Nationality American Name Pooh Richardson Career start 1989 Weight 82 kg | Listed weight 180 lb (82 kg) Height 1.85 m Listed height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Role Basketball player Career end 1999 | |
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NBA draft 1989 / Round: 1 / Pick: 10th overall Number | ||
Pooh Richardson (21pts/10asts) vs. Celtics (1990)
Pooh Richardson (18pts/10asts) vs. Bulls (1990)
Jerome "Pooh" Richardson (born May 14, 1966) is an American former National Basketball Association (NBA) player. he was selected in the first round of the 1989 NBA draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves, the first draft pick in franchise history. He would also play for the Indiana Pacers and Los Angeles Clippers during his 10-year NBA career from 1989 to 1999.
Contents
- Pooh Richardson 21pts10asts vs Celtics 1990
- Pooh Richardson 18pts10asts vs Bulls 1990
- Early life
- College
- NBA career
- References
Richardson played college basketball for the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from 1985 to 1989. He set school career records for assists and three-point field goal percentage.
His nickname came from his grandmother, who thought he resembled Winnie the Pooh.
Early life
Richardson grew up in Philadelphia, and played basketball in the Sonny Hill League. He was a McDonald's All-American while playing at Ben Franklin High School. He led Ben Franklin to the Public League championship in 1984. The Philadelphia Tribune called Richardson "a basketball legend in [Philadelphia]."
College
UCLA head coach Walt Hazzard recruited Richardson to play for the Bruins. He was a four-year starter at UCLA from 1985–1989. In his freshman year, he was honored as the Pac-10 Freshman of the Year as well as team's most valuable freshman player and outstanding defensive player. The following season, he was named first-team All-Pac-10. In his junior year, he was named the team's most valuable player (MVP) and again was first-team All-Pac-10. In Richardson's senior year, he was the team's MVP for the second consecutive year, first-team All-Pac-10 for the third year in a row, and the Bruins' outstanding defensive player for the second time in his career.
Richardson finished his career with UCLA records for most assists in a career (833), most assists in a season (236), and highest career three-point field goal percentage (46.4).
NBA career
The 6'1" point guard was taken by the Minnesota Timberwolves with the tenth overall pick of the 1989 NBA draft out of UCLA. He was their first ever draft choice and played for them for their first three seasons until 1992 when he was traded along with Sam Mitchell to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Chuck Person and Micheal Williams in the offseason. In 1994, the Pacers dealt him to the Los Angeles Clippers along with Malik Sealy and 1994 draft pick Eric Piatkowski in exchange for Mark Jackson and the draft rights to Greg Minor.