Last Wednesday McNeese beat Nicholls State 92-76 in the Southland tourney title game to earn an automatic bid to next week’s NCAA tournament. The Cowboys have finished with a losing record every single year since 2013 but are now 30-3 and heading to their 1st NCAA tourney since 2002. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with McNeese SO G DJ Richards Jr. about his team’s storybook season.
You began your college career at UTSA where you made the 2023 conference all-freshman team: how were you able to come in and contribute right from the start? Coach made it very easy for me. He knew my strengths/weaknesses so I focused more on my strengths. Coach Will Wade eliminated those weaknesses and made it easy for me to play how I play so shout-out to Coach Wade for putting me in a position to blossom and the players around me made it easier for me.
Why did you decide to transfer, and what made you choose McNeese? Coach Wade is a legendary coach who has a history of winning. I always wanted to make it to the NCAA tourney and I knew that if I got to play for Coach Wade that I would be in the position I am today. I really believe in him and the story he had for me and I will continue to stick with it.
What makes Coach Wade such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? He is hard on you because he loves you and genuinely wants the best out of every one of his players. He will yell at everyoen the same way and hold everyone accountable whether they play 30 minutes or 5 minutes: everyone gets the same type of love/respect. He feels that everyone can be better at the end of the day, not just as a basketball player but as men.
Last December you scored a career-high 24 PTS/6-11 3PM in 27 minutes in a win over Southern Miss: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? Before Coach Wade came back it was very hard for me to get open shots because they had caught on to me quickly after the 1st game. He kept telling me to stay calm/chill/true. Once he told me before the game that it would be a big game for me…and then I had 24 PTS: it is crazy how things go!
This year you shot 45.2 3P%: what is the secret to making shots from behind the arc? Just breathe. I go out there with the same mindset whether I make 50 or miss 50. I stay 10 toes down and stay in the gym every single day and really put in so much work that when I am playing it is 2nd-nature.
Last Wednesday in the Southland tourney title game you scored 16 PTS/4-6 3PM in a win over Nicholls State: what did it mean to you to win a title, and what was the feeling like in your locker room afterward? It meant a lot. My coach got me going early and I really salute him: he called a play for me off the rip. I saw 1 go in early and the rest just fell after that.