The Thief - Charles Richardson to Nebraska

Charles Richardson, a defensive juggernaut, has committed his services to Nebraska.

Richardson to Nebraska

By Frank Rusnak
"Help, I’ve been robbed.”

No worry, it’s just another victim of Proviso East’s Charles Richardson.

One of the nicest culprits you’ll run into, Richardson is not a thief in the sense of breaking the law. Richardson, however, is a master thief on the basketball court where any arrant passes or non-closely protected basketball are all fair game for the 5’8” blur.

Richardson, soon to be a three-year starter, gave Nebraska a verbal commitment on Thursday. His other finalists were Wyoming and Mississippi State.

"I don't think there is anyone out there that I can't lock down."

Charles Richardson
Proviso East

“Once I got on the campus, they treated me like I was part of the family,” said Richardson of the Huskers. “They showed a lot of interest in me and they were hitting me the hardest.”

Before heading to Nebraska, Richardson will grab the reins of the point guard spot for Proviso East. While the Pirates have had talented guards for the past two years, Richardson is the one called on for the main ball-handling duties and most responsible for guarding the other team’s main ball-handler.

With his tenacious, in-you-shirt style of defense, Richardson grabbed three steals per game as a sophomore and five last year.

“I don’t think there is anyone out there that I can’t lock down,” said Richardson.

His teammate, the top senior in the state, Shannon Brown (committed to Michigan State) is one, however, that Richardson has had his troubles with.

Working out with Brown every other day either at Proviso East when a gym is open or at the local YMCA, they compete in full court one-on-one matches.

“Playing against the No. 1 senior in the state is going to help me out a lot, and him going up against my defense is going to help him out a lot,” noted Richardson. “Shannon wins the majority of the games. I ain’t even ganna lie, I only beat him about three or four times. I come close, but he has the advantage. It’ll only make me better though.”

And improving each other is what the Pirates will need to do if they look to accomplish their goals this year.

“We are trying to go undefeated [this year],” said Richardson.

Richardson has been doing his part to help elevate his game for the run at the Class AA state title this year. After finishing a summer that saw the Pirates win the Oak Park-River Forest Summer League Title over West Aurora by five points, Richardson capped the summer off averaging 23 points a game.

“We are going to get more of the same of his tenacious defense, leadership on the floor and getting the ball to the right people,” said second-year Proviso East coach Troy Jackson who served as an assistant coach at Thornton before that. “The added plus is that [Richardson] is going to score more this year. Now he’s going to be hitting that outside shot a little more.

“He’s ranked right up there with Tracy Webster (1988 at Thornton, then played at Wisconsin),” he added. “He was a one-man press and he’d rip you every time and that’s just how Charles is.”

While Richardson has played in the shadows of some great perimeter players in Brown and last year’s Mr. Basketball Dee Brown (Illinois), he is not letting that be a deterrent.

“It’s been tough, but right now it’s been going on so long that I’ve gotten used to [being in the background],” said Richardson. “I think everyone out there knows what I’m about and what I’m capable of.”

While most everyone knows what Richardson can do, it is still unknown if this talented Proviso East squad can make it Downstate in the Elite Eight and bring back a state championship to Maywood.

Coming off a 26-3 record and super sectional fall out to New Trier at the United Center, the Pirates look to have a harder schedule ahead of them this year.

With the new playoff alignment format that will disperse the Chicago Public Schools into various regionals, Proviso East would most likely be paired with such city powers as Whitney Young, Crane and Farragut.

“We feel more confident than last year,” said Richardson. “We are on a mission once again. Because me and Shannon have a couple of years under our belts, we know what we need to do.”