CHAMPAIGN — George Richardson has experienced just about all that March Madness has to offer over the course of three seasons.
Two years ago, Richardson didn’t make the varsity team at DePaul Prep, which won the Class 2A state title without him. He could have gone to the State Farm Center as a fan, but he took a pass.
“It was tough to see my friends go to Champaign,” he said. “That’s where I got most of my passion to work. It made me want to work harder because I wanted to be there, too, with them.”
A year later, Richardson was in Champaign celebrating with his DePaul teammates, as he had hoped, after they won the Class 3A state title. But he played only a minute in the semifinals and didn’t get on the floor in the championship game.
The end of this season was much different once again for Richardson, who had transferred to Evanston. The 6-foot-7 senior forward picked up a lot of floor time at the State Farm Center, where he helped the Wildkits beat Rich Township 73-70 in overtime in the Class 4A third-place game on Saturday.
Richardson filled the stat sheet with 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists and five steals in 32 minutes for Evanston (31-6), which advanced to the state finals for the first time since losing in the championship game in 2019. A day earlier, Richardson scored 12 points in 27 minutes in the Wildkits’ 56-47 loss to Benet in the semifinals.
“I’ve been dreaming of this moment since last year,” he said. “I wanted to come back here. This was awesome.”
Changing schools wasn’t easy, though.
“It was for sure a tough decision,” Richardson said. “I grew up with all of those kids from DePaul. I love them like brothers. It was hard to leave them, for sure. But there were bigger things on my horizon, and that’s what I got here.
“I feel really blessed that I had the opportunity to come here.”
Evanston coach Mike Ellis is happy to have Richardson on the team too.
“He gave us a great deal of balance,” Ellis said. “We needed something inside and a presence around the basket. There are so many times George made the plays for us down the stretch around the paint.
“We have a good shooting team, and George gives us that balance inside, and it helps the defense keep 10 eyes on our perimeter scoring when you have people battle inside like he does.”
Evanston senior guard Theo Rocca, a Washington University commit who scored a team-high 18 points against Rich Township (26-10), is also glad to have Richardson as a teammate.
“He’s one of the hardest workers on the team,” Rocca said. “He’s a great example for everyone on the team to work as hard as he does.
“On the court, he’s a guy who does everything. He’s one of our best rebounders, he is a big body in the paint and people don’t realize what a great shooter he is. I wish he shot the ball more.”
The ending of the third-place game wasn’t perfect for Richardson, who suffered an ankle injury with 47 seconds left in overtime. He went to the sideline and tried to walk it off. During a timeout, while the song “Chelsea Dagger” played, he bopped up and down to the beat to try to get the ankle to cooperate. He returned to the court with 0:42 left, but he was out there for only one play before he exited again.
Richardson watched the end of the game while standing in a corner near the bench.
“I was going for a block, and I usually don’t jump that high,” he said. “I think Theo pushed me up a little bit, and I landed on someone’s ankle.”
Richardson, who has an offer from Trine, wants to continue playing basketball next season.
“I’ll be ready by then,” he said with a smile.
The Wildkits are bringing home their seventh state trophy. The program’s highlights include a state title in 1968, when the Illinois High School Association had a one-class system. Ellis guided them to third place in 2018 and second place in 2019, both times in 4A.
Ellis is excited that Evanston is one of the few teams to finish the season with a win.
“This team here is going to be legendary in our high school for what they have done for the high school, the program and the community,” he said. “It was good to see them close it out with a win because that’s what they are — winners.
“I’ve been impressed with this group from day one. We talked before the game about being one of two Class 4A teams to end the season with a win. We didn’t want to be one of the 602 high school teams who lose their last game.”
Connecting from beyond the arc certainly helped Evanston, which entered the state semifinals with 307 3-pointers made in 35 games. The Wildkits went 1 for 13 on 3-point attempts in the first three quarters of the semifinal loss to Benet, a team they had beaten 59-55 on Feb. 1. But they returned to form against Rich Township, hitting 10 3-pointers.
Richardson, who hit a 3-pointer in the first quarter to help set the tone, said he learned the sport at an early age and hasn’t lost his love for it.
“Basketball kind of found me, and it’s been special,” he said. “I tried football, but I love basketball. I love the team aspect of it. You are building a brotherhood on and off the court, and you meet people you will be friends with the rest of your life.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter.
