College Commitment: Payton Richardson (2020 Western Christian HS)
Wednesday is the first day of the early signing period and for Payton Richardson the wait will be over. The lanky 6-foot-4, 170-pound wing from Western Christian High School had been looking at a number of different college options but one spot definitely seemed brighter than the others. In the end, Richardson decided going away for school would be the best fit for him and he’s ready to put pen to paper and ink to play in the GNAC next year.
On Sunday, Richardson made the decision to commit to Seattle Pacific. “On my visit there, I really felt welcome,” Richardson said. “The coaching staff – I have a lot of respect for them but they’re also fun and laid back. All the guys are super cool and they made me feel super welcome and I think that I would have a lot of fun with them. And they’re really young too – the guys I went with on the visit will be the guys that I’ll play with. I just really enjoyed it and feel good about it.”
Seattle Pacific had offered Richardson a full ride scholarship during his visit. He felt a great fit with the coaching staff and players, but there were some other aspects about the school itself and its surroundings that attracted him as well.
“I want to go into some ministry stuff when I’m done with school and they have some programs there that would really help and benefit me,” Richardson said. “It’s also really close to a church that I really like and that kind of played into it too.”
From a basketball perspective, it appears that immediate playing time is available for him and he knows he’ll need to prepare himself for that this season. “They see me as a two/three and they’re expecting me to get some minutes,” Richardson said. “I think I really need to work on my ball-handling – I think it’s OK for high school but I feel there’s going to be a lot more pressure in college.
“And my shooting confidence – I feel like I can shoot but sometimes I think about it too much,” he continued. “And obviously my strength and speed as it’s a whole new level up there.”
Richardson plans on signing his letter-of-intent on the first day of the early signing period on Wednesday and then it’s time to move on to getting ready for his senior year. “I’m happy to have the recruiting process over and I can focus on this season,” Richardson said. “This is my last season and I’m hoping to go back-to-back (titles) obviously. We’ve got De La Salle and Santiam Christian in our first two games and we’ve got a really challenging schedule but it will be good for us.”
Richardson currently ranks as the #7 player in the PrepHoops Oregon Class of 2020 rankings.