At halftime of Orlando’s preseason opener against the Miami Heat last weekend in Puerto Rico, Magic rookie Jase Richardson wasn’t happy with himself.
The No. 25 pick out of Michigan State had missed all four of his first half shots and was held scoreless in almost 11 minutes of action coming off the bench in his NBA preseason debut.
Richardson’s new teammates, including All-Star forward Paolo Banchero, had advice for the rookie guard that changed his evening for the better.
“We just told him, ‘You’re getting everywhere you want to go, so don’t trip on missing the shot, just keeping being aggressive,’ and he went out there and knocked three 3s down all within the flow of the offense,” Banchero said. “He’s a really good player, and you can just tell he has an ‘it’ factor about him where he doesn’t get very flustered or upset. And if he does get frustrated, he goes out there and plays better.
“He doesn’t let it affect his game so that’s pretty impressive for a rookie,” Banchero added.
Richardson came out of halftime firing from distance, converting all three of his 3-point attempts and totaling 13 points with 2 rebounds and 2 assists in just 13 minutes.
The moment at in the locker room portrayed Banchero’s leadership, and the second half showcased Richardson’s ability to adapt on the fly despite being the youngest member of the team at only 19-years-old, according to Magic coach Jamahl Mosley.
“It says a lot about him but it also says a lot about Paolo being able to have the conversation with him to help him understand his moment in that game,” Mosley said. “The other side of it is it says a lot about Jase being able to transfer and not hold onto it. That’s a sign of maturity for a young player to not hold onto what you’ve done in the first half — good or bad — and be able to come out and play the second half with a clear mind, a clear conscious and just play and do the things you know you’re capable of doing.”
After facing the 76ers on the road Friday night, the Magic return home to host the Heat at Kia Center on Sunday.
Orlando hopes to see more of the same from its first-round pick when Richardson continues to progress throughout his first NBA preseason ahead of opening night Oct. 22.
His first performance impressed the likes of Banchero and new Magic guard Desmond Bane, but they both know Richardson is just getting started.
“What we saw from Jase is what we’ve seen from him the last six weeks,” Bane said. “He’s [a] high IQ basketball player. He’ll make shots. We can put him out there with just about any lineup, and he’ll find a way to be impactful.
“I’m proud of him, but he’s still got a lot of room to grow.”
Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com
