D.J. Richardson
October 9, 2009 9:15 AM
Back at the Ubben Basketball Complex, Richardson does the unspeakable during one of the day's earlier pickup games -- he calls a charge. An opponent drove through the lane; Richardson set himself up a few feet away from the rim; Richardson absorbed the contact, hit the floor and yelled out for the charge. Like his later pleas about the score, his teammates don't listen to him and check the ball up top.
"This means a lot," Richardson said of the pickup games. "People don't understand where you get better. This is where you get better. It's not just individuals, it's not just conditioning, it's open gym. Every open gym I try to play as hard as I can. I try to get better every day. I think our guys got to get the mentality. I want to get better. A lot of guys on our team don't have that mentality."
espn.com
"This means a lot," Richardson said of the pickup games. "People don't understand where you get better. This is where you get better. It's not just individuals, it's not just conditioning, it's open gym. Every open gym I try to play as hard as I can. I try to get better every day. I think our guys got to get the mentality. I want to get better. A lot of guys on our team don't have that mentality."
espn.com
Filed under: Illini Basketball
