Ragin Prep's Richardson leading Rams' 2nd-year rise

Ragin Prep is trending in the right direction amid its second basketball season.

One of the main reasons is Jamie Richardson.

The freshman stepped up for the Rams last week as they went 1-1 in the Richard Winn Holiday Tournament, improving to 5-9 on the season. That's a big step for a team that didn't win its first game until homecoming a year ago.

His performance last week also helped him earn recognition as the Hines Furniture Athlete of the Week.

"It feels good that everyone voted for me and put my name out there," Richardson said.

The Rams faced some stiff competition in the Richard Winn Holiday Tournament. They struggled to find offense in a 57-14 loss to the host school. Despite the loss, they recovered in their second game, bouncing back with a 57-49 win over Cambridge Academy.

"We took a tough loss in that first game, but we turned it around," Richardson said. "Coach told us we needed to pick the intensity up, and we all listened. We came out in the second half and just dominated.

"I just told my teammates to get me the ball when I needed it."

Richardson scored 17 points in the game to lead the Rams to victory. Head coach Anthony Jackson saw the freshman do a little bit of everything.

"He did a lot of it on the defensive end," Jackson said. "He's a real good slasher. He can get to the basket with the left hand and the right. The biggest thing about Jamie is he played most of his Parks and Rec as a big man, so he already has the footwork. We transitioned him to the wing, and he can put it on the floor. He can do it all. He even shot a couple of threes. He did it from everywhere."

Richardson plays a big role for this very young Rams team. Most of the roster is part of Richardson's freshman class, while they also have two seniors and an eighth-grader.

"It feels good to win more games than we did last year and build this team together," Richardson said.

Jackson said Richardson has been able to make an impact because of his experience as an eighth-grader in the program's first season.

"To bring him in last year as an eighth-grader and have him play point guard on varsity was a big step. Now we have another point guard to slide him to the two-guard spot where he can play with the ball in and out of his hands," Jackson said. "He's really developed into a 3-and-D guy. He can play both ends of the court. His ceiling is pretty high.

"My biggest challenge is making him understand what he has and how to use it. He's a little shy right now, and maybe that's just the youth in him, but he's coming around a lot."

Jackson thinks the tournament win sets the Rams up nicely to attain one of their biggest goals.

"Our goals are to win more games than we did last year and try to set ourselves up for a winning record," Jackson said. "We put ourselves in a position where if we take care of business this month, we can possibly end the season with a winning record and accomplish one of those goals."

Richardson wants a little bit more than a winning record.

"Going to the region championship and beating all the teams that are looking at us like we can't do it," Richardson said of his goals for the home stretch of the season. "We know we can."