October 10, 2024, on TheRinger.com
https://www.theringer.com/2024/10/10/college-basketball/book-richardson-ncaa-college-basketball-coach-pardon-request
Emanuel “Book” Richardson often huddles his eighth-grade basketball players around a whiteboard for a pre-practice lesson. In these sessions at the New York Gauchos’ grassroots basketball facility in the Bronx, New York, he doesn’t just explain strategy. He teaches work ethic and attention to detail.
“Guys,” Richardson tells his players, “you have to compete.”
When Richardson is in this mode, black dry-erase marker in hand, jotting down notes on the board, he feels most whole, most alive. Coaching, hooping, losing himself in the rhythm of a play. “He’s so passionate about what he does,” says 14-year-old Elijah Novotny, one of Richardson’s players. “I can just feel his energy.”
It’s in these moments, Richardson says, that he forgets he’s coaching middle schoolers. It’s almost as if he’s back on the Division I court, back at the University of Arizona, where he served as an assistant coach from 2009 to 2017. He was known in college basketball circles as one of the top recruiters in the country, and he regularly helped his teams land top-10 recruiting classes. While in Tucson as part of Sean Miller’s staff, Richardson helped continue the Wildcats’ winning tradition; he was part of five Sweet 16s, three Elite Eights, four Pac-12 regular-season championships, and a pair of Pac-12 tournament titles.
Sometimes, when he’s alone on the Gauchos’ court, long after his players have gone home, Richardson turns off the lights and imagines himself in another time, another place. Before the FBI investigation. Before he lost his job, his career, and his sense of identity. For a moment, his shame dissipates, and he allows himself to dream. “I find myself back on the college bench,” he says. “I find myself back in the college locker room. I find myself trying to get to a Final Four.” (READ FULL STORY HERE).
Mirin Fader 