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Sam Vecenie breaks down why Jase Richardson could become NBA lottery pick

IMG_0985by:Griffin McVeigh02/19/25

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Michigan State's Jase Richardson shoots against Illinois during the first half on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing - Nick King, USA TODAY Sports
Michigan State's Jase Richardson shoots against Illinois during the first half on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2025, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing - Nick King, USA TODAY Sports

Deep into conference play, highly-touted freshmen are beginning to emerge in their respective programs. Michigan State‘s Jase Richardson is certainly one of them. Son of former NBA player Jason Richardson, the younger of the duo is working himself into the NBA lottery discussion.

Sam Vecenie of The Athletic broke down what he has seen from Richardson lately. Tom Izzo has given the first-year player an increased role over the past week, playing over 25 minutes in four consecutive games.

“Just a tremendous overall basketball player,” Vecenie said. “Every time I watch him, he’s like ‘Oh wow, he knows exactly where he needs to be every single time that he’s on the court.’ He’s awesome as a driver with his footwork, he’s awesome at being able to kind of use his frame. He’s quite physical getting into the lane. It’s not nearly as good as what Jalen Brunson was but you can see a little bit of that in terms of playing off two feet, constantly playing on balance, making sure he gets to his spots as a lefty.”

Dating back to Feb. 8 against Oregon, Richardson is averaging just under 31 minutes over the four-game stretch. Efficiency inside the arc has been outstanding too, 64% on two-point shots. He did tie a career-high of three made three-point attempts against the Ducks, though.

Michigan State has found team success too, rattling off a trio of wins — most recently of which was against a ranked Purdue team.

Vecenie likes some of the advanced numbers he has seen from Richardson as well. While he certainly will be considered undersized, solid defense, and his basketball IQ is going to provide a massive boost.

“All of the numbers kind of track here,” Vecenie said. “All of the tape tracks to me not that he’s playing real minutes to me. On top of that, I think he defends at a super high level. He’s small, he’s probably going to be like 6-2 or so but he knows where to be, he processes the game quickly. He’s a havoc player. I believe in (Jase).”

On3’s James Fletcher has Richardson outside the lottery in his latest NBA Mock Draft, posted on Feb. 6, to the Atlanta Hawks at No. 23 overall. Richardson certainly has a chance to be a riser with the final stretch of Big Ten play, the Big Ten Tournament, and potentially going deep in the NCAA Tournament with Michigan State.