Arizona's 2014 class of prospects is absolutely loaded with division-I talent for college coaches to pursue over the next year. While many of the prospects in the class are already household names among basketball enthusiasts in the state, one player that is quickly rising up the charts and will look to make a significant jump in our up-and-coming and soon to be released Fall Player Rankings is Dobson High School's 6-foot-4 junior wing Ryan Richardson.
After a solid sophomore season for Perry HS last season and helping lead the team to a strong 21-9 overall record, Richardson continued his strong play throughout the spring and summer months on the club circuit. Richardson's performance throughout the off-season, while playing for the Arizona D-I Ambassadors, was enough for him to garner two division-I offers and loads of recruiting interest for himself.
Richardson has now received scholarship offers from the University of Denver and also Weber State - two very nice offers for the talented wing prospect. Richardson is now also receiving serious interest from UC-Irvine, UC-Davis, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, UC-Santa Barbara and Grand Canyon.
One of the lesser known top-rated prospects in the class after the high school season, Richardson has blossomed into one of the state's premier young prospects and has excellent potential for the future, as a result of his length and nice athleticism.
Last season as a sophomore starter for a well-balanced Perry HS team, Richardson averaged 7.5 points and 2 rebounds per/game. This season Richardson will be hanging his hat at a new destination, after leaving Perry HS and transferring schools to Dobson HS where he will play for legendary head coach Rick McConnell, a tremendous teacher of the game and one of the best developers of talent.
At Dobson, Richardson will join another big-time transfer this season in 6-foot-5 senior guard Jaron Hopkins (University of Colorado commit). Hopkins left Basha HS after last season and will lead a very talented Mustangs team this season. Richardson will team up with Hopkins and 6-foot-4 junior combo-guard Kodi Justice (Arizona State commit) this season to give Dobson one of the state's most gifted trio combinations.
Look for Richardson to raise his numbers this season while also sharing the offensive load with the hitgh-scoring Hopkins and the sharp-shooting Justice.
Still growing a great deal, Richardson is a lengthy athletic wing prospect that has a solid skillset at this point in his young career. He is a slasher and open court player and has developed as a shooter over a short period of time - capable of shooting the basketball out to the three-point arc, but at his best from mid-range. As he continues to become more consistent from longer range he will see his game progress a great deal, as he has the ability to score off the dribble and make plays in traffic over bigger defenders and finish well around the basket area.
Richardson is also a good defender and could develop in this area a great deal over his next two years of high school - making him a nice asset to any team, as a result of his length and anticipation on the floor. He is able to play passing lanes and is also a good shotblocker with nice length of body and a good vertical leap.
With such a loaded class of prospects in the 2014 class, Richardson is another top-rated prospect for college coaches to take a serious look at. Look for Richardson to have a big junior season for Dobson HS this year and develop into one of the state's premier talents.
Richardson is also an excellent student and carries a 3.4 CUM GPA.
