'Grind Week' Saved MSU From Losing Out on Jase Richardson

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Aidan Champion | Last updated Jun 7, 2025 3:00 PM ET

Jase Richardson turned in one of the greatest -- or at least most thrilling -- single seasons in Michigan State basketball history in his lone year with the Spartans.

After coming off the bench to start the season, Richardson would finish the year as arguably Michigan State's best player and one of the top freshmen in the nation.

It was a memorable season that helped put the program back on the map as the Spartans won the Big Ten and made a run to the Elite Eight.

But Richardson almost didn't even come to Michigan State.

He discussed this when he and his father, Spartan legend Jason Richardson, joined "Podcast P with Paul George."

"I think a week or two before I committed, I told my parents, I'm like, 'I'm probably gonna go to Alabama," Jase Richardson said. "Like, that was the word. So, I go to my Michigan State visit, and it's during 'Grind Week,' where all the players come back, all the pros come back, we just have a great weekend, everybody plays.

"And I'm like, 'I can't pass this up.' I get to learn from all these guys who have been through it. I'm over here learning from Cassius Winston and Mateen Cleaves. Those are two great point guards. So, I'm like, 'He's got a lot underneath his belt, I need to go here.'

"And so, I think I told him like two days before I committed, I wanted to go. I was like, 'This is the spot for me. I feel like I can learn, I can be myself and I can play my game.'"

Jason Richardson, who had participated in Grind Week before, knew it would be a difference-maker.

"I told Alabama -- me and my wife thought he was going to Alabama -- we were like, 'If y'all let him go to Grind Week, y'all gonna lose him,'" Jason Richardson said. " ... And that's what happened. They wanted to reschedule because Jase was supposed to have his visit at Alabama the same weekend as Grind Week. Alabama called, they wanted to reschedule the visit. And I'm like, 'Aye, you have that visit now or you gonna lose him.'"

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This article first appeared on Michigan State Spartans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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