Josh Richardson Story - The Athletic - "The Tao of Spo"

[hbvol1982]

For those of you with a subscription to the Athletic, there is a recent article about Eric Spolestra where the first story told out of the gate is how he impacted Josh Richardson's career. My apologies I do not have a link to it.
Below is a portion of it. It is fairly long. Trying to get up shots on a day off and ES challenged him to make 70 of 100 minimum. Spo would make him run suicides if he fell short of 70...

“I don’t openly respect people for no reason; you gotta show me,” Richardson said. “And Spo, man, he was super hands-on, super hard worker. Everyone talks about Heat Culture and all that, but he really kind of lives it. And from the first day I got there, everyone told me how he was always trying to get better. And I found out that he was almost a maniac about it.”
As Richardson went through his fourth circuit, it was different than his first three. It had purpose, a furious focus. He eclipsed 70 and then some. He did not celebrate or show any emotion. Instead, he braced himself for an approaching Spo. When the coach reached him, he began slapping Richardson’s chest.
“He was like, ‘You got it! You got it!’ ” Richardson said. “He was like, ‘You can’t just come in here and shoot. You can’t just come in here and do it. You have to compete. You have to push yourself. And you have to do it every day.’ ”
From that day on, as he has gone on to play for five teams and make more than $56 million, Richardson said he has never done a shooting drill that falls short of that standard.
“Every day when I shoot now, I do it like that. It’s just one of those things. It’s the competition, the pressure,” Richardson said.

 

[Chris4Vols22]

Richardson played his best on the Heat roster, and I'm sure it was in no small part due to Spoelstra. I wish JRich could have stayed in Miami, for sure.

 

[Jazzy#10]

Is this the same Josh Richardson that nobody but Counzo Martin wanted out of high school? The same one who finally won the hearts of his many critics once he showed his mettle? Boy, were they wrong.

 

[Volfan1000]

Richardson was the best of Martin's recruits at Tennessee.

 

[VolunteerCeltic]

Richardson had the heart of a competitor, his improvement was so impressive from when he arrived to when he left UT....

 

[brockytop]

Is this the same Josh Richardson that nobody but Counzo Martin wanted out of high school? The same one who finally won the hearts of his many critics once he showed his metal? Boy, were they wrong.

Yes, only the basketball genius known as Counzo Martin—a man currently not involved with the game—recognized Josh Richardson’s talent.

 

[turbovol]

Richardson played his best on the Heat roster, and I'm sure it was in no small part due to Spolestra. I wish JRich could have stayed in Miami, for sure.

He played well for the Spurs, as well, but he's become a true journeyman, and I hate that for him. I think he's been moved each of the last five years. That's the fate of a lot of backup swing men.

 

[walkenvol]

He’s made generational wealth moving around the league - tough to feel sorry for him about anything.

 

[jackaro]

Is this the same Josh Richardson that nobody but Counzo Martin wanted out of high school? The same one who finally won the hearts of his many critics once he showed his metal mettle? Boy, were they wrong.

FTFY

 

[Jazzy#10]

FTFY

Thanks for the correction.

 

[Ttucke11]

Is this the same Josh Richardson that nobody but Counzo Martin wanted out of high school? The same one who finally won the hearts of his many critics once he showed his mettle? Boy, were they wrong.

Thank you for this, I laughed. If only Cuonzo was as good as his ego was big.