NEW YORK - Following the selections of three high school players and a Spanish national, former MSU guard Jason Richardson was the first collegiate player to be drafted in the NBA Draft on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
Richardson was picked No. 5 overall by the Golden State Warriors, while his former Spartan teammate and fellow early-entry Zach Randolph went 19th to the Portland Trail Blazers.
Afterward, Richardson, 20, said he thought former Duke Blue Devil and college basketball Player of the Year Shane Battier would be picked before him.
“It feels a little odd to be the fifth pick,” Richardson said 20 minutes after his selection. “I thought Shane was gonna go before me. When they called me, I was a little shocked that they picked me.”
As it turned out, Richardson was drafted right before Battier, of Detroit Country Day High, who was taken sixth by the Vancouver Grizzlies.
High-schoolers Kwame Brown and Tyson Chandler were taken first and second, by the Washington Wizards and the Los Angeles Clippers, respectively.
Chandler was then dealt to the Chicago Bulls in a trade involving Elton Brand.
Pau Gasol from Spain was the No. 3 pick, taken by the Atlanta Hawks. The Chicago Bulls chose high-schooler Eddie Curry at No. 4.
One person who was not shocked Richardson went as early as he did was MSU head coach Tom Izzo, who was the only college coach on hand to support a former player.
“I was not totally surprised,” Izzo said. “I really thought he’d go five, six or seven. I thought that the whole time. I think Golden State, when I talked to them, loved him. I guess I was surprised that all four early picks were high school guys or European guys.
“I never looked at it like he’d be the first college guy taken but I felt Golden State had a big, big interest.”
Also providing support at Richardson’s side last night were his mother, Elaine Richardson-Cook, his daughter Jaela, 1, and his uncle Brian Bowen, who is a father figure to Richardson.
“I was just filled with butterflies and I’m just really excited for him,” Richardson-Cook said. “That’s just something that is unexplainable. My main concern was for him just to take care of his young daughter, that’s number one, and when he does that, I can follow along somewhere in line.”
Richardson will now be playing in Oakland, Calif., far away from the Michigan winters.
And he said his friends and family are going to want to stay with him all the time.
“That’s a great feeling too,” he said.
Richardson said he had a good idea he would be heading out west, because he knew Golden State liked him a lot. He added he thinks he will play small forward for the Warriors and he is looking forward to playing with Larry Hughes.
“I’m just gonna get ready for whatever they want me to do,” he said. “Larry Hughes, I think he’s a great guy and he’s real cool. He works hard every day and I think he and I will get along great.”
While Richardson was taken a bit earlier than expected, Randolph slipped a few spots according to the predictions of most experts. Many thought Randolph would join former Spartan forward Morris Peterson with the Toronto Raptors, but Toronto bypassed him with the 17th pick.
But Izzo thought Randolph, 19, would go right around where he ended up.
“I thought anywhere from 15 to 19 is where he was gonna get picked,” Izzo said. “I think he can do a lot for Portland - Portland is a team he wanted to go to, and he’ll really like it there.”
Former Spartan forward Andre Hutson closed out MSU’s day at the draft by going to the Milwaukee Bucks with the 52nd overall pick.
Former MSU guard Charlie Bell was not selected in the draft.
Justin A. Rice can be reached at ricejust@msu.edu.
