followed, Richardson flew into the lane with a vicious crossover, split two defenders and and converted an insande left-haned scoop.

The play brought the Michigan State faithful to delirium and prompted an emotional celebration from Richardson's father, Jason Richardson, a former Michigan State All-American and a member of Izzo's 2000 national championship team. The elder Richardson also played 14 seasons in the NBA.

Jase Richardson is averaging 9.3 points per game this season, to go with 2.4 rebounds and 2 assists. He has now scored in double figures 10 times. Saturday's 29 points were a career high, topping the 20 he scored against Rutgers on Jan. 25.

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Gary Adornato
GARY ADORNATO

Gary Adornato began covering high school sports with the Baltimore Sun in 1982, while still a mass communications major at Towson University, and in 2003 became one of the first journalists to cover high school sports online while operating MIAASports.com, the official website of the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association. Later, Adornato pioneered market-wide coverage of high school sports with DigitalSports.com, introducing video highlights and player interviews while assembling an award-winning editorial staff. In 2010, he launched VarsitySportsNetwork.com which became the premier source of high school media coverage in the state of Maryland. In 2022, he sold VSN to The Baltimore Banner and joined SBLive Sports as the company's East Coast Managing Editor.

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