The Arkansas coaching staff is hot on the recruiting trail in the 2024 class. Having signed multiple McDonald's All-Americans and highly-ranked recruits over the past few years, head coach Eric Musselman and the Razorbacks are looking to continue that trend with the upcoming class.
Priority target Jase Richardson cut his list of schools down to eight on Tuesday and he included Arkansas. The Razorback coaching staff was in on Richardson early and have remained steady in their pursuit of the four-star point guard.
"I feel like I have a really good relationship with the Arkansas staff," Richardson said. "Talking with Coach (Ronnie) Brewer and Coach Muss, I just feel we have a really strong relationship."
Relationships matter to Richardson, who was sidelined for the better part of a year with a hole in his femur. Arkansas never wavered in his recruitment, as the whole staff remained in regular contact with the Bishop Gorman product.
"Coach Brewer and Coach (Keith) Smart (talk to me the most)," Richardson said. "They reach out every other day to me. Coach (Anthony) Ruta, as well. They reach out like every other day. I hear from Coach Smart pretty often, he just checks up on me and checks up on my family."
Smart and the Richardsons have history. Smart's wife, Carol Smart, actually planned the baby shower for Richardson's mother when she was expecting. Richardson grew up around Smart's sons and Musselman as well, as the pair coached Richardson's dad — 14-year NBA veteran Jason Richardson — on the Golden State Warriors.
"It’s kind of crazy because I was around him a lot growing up as a kid," Richardson said. "So it’s kind of interesting to see how different things are now."
Richardson is looking for a program that will develop his skillset, utilize him as a freshman and ultimately, win. He's paid attention to Arkansas on the court ever since they started recruiting him.
"I thought (last year's team) was a really well-put together team," Richardson said. "They made a deep run in March Madness and had some amazing team chemistry and they trusted their freshmen."
While Richardson has had eyes on the Arkansas program, the coaching staff has watched plenty of tape on him, including being in-person at a chunk of his games since he's been healthy. Because of that, the coaching staff has an idea of how they would use Richardson in Fayetteville.
"They said that I could fit their system really well," Richardson said. "That I could facilitate, make plays for other people, and if I need to score that I can score."
Hearing that sort of feedback and praise from a staff with ample NBA experience carried a lot of weight for Richardson.
"Yes it does (carry more weight) because hearing things from NBA level coaches is just a blessing to hear," Richardson said.
Richardson told HawgBeat he plans to make a final decision sometime in the fall.
Priority target Jase Richardson cut his list of schools down to eight on Tuesday and he included Arkansas. The Razorback coaching staff was in on Richardson early and have remained steady in their pursuit of the four-star point guard.
"I feel like I have a really good relationship with the Arkansas staff," Richardson said. "Talking with Coach (Ronnie) Brewer and Coach Muss, I just feel we have a really strong relationship."
Relationships matter to Richardson, who was sidelined for the better part of a year with a hole in his femur. Arkansas never wavered in his recruitment, as the whole staff remained in regular contact with the Bishop Gorman product.
"Coach Brewer and Coach (Keith) Smart (talk to me the most)," Richardson said. "They reach out every other day to me. Coach (Anthony) Ruta, as well. They reach out like every other day. I hear from Coach Smart pretty often, he just checks up on me and checks up on my family."
Smart and the Richardsons have history. Smart's wife, Carol Smart, actually planned the baby shower for Richardson's mother when she was expecting. Richardson grew up around Smart's sons and Musselman as well, as the pair coached Richardson's dad — 14-year NBA veteran Jason Richardson — on the Golden State Warriors.
"It’s kind of crazy because I was around him a lot growing up as a kid," Richardson said. "So it’s kind of interesting to see how different things are now."
Richardson is looking for a program that will develop his skillset, utilize him as a freshman and ultimately, win. He's paid attention to Arkansas on the court ever since they started recruiting him.
"I thought (last year's team) was a really well-put together team," Richardson said. "They made a deep run in March Madness and had some amazing team chemistry and they trusted their freshmen."
While Richardson has had eyes on the Arkansas program, the coaching staff has watched plenty of tape on him, including being in-person at a chunk of his games since he's been healthy. Because of that, the coaching staff has an idea of how they would use Richardson in Fayetteville.
"They said that I could fit their system really well," Richardson said. "That I could facilitate, make plays for other people, and if I need to score that I can score."
Hearing that sort of feedback and praise from a staff with ample NBA experience carried a lot of weight for Richardson.
"Yes it does (carry more weight) because hearing things from NBA level coaches is just a blessing to hear," Richardson said.
Richardson told HawgBeat he plans to make a final decision sometime in the fall.
