By Andy Loigu

Tucker Richardson, who starred in varsity basketball at Hunterdon Central and Blair Academy, made history at Colgate University this month. He led the Red Raiders to the Patriot League championship and earned the league’s Most Valuable Player honor. 

In a 76-61 win over the Lafayette Leopards, he became the first Colgate player since 1996 to post a triple double. Colgate awaits word on who will be selected as their first-round opponent in the upcoming NCAA Division 1 championship tournament. In over 120 games at Colgate Richardson (a senior) has scored over 1,200 points, hauled in over 600 rebounds and distributed over 400 assists, and is still counting as the Red Raiders’ season continues in the nationally celebrated “March Madness.”

In a game shown nationally on CBS television on March 8 against a Lafayette team which came into the action hot off several impressive wins, Richardson helped Colgate establish an early lead and maintain it with 14 points, 12 rebounds and a Patriot League record 11 assists. The last Colgate player to post a triple double was Adonal Foyle, who went on to a distinguished NBA career. Foyle’s historic game of 22 points, 15 rebounds and 10 blocked shots came against Holy Cross.

Hard core basketball fans in Northwest Jersey have seen what Richardson can do with a basketball for several years. He played in 84 games with the Red Devils of the Skyland Conference, scoring 168 points, accurately landing 119 three-point launches in the process. He then joined the widely respected basketball program at Blair Academy, which plays in the Mid Atlantic Prep League, regarded as one of the most competitive scholastic leagues in the nation.

At Blair he played for Joe Mantegna, one of the nation’s most respected coaches. Mantegna has coached several players who went on to play Division 1 level basketball, including Luol Deng (Duke University), Charlie Villanueva (University of Connecticut) and Royal Ivey (University of Texas). Deng, Villanueva and Ivey all went on to NBA careers. Mantegna had a night few high school coaches ever get to see, when a pair of players he coached, Deng and Villanueva, played on opposing sides in the Final Four.

As the sports editor of the Warren Reporter in those days, I arranged award nights hosted by Warren County Community College, where the year’s Male and Female Athlete of the Year award plaques were presented. I invited Mantegna to be our guest speaker.

He did not use the occasion to brag. He spoke, instead, about the inherent challenges of being a student athlete who excels at both academics and athletics. It is possible to do both, he told the audience of athletes, parents, and friends, but it takes commitment and discipline. He encouraged all in the audience to do their best, and to develop time management skills which will benefit them throughout their lifetimes, in any endeavor.

In 2009, the numbers worn by Deng, Villanueva and Ivey were retired in a ceremony before an alumni game at Blair. A similar occasion may be in the future for Tucker Richardson, whether or not he gets to play in the NBA.

Ladies and gentlemen, Elvis has left the building.