Breaking down Jase Richardson's legitimate finalists
The son of Michigan State standout turned NBA star Jason Richardson, four-star guard Jase Richardson is just more than one year away from taking the court for his first college game. Which team’s jersey he’ll be wearing when he does so, however, is undecided.
Officially, Richardson has a final eight of Arkansas, Alabama, Cincinnati, Michigan State, USC, San Diego State, Stanford and Virginia. There is plenty of separation among the finalists, however, as only a few have a realistic chance of landing the four-star wing’s commitment.
Below, Rivals national analyst Rob Cassidy makes the case for what he sees as Richardson's top five and ranks them by likelihood to sign him.
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1. MICHIGAN STATE
Richardson has actively guarded against people assuming he’ll end up in East Lansing based on his father’s legacy at the school, but an official visit last fall coupled with those strong family ties to the program lends itself to a certain line of thinking.
Like most things in recruiting, the truth is probably somewhere in the middle.
The four-star prospect is not some stone-cold lock to land at Michigan State, but it’s impossible to put anyone else at the top of this list, even if Arkansas seems to be making a very real and very strong push to land Richardson’s pledge. The Miami (Fla.) Columbus High School standout has not announced plans for a return trip to campus, but such a thing feels like a possibility.
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2. ARKANSAS
Arkansas feels like the biggest threat to snatch Richardson’s commitment away from his father’s alma mater. Things on his visit to Fayetteville are said to have gone swimmingly, and the Razorbacks’ staff seems to genuinely like their chances as the four-star wing’s recruitment heads down the home stretch. Richardson had his father in tow when he hit campus for an unofficial visit in September of last year, which is particularly notable due to the fact that Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman coached dad in the NBA in the early 2000s.
There seems to be little separation between the Razorbacks and Spartans for the time being, as the two programs are, by far, Richardson’s most likely landing places.
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3. ALABAMA
Richardson has tentative plans to visit Alabama in September but is yet to set a specific date for the trip. If that trip takes place, the Tide could figure into his decision. That said, Richardson has been on record saying he’d like to commit sometime in mid-October, so time is of the essence when it comes to getting him to Tuscaloosa.
The Crimson Tide are a peripheral player in Richardson’s recruitment, but shouldn’t be counted out totally if a visit date gets finalized in the coming weeks.
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4. CINCINNATI
Like Alabama, Cincinnati sits in visit limbo. Richardson has expressed a desire to schedule a trip to the program but is yet to do so. That said, there’s still plenty of time between now and his tentative October commitment date. How seriously the Bearcats should be taken will be clear within the month, as there needs to be some movement on a visit if Wes Miller is going to give himself a puncher’s chance of pulling the upset.
Cincy is extremely high on Richardson and could move up this list if Miller and company are able to get him on campus in September.
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5. USC
USC got Richardson on campus for an unofficial visit back when he was attending Las Vegas’ Bishop Gorman High School, so Andy Enfield’s program needs to be included on this list. That said, it’s hard to see the Trojans as a serious player unless a return visit takes place, which seems pretty unlikely.