Former Atlantic Christian star Shereesha Richards thriving at Albany

By JOHN LEON Correspondent Shereesha Richards had no thoughts of leaving her native Rae Town, Jamaica, and was only supposed to come to the United States for one year to attend Atlantic Christian Academy in Egg Harbor Township. More than five years later, Richards has established herself as one of the top basketball players in Division I women’s basketball. Considering she was one of the top netball players in Jamaica’s youth program and had never played organized basketball, it has been a remarkable journey. Netball is a game with no dribbling and no backboard to shoot at. “She was so shy at first,” said Atlantic Christian head coach Pam Hitchner. “She just has raw athletic ability and is very smart. Shereesha picked up the game and is like a sponge with everything we taught her. She never complains and is probably the hardest worker I’ve ever seen on a court.” “At first, I didn’t know what I was getting into,” said the 6-foot-1 Richards. “It was so cold in New Jersey compared to Jamaica.” Shereesha Richards, who dominated at Atlantic Christian School, has won conference player-of-the-week honors nine times this season while leading the University at Albany to a 17-3 record. (Photo courtesy of University at Albany) Richards, a 2012 high school graduate who turned 21 on Jan. 25, got better every year for Atlantic Christian and her resume is staggering considering being a relative novice at the game. A three-year letter winner, she recorded 1,147 points in just two seasons. She averaged double figures in points (20.6) and rebounds (12.1) while also finishing with 19 consecutive double-doubles as a junior. She led the Cougars to their first National Christian School Athletic Association Championship in 2010-11 and became the first female student-athlete to receive a Division I scholarship out of Atlantic Christian. Hitchner said that getting Richards noticed was a “full-time job” due to the fact that she played at a small Christian school and rarely received any notice from the media. “She got at least 23 Division I looks, but no real offers,” said Hitchner. “Albany made calls on a weekly basis and the more research we did, the better it looked for Shereesha.” Enter the University at Albany, part of the State University of New York system, and coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson, who took an interest in Richards’ game and her faith, which was a major factor in getting her to play for the Great Danes. Faith is a major part of Richards’ life and she was looking for a place where the combination of basketball and practicing her Christianity would mesh. In her fourth season at the helm of Albany, “Coach Abe” as Abrahamson-Henderson is known, has built a program that has been at the top of the America East Conference and the Danes, a Division 1 mid-major school, currently rank No. 8 in that national poll. The Danes have gone 66-28 in her three seasons and have qualified for the NCAA Tournament the past two years. A perfect 16-0 conference record last season earned Abrahamson-Henderson the Coach-of-the-Year honor for the league. “We wanted Shereesha from the beginning,” she said. “She wanted a family atmosphere similar to what she had at Atlantic Christian. Of course, I had a little help from my husband, who also happens to be Jamaican, so there was a connection right away. She also had mentors like Julie Forster to help guide her. I challenged Shareesha to be like Julie and it’s paid off so far.” Forster’s name appears all over the Albany record book as the all-time leader in rebounds (1,149), sixth in scoring (1,109) and had her jersey number retired recently. Richards already holds the season record for field-goal percentage last year by shooting .611 from the field and likely will shatter that mark this season. Obviously, it is apparent that Richards learned well from Forster and the rest of the Danes coaching staff. In just one season, she earned America East Conference Rookie-of-the-Week five times, led the league in field-goal percentage, averaged 10.2 points per game while pulling down 5.9 rebounds per contest. Defensively she had 65 steals and was awarded the league’s Co-Rookie of the Year. This season, Richards has absolutely dominated from the start. She is averaging 22.4 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, leading the conference in both categories, the only player to average a double-double. Richards is shooting a league-leading 63 percent from the field and has 44 steals. In addition, she ranks fourth in America East with 34 minutes played per game. If that is not enough, she has won Player-of-the-Week honors nine times already in 2013-14 and has helped lead the Great Danes to a 17-3 record. She tallied a 24-point effort against No. 2 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium on December 19, and against Hofstra on Jan. 1 she grabbed a career high 16 boards. “She’s an unbelievably hard worker,’ said Abrahamson-Henderson. “Her work ethic is off the charts, plays hard all the time and wants to be a leader. She was named a captain this season as a sophomore which really is unheard of, but that’s the kind of player and person she is. She wants to be a leader and help in any way she can.” A Sociology major with a 3.0 GPA, Richards works just as hard on her studies. “Being a leader means you have responsibilities and you have to take them seriously,” said Richards. “You have people looking up to you and you have to try to lead in all ways, not just athletically. I try to talk to the team, do little things so we can be successful. ” According to Coach Abe, there is still room for improvement in Richards’ game. “We want her to step away from the basket a little more, get her range to 15-18 feet,” she said. “If that improves, there’s no telling how good she can be because other teams won’t be able to just pack in the middle on her. Her free-throw shooting is pretty good (70 percent) but she gets to the line six or seven times a game and that can improve as well. She’s still getting stronger and has improved with weight training but you can’t teach God-given ability like she has.” With an enrollment of 13,100, Albany seems to have everything Richards was looking for in a college. A family atmosphere, competitive basketball and a shot at another NCAA Tournament berth. Richards was everything Albany was looking for, too, and it looks like the future is bright for both Richards and the Great Danes.