Last night’s NBA draft was the next big step in an emotional journey for Michigan State basketball star freshman Jase Richardson. After suffering a bad knee injury in high school, he came to MSU as a rotation player as a freshman, before emerging as a legitimate star in NCAA basketball. That journey reached a climax on Wednesday night, when the Orlando Magic selected Richardson with the No. 25 pick in the NBA draft.
Along the way, we know that Tom Izzo was extremely supportive of Jase’s decision to leave MSU, which is admirable, because it would’ve really benefited the Spartans if he stuck around for another year. Not only was Tom Izzo, according to Richardson, the one to push him over the edge to enter the draft by telling him ‘you need to go’ to the NBA, we also now know that Izzo was messaging with NBA executives, like the Magic’s Jeff Weltman, campaigning for his star player and vouching for him as an NBA prospect.
We were able to see video of Jase immediately after the selection, celebrating with family. While it was a great, sweet moment, it wasn’t until a second video came out of his embrace with Tom Izzo where it seems Jase was fully overcome by emotions, hugging his head coach in a tearful embrace.
You can watch the touching video below:
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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Watch Tom Izzo and Jase Richardson share emotional moment after NBA draft selection
Reporting by Andrew Brewster, Spartans Wire / Spartans Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
