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'Q' to NBA DePaul sophomore enters draft, signs with agent
Posted: Wednesday May 03, 2000 12:51 PM
CHICAGO (AP) -- Quentin Richardson is making the jump to the NBA after two years at DePaul. "I've decided to move on to the next level," Richardson said in a DePaul news release announcing the 6-5 swingman would skip his final two seasons and declare for the NBA draft. Richardson averaged 17 points and 9.8 rebounds this past season, leading DePaul to a 21-12 record and the school's first NCAA tournament appearance since 1992. The Blue Demons were bounced out in the first round by Kansas. Richardson considered turning pro after a stellar freshman year when he was chosen Conference USA Player of the Year for averaging 18.9 points and 10.5 rebounds. At the time, Richardson decided he would put it off because his family was stable financially. "I asked them were we hurting that bad? My father, my sister and my stepmom all said, 'No, they would be fine, it could wait,'" Richardson said 13 months ago. "Personally, I would have liked 'Q' to stay in school, but I support his move to the NBA 100 percent," his father Lee said Wednesday. "I look forward to Quentin getting a degree down the road." Richardson is projected to be taken somewhere in the middle of the first round. He has reportedly signed with the SFX Sports Group. "What Quentin has accomplished at DePaul has been nothing less than remarkable," DePaul coach Pat Kennedy said in the release. "A lot of players stay home, but few have had the impact on a school and a city like Quentin did. I'm also very confident he will have a very solid pro career." Scouts believe Richardson, a Chicago native, has the quickness and the jumping ability to play in the NBA, but many think he needs to work on his ballhandling so he can drive to the basket and hit his jump shot while on the move. His stock may have fallen with a sometimes inconsistent sophomore season, but he said such talk only motivates him. "That just makes me want to work even harder so I can turn around and prove them wrong," he told WFLD, the Fox affiliate in Chicago. DePaul guard Paul McPherson, a junior, previously declared for
the draft.
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