MSU's Izzo Influenced Richardson to Declare for NBA Draft

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Tom Cavanaugh | Last updated Jun 24, 2025 7:00 PM ET

After the conclusion of Michigan State's 2024-25 season, many wondered if star guard Jase Richardson would be returning for his sophomore season despite being a projected first-round draft pick this year. That decision was easily made by Richardson after something that head coach Tom Izzo told him.

It was not like Richardson was being pushed out, but the first-year star was more so encouraged to pursue the next level early. Izzo knew what type of talent Richardson possessed and knew that he was ready for that next level.

Izzo has coached too many players to not be able to recognize when someone is ready and told Richardson himself that it was time to go.

Forbes NBA analyst Mat Issa did a recent interview with Richardson, giving us the insight as to why he made the decision to enter the draft process and will now be a likely first-round pick in Wednesday's NBA Draft in Brooklyn, New York.

“I didn’t come to Michigan State with the idea of being a one-and-done player," Richardson told Issa. “At first, I was just grateful to be playing as a freshman under Izzo. But as the season went on, I kind of just felt the trust of him and my teammates keep going up.

"When that happened, it became a possibility. I was like, ‘Hey, I could really, I could really do this.’ And then, I had to talk with Coach, and he kind of just agreed. He was like, 'Yeah, I can’t see you staying here one more year. You need to go.’ So, I think that was really like the main thing that told me, 'Yeah, I think I’m ready to do this.'”

Richardson had shown flashes of double-digit scoring games and one 20-point game in his first few months of playing. It was not until he dropped a career-high 29 points against Oregon in early February at the Breslin Center that many knew that he was going to be an NBA talent.

From that point on, Richardson continued to prove why he was ready for the next level and as Izzo stood from the sideline and watched, he started to believe more and more that this was Richardson's first and only year playing at Michigan State.

In 14 of Richardson's next 15 games, he would score in double figures including five games with 20 or more points. He concluded the year shooting 49.3% for 12.1 points per game. He was not posting gaudy numbers like No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg, but Izzo knew that it was him time to go.

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